<p>After reading some of the other posts on this forum, I'm really discouraged about my chances of getting into college pretty much anywhere. My grades so far are probably mediocre: Freshman year: 4.1 (weighted), 3.8 (uw)
Sophomore year: 3.8, 3.2
Junior year: 3.75, 3.1</p>
<p>I just took the SAT so I won't have my scores until late this month, but my PSAT scores are
Critical Reading: 60
Mathematics: 59
Writing Skills: 49
I will also be taking the SAT a second time</p>
<p>Class rank: 25/500 </p>
<p>I'm not sure about the method that I used to calculate the unweighted GPA. But I read that the scale is A+/A: 4, A-: 3.7, B+: 3.3, B: 3, B-: 2.7, C+: 2.3, C: 2, C-: 1.7 and so on. </p>
<p>I took only honors english I Freshman year. Honors english II and AP Eruopean History sophomore year. AP Language and Composition and AP US History Junior year. I plan to take AP Language and Literature, AP Psychology, AP Statistics and AP Government and Politics senior year. </p>
<p>My E.C.s are also lacking; I have no work/ volunteer experience as of now. I participate in JV Cross Country and Track and Field. I've been a member of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) since Freshman year and National Honor Society (NHS) since sophomore year. </p>
<p>I know it's too late to change a lot of this, but is there anything that I can do that might help my chances a little bit?</p>
<p>try getting good test scores and good grades. Make sure there are a couple teachers who really like you and get good recs and have compelling essays. Your grades aren’t awful and its recoverable. Just set a realistic goal and achieve it! </p>
<p>The good news is that you will get into a college where you can get a good education and where you can thrive. The not-so-bad news is that it probably will not be Harvard or Stanford. What are your financial resources? Your admission prospects will depend on whether you hope to receive a significant amount of financial aid. If so, then your best chances are probably at your own state colleges, or at less selective schools. Your options are much broader if you have some economic flexibility. I keep repeating that, if you are a rising senior, you will need to build your list of colleges over the applicant you are, not the one you hope to be. If your test scores skyrocket after another seating next fall, and you have a bang-up fall term, then you can adjust the list, but your outlook probably won’t change that radically. I inferred that you live in CA. If that’s correct, then you should qualify for a number of CSUs, and some lower-tier UCs (ie. Merced, Riverside, and possibly UCSC). If you want to venture further afield, and can afford to do so, then other western public universities (e.g. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, et al) would be matches, or even safe schools for you. If you want a smaller school, Whittier is probably a match. Evergreen State is a safety, and Puget Sound or Willamette would probably be high-matches. If you want to look all over the country, begin with “Colleges That Change Lives” for small colleges, or look at lesser-known public colleges with high acceptance rates. </p>
<p>@woogzmama
Thank you so much! I do live in California and my financial resources are kind of unstable at the moment. I’m feuding with my dad over how things “work” in terms of college tuition. It’s pretty awkward and to be honest it seems like he is either unwilling to take on some of the financial burden or he just has no idea that I can’t possibly attend college without his help. </p>