<p>I'm a junior in high school right now, going into my senior year so now I am looking at colleges. The thing is, I've had a lot of personal issues and things goings on in the last couple years that made my grades and overall GPA drop. After freshman year, I had a 3.5 GPA, but now at the end of my Junior year, I have about a 2.6.</p>
<p>I know my GPA is horrible, but I'm trying to make up for it on my SATs. I only look the SATs once so far and scored a 1600 my first time; I can do much better my second time and am aiming for around an 1800.</p>
<p>During high school, I wasn't really involved in any clubs, but I did play tennis and lacrosse. And next year I plan on adding a club or two during my senior year.</p>
<p>So my question is; should I even be considering the following schools or are they way out of my reach;</p>
<ol>
<li>University of South Carolina</li>
<li>College of Charleston</li>
<li>James Madison</li>
</ol>
<p>My dream school is Clemson but I know I won't get into that, I'll probably end up having to stay local and go to a Pennstate satellite campus for a year and then transfer to a school I llike. Can I have someone elses opinion from personal experience?</p>
<p>Work on your college essay. With those stats, it wouldn’t be out of the question to be accepted to all four of those universities if your essay is good.</p>
<p>Sent from my Droid using CC App</p>
<p>Go to a Penn State branch campus and then switch to University Park as soon as you can. It’s a lot like Clemson and will cost a lot less.</p>
<p>It’s never too late to improve your resume. Now that it’s summer, desperately look for an internship or job that reflects your educational interests. Also, take note that when you apply, there’s usually a section on the application that allows you to explain certain circumstances, such as a low GPA. This will allow the adcoms to give you some leeway in determining whether or not you’re admitted if they see your “excuses are worthy” of a low GPA. If you score well (I’d say 1900 on your SAT. Also, try the ACT as you may be better at it), look into a job and/or internship, get involved in some community service activities (these are easy to find), and join a few clubs, you will greatly highten your chances of getting into these schools. SC’s admission is typically based solely on GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but engaging in these activities won’t hurt. They will help more at JM and Charleston since these schools consider extracurricular more than SC and even Clemson. SC and Clemson aren’t looking for formal essays, so don’t worry about that. Also, Clemson and SC’s application deadline are Dec 1 for priority review (I applied to them last year), so you won’t have a chance to bring up your GPA before you send off your application as your 1st semester won’t have concluded yet. Best of luck to you! As long as you keep your goal in the forefront of your mind until application time, I have no doubt the adcoms will see your effort and upward increase in excellence, which will give you higher chances at these schools. Don’t get distraught by these forum responses, still apply to all 4, because you never know what will happen. :)</p>
<p>@Tabby123 </p>
<p>I’ve been waitressing at the same restaurant during the summer time for two years now and have done volunteer work at a hospital/rehab center for a summer.</p>
<p>Also, at my school, we don’t have semesters, we have 4 marking periods so I do have 1 marking to bring my grades up slightly before December 1st</p>
<p>If your cumulative GPA is 2.6 I’m sorry but you don’t really have a shot at any of these schools without a drastic improvement in test scores and even then it’s a very small chance.</p>