<p>My junior year is coming to an end, and I recently received my SAT score. I've done absolutely terrible in High School, almost failing out freshman year. Sophomore year did fair better, but not much. This year, my junior year, I only took one AP class, and judging by my current grades, I'll get an A in it. All my other classes I have As, but they are all regular classes. I'm in the bottom 50 percentile in my class. Judging strictly by my grades, and my SAT score, which was a perfect score (2400), which colleges should I consider applying to? Do I have any chance to get into a decent college?</p>
<p>It is my first post, and I did only join to ask questions, and I apologize for that.</p>
<p>I'm not trolling though.</p>
<p>Maybe more information is needed about who I am? I've moved twice in my High School career, I live in Texas, am a Canadian born male with a Canadian citizenship. My father passed away during my sophomore year, which my brother (a Caltech grad student) said will help my chances for acceptance to a decent college. I have picked up initiative this year, fairing all As, but as I mentioned in my first post, I have only one AP class. I realize I have little to no choice in which colleges to attend and will probably have to accept wherever I can get into, so I'm virtually open to anything, with just one preference of a generally intellectual atmosphere. Money is not a problem.</p>
<p>Maybe Sync wasn't thinking four year down the road during his freshman year and obviously had some distractions during sophmore year and is now looking to the future. Sync, obviously you are bright so pick up the grades, maybe take a summer class at a community college and do well, show an upward trend and it will look better for you. Be honest in your essays and explain your thoughts on why the lower GPA. Al is right, a great SAT could work against you if it appears that you didn't care about school, do some EC's as well if you aren't already. Good luck.</p>
<p>It would help if you could provide a little more information.</p>
<p>What are your interests? What do you want to study? What kinds of schools attract you? Large, small, city, suburb? LAC? State U? Do you want to stay in Texas? Is there another part of the country/world you are interested in?</p>
<p>I think you will have choices. A 2400 SAT will be noticed. </p>
<p>I think the suggestion to take a community college this summer is a good one. And obviously take the hardest program you can your senior year and do well.</p>
<p>Alchemy, where the heck did you get that from? You think Duke is going to let in a kid who almost failed out of hs but is accepted to a top tier uni just because he got a 2400? Please.</p>
<p>I made a promise to myself never to post in these "chances" threads when I signed up here, but if this is in all honesty a true story, I think people are being way too harsh.</p>
<p>What exactly is your GPA? My friend with a 3.2 GPA and 2250 SAT scores got into quite a few fairly good schools with MASSIVE scholarships, including the College of Wooster and Drew (and also Bryn Mawr sans scholarship). Many small schools will see a kid like you with great SAT scores and an upward trend in GPA as a diamond in the rough. That said, be sure to apply to some schools where your GPA is about or above the avg. </p>
<p>I agree about looking first at your state unis, especially regional ones. But there's no reason why you can't apply to some places out of state - there are plenty of colleges that would want you. Not Duke or Yale, no :P.</p>
<p>I mean you are doing better. But almost failing out during Freshman year and doing marginally better, (D's? C's?) Soph year and beasting your junior year still wont make up for the freshman year. Yea you are doing loads better and are improving but almost failing freshman year is pretty...bad.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, if you have great ECs and community service, Im sure a good college will pick you just based on the 2400.</p>
<p>This is of interest to me. I am in your situation as well.</p>
<p>I would suggest registering for AP tests on which you know you'll score well if you can -- I would have done this, but my school wouldn't let me since apparently my refusal to make spinning mobiles indicates that I won't do well on exams for non-AP courses that I take.</p>
<p>Also, do well on the ACT and SAT II's.</p>
<p>Alchemy, do you have a source for the Duke statistic? You've gotten my hopes up. :)</p>
<p>Some people requested more info, I will try to provide as much as I am able to:</p>
<p>If I was in a situation where I could choose, I would want an out of state school, possibly on the east or west coast (California and New York for example).</p>
<p>For what I'd like to study, that is difficult. I have an interest in technical/mathematical studies, and I also have an interest in history and literature. I realize this is incredibly vague and spans across a broad spectrum, but I really do not have much of an idea, and this is all I can come up up with at this time.</p>
<p>I didn't expect the schools which have been mentioned (Duke, Yale????) to even be possibilities. And from the knowledge I have about colleges such as these, I still don't believe them to be possibilities.</p>
<p>I don't know my current GPA right off the top of my head, but I am sure it is well below a 3.2, as mentioned in someone's post.</p>
<p>Again, I realize I am not in a very good situation, and I am completely open to anything, I am not stubborn at all with the preferences I have stated.</p>
<p>Juniata college in Pennsylvania has a good science department as well as a broad offering in humanities. From that list, you might check out Clark in Worcester, MA, or Evergreen in Washington State. </p>
<p>Tulane also came to mind as they are rebuilding. </p>
<p>If by technical you mean engineering, here's some schools to review: Michigan Tech, Colorado State, Santa Clara University. SUNY at Stonybrook.</p>
<p>You could also go to a community college, do very well and transfer. This is a route many successful students have taken.</p>
<p>You will have choices. As many said you will need to explain your freshman and sophomore grades - and what you've learned from them - but with all A's your junior year and those SAT scores, there will be schools who can see your potential. </p>
<p>You've made a lot of progress. You should not think your future is set by a couple of bad years. It's what you learn from them that counts.</p>
<p>I agree that, assuming you continue to challenge yourself and do well, you do have a story that many colleges will be interested in. However, if you are in a school that ranks and if you are in the bottom 50%, many good schools will not take you because they will not be willing to take a student ranked that low (if you look, many of the top schools list statistics that show that 100% of their students are in the top 50%). </p>
<p>If I were you, I would generally be looking at LACS that would view you as an individual and would recognize that you're not just a lazy smart kid. Notready4purple has some great suggestions of Clark, Evergreen and Juniata. I would also look at Drew, Goucher, Hendrix, Manhattanville (near NYC), Rhodes, possibly Pitzer, maybe Oxford College at Emory University, University of Denver, University of Redlands or Ursinus. You should apply as early as possible to one or two rolling admissions schools, to see how you fare--for example, if you apply to Indiana University and Evergreen State early and get in you will know you're going to college and you can then limit your search to schools you prefer over those two.</p>
<p>Good luck. It definitely sounds like you have changed things around academically.</p>
<p>Of course you don't need to go to community college next year; you can start a nice four year career at a college that might be perfect for you.</p>
<p>I believe that it would help if you took a college course or two this summer and did well in them so the colleges would know you are capable of buckling down and working on a college level course. </p>
<p>I agree that many of the colleges in "Colleges that Change Lives" (the book or the web site) would be happy to have you and that you would have a good educational experience at any of them. I know there are other colleges like this, too, but that book does a nice job of listing some pretty great but not too well known and not too selective colleges. I suggest that you read the "Colleges That Change Lives" book - it will help you gain an appreciation for some characteristics that make colleges that aren't famous great places to go to school, and may help you in your college search.</p>
<p>Don't forget schools that don't look at freshman grades, like University of Michigan. The other viable option is a smaller school looking to boost its reputation. I would think Case Western would be worth a look. Sorry, I know that neither one is on the west coast!</p>
<p>How would you fare if you applied to Canadian schools? Are their requirements too rigid?</p>