I’m dealing with just about every kind of application anxiety you could imagine, so I’d figure this would be a decent way to
What are you worried about as you fill out and submit those applications? What do you fear will ruin your chances? What irrational fears are you fielding?
I graduated from high school with a 2.4 unweighted GPA and was suspended for two days when I was sixteen. I’m kind of worried my teenage stupidity will haunt me forever. I’m also worried that coming from a community college will harm my chances.
I can sort of relate to your situation; my high school GPA ended up being a 2.9 because I had a lot of personal troubles throughout high school. My senior year is what really did me in.
Truthfully, I don’t think going to a CC makes a big difference, as long as you have done well in your classes (and when I say “well”, I mean a 3.5 average or above). Community colleges do have a reputation of being easier than a 4 year, so poor grades at a CC may not look so good either. But I think if you explain in your essays, why your high school grades are so low, it may help the school you’re applying to understand where you are coming from.
Thank you so much for starting this thread, I needed a place to vent. High school GPA and lack of circumstance that could explain it other than academic incompetence. My college GPA is an improvement, but still probably weak compared to most other applicants. When I had professors sign my midterm sheet, a few of them tried to talk me out of leaving, which made me feel guilty, even though I know this is what I want to do. I think your college GPA is enough to prove that you’ve changed!
Thank you for your responses! I feel like I should have started this earlier because venting would have done me a world of good.
@mislysBB - I’ve maintained a 4.0 for three semesters at my CC and it’s looking like I’ll keep that up through my fourth and final semester here. I’ll also be writing to explain that my high school GPA was due largely to my home life, father’s declining health, and previously undiagnosed/untreated clinical depression. I’ll be focusing those writings on how I’ve grown as a student and person since that time in my life, emphasizing that those factors did not magically disappear but that I have learned to work through and rise above my circumstances.
@EndlessHeartache - I’m confident you can write some solid essays on your GPA and growth without having a tragic story behind it! And good on you for sticking to your guns despite guilt.
Another thing I was dealing with until yesterday: my school is deeply, almost hilariously unequipped to deal with transfers not following the CC-to-local-state-school track. I had the worst time tracking down any advisors willing to be my advisor contact/write my letter of financial need for fee waiver purposes and it was just a horrible, frustrating few weeks, but I do have an incredibly helpful professor and a last-minute breakthrough with the director of advising that came through.
I’m a first-generation college student who immigrated here as a kid, so my parents had no experience with or knowledge of college and it can be very overwhelming facing all of this down with no safety net, but it’s ultimately been a learning experience and I’m excited to get this part over with.
Sorry to hear that Hopefully you also found some schools to apply to that are need blind! My parents are college educated from another country, but had no idea how applications work here in the US. The internet is a lovely resource haha. I dunno about everyone else, but for me there was definitely some hesitation to apply again, after getting so many rejections last year. I kept thinking like, “really? you want to risk putting yourself through all that again?”
I’m glad I found this post and thank you all for sharing your stories. I feel discouraged about having any good chances about transferring since I did graduate high school with a 2.5 GPA also. I took gap years to figure out exactly what I want to do in life because fresh out of high school I had no clue when everyone else had already moved on to becoming college freshmen. Having experienced the real world with real jobs (waitressing/cashier/receptionist) made me realize how important and difficult it is to earn money. Right now at I am currently enrolled as pre-engineering and the only major I’m passionate about is MSE/EE and most often I have doubts that I’m still not good enough or not doing enough
Not necessarily anxiety about my app, but I did have a stress dream that I showed up to orientation in a hospital gown… ? Not sure what the symbolism is there…
So glad to find this thread. My family’s income is pretty low so I’m only applying to schools that promise to meet full aid. The sad part is that these schools are private schools and very selective. I am anxious that my test score will be a deal breaker(ACT-28). I really need to get into one of the schools because I do not want to have extreme debts. :-SS
First of all, I’m TERRIFIED that there’s a typo somewhere in my apps. Like, I have to submit more apps next week, and I’d submit the common app for them now, but I’m too scared to look like back at my essay because if there’s a typo that I missed, I don’t want to know about it.
Then ECs. I don’t have any spectacular ECs. I spent the entirety of high school devoting all my time to one thing (dance, at an intensive ballet program) so nothing spectacular to report there. As for college, I have some clubs (participation, not leadership), some performances, lots of tutoring (SAT prep for low-income high school students), and a research assistantship, but honestly classes and work study take up so much of my time. Nothing that will wow an admissions committee. Also, my HS transcript could work against me. Went to a rigorous high school with heavy grade deflation. Not sure how much they’ll take that into account.
Mostly, I think that I’m a good, qualified applicant, but that there’s nothing about me that will stand out.
Hopefully you also found some schools to apply to that are need blind! My parents are college educated from another country, but had no idea how applications work here in the US. The internet is a lovely resource haha. I dunno about everyone else, but for me there was definitely some hesitation to apply again, after getting so many rejections last year. I kept thinking like, “really? you want to risk putting yourself through all that again?”