<p>If anyone can help me- PLEASE HELP ME! lol! I'm currently a Sophomore, and I've already decided that I'm GOING to Princeton... but there is one teencey problem- I made an 'F' in Algebra II Advanced and a C in Biology Advanced. The others were all A's and B's. Is this going to prevent me from attending Princeton? I mean, I'm not stupid. I'm in my school's gifted program, I was an International Future Problem Solving finalist last year, I was recently accepted to Tennessee Governor's School, and I won the Congress-Bundestag Scholarship. (The C-B scholarship is a REALLY prestigious program where I spend my Junior year in Germany. Paid for by our Congress.)
I'm just worried that those two grades might make it diff to apply to Princeto.
Can anyone provide me with some comfort? Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase?
<Just for the record, my parents got divorced and my grandmother died the same semester I made those grades. Actually, I just made those grades because I got lazy, but should I mention these things on my transcript when I apply to universities?)</p>
<p>= ( Hate to break it to you, but that almost 99% kills your chances...a C alone will not completely throw it out the window, but a C and an F together...</p>
<p>I think you still have great chances. Showing an upward trend from that is really liked. You are obviosly a good student, and you should see what you get on your SAT's. That is most important. I think you'll be fine. My friend failed almost her whole freshman year, but after that, she brang her averge up to something in the 90's, and then got a 1580 on her SAT's (old sats). Dont worry. She is now at Columbia.</p>
<p>Well I just remember an article in my local paper about Middlebury College (about 30 minutes away) where people's applications were being thrown out the window because of a stray C...I mean, still try as hard as you can and if you get all As, you may have a chance, but don't get your hopes up.</p>
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[quote]
I think you still have great chances. Showing an upward trend from that is really liked. You are obviosly a good student, and you should see what you get on your SAT's. That is most important. I think you'll be fine. My friend failed almost her whole freshman year, but after that, she brang her averge up to something in the 90's, and then got a 1580 on her SAT's (old sats). Dont worry. She is now at Columbia.
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No, no, no, no, no. People need to stop spreading false hopes.</p>
<p>Yeah, listen to Arti preach because the man knows what he is talking about. First off, Princeton doesn't look at Freshman grades at all so ALL they consider is your sophmore and junior GPA's. So, if you get a C and an F respectively your sophmore year, then the BEST POSSIBLE GPA you can get on an unweighted scale out of 4 points is a 3.625 considering all your other grades are solid A's, which they clearly aren't since you say that you get a mixture of A's and B's.</p>
<p>The day Princeton accepts a non legacy/recruited athlete/minority/world accomplished musician with a 3.5 UW GPA or less is the day that Switzerland declares war on the United States.:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I'm sorry about being harsh, but college admissions is tough these days, and you have NO CHANCE for admission at any Top 25 college.</p>
<p>My Advice: Get the grades WAY up, do well on your SAT's, develop your EC's, spend a LOT of time on your essays/college applications, attach a nice letter to prospective colleges about why you received poor grades your soph year(ONLY IF YOU HAVE A VALID EXCUSE!!!), get some KILLER recs, and then I guess pray for a nice merit aid package at your local state U.</p>
<p>Good luck in the future.:)</p>
<p>So why the hell did you get an "F", if it was because you were lazy, and a slacker, you do not deserve Princeton. However, I'd understand if you were saving lives, and didn't have time to study...</p>
<p>Ah, gimme a second to bask in the love...</p>
<p>Carton, don't listen to these people. How many are professionals? You wanna go somewhere, apply. That's the best you can do. I spent a while on these forums, and I saw a lot of very, very talented people get ripped to shreds by these animals. Granted, sometimes the odds weren't in their favor. But at good schools, they never are.</p>
<p>Work your ass off, study your ass off for the SATs, and apply. Make sure you apply to some matches and safeties, but don't let these horrid people spoil your dreams. All you can do is try your level best. Schools want you, not your application. Show them you have your **** together. </p>
<p>Oh, and whoever said "pray for a nice merit aid package at your local state U"? Take a step back, and realize that you sound like an ******* of epic proportions.</p>
<p>He posted in the "What are my chances" forum. Do you expect me not to tell him his chances?</p>
<p>I strongly advise you have a backup plan....in the form of applications to some less selective institutions. (aka just about any other university in the world with the exception of maybe 2-4)</p>
<p>That is BS about no chance of admission at Top 25 though....if he does well and has good essays and EC's he has a chance.....maybe not many matches but the chance is there</p>
<p>Arti is the same person that told me that I wouldn't get into Vanderbilt, Emory, William & Mary OOS, and UMiami with a 2040 SAT and a 3.8 uw, so don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he is talking about. Turns out I got into all with money and a full ride at Miami.</p>
<p>To evil asian dictator: What if his state university is UCB or UCLA? Much better school than you're going to. Or wait, what if his state school is W & M or UVA, oh yeah. Still better than your school buddy. So lay off and quit trying to put yourself above people.</p>
<p>Carton, I agree with kevdude. Don't listen to these people. Most have no idea what they are talking about. I don't have any miraculous situations to revert to in which someone got into Princeton with a 1200 or something like that, but all I can say is that things happen for a reason. Realize that most people get rejected from Princeton so it is not the end of the world.</p>
<p>For the class you failed, you should talk to your GC about retaking that class and replacing the F on your transcript. For the class you got a C in, your school might have a policy preventing you from retaking the class. Do put together a reasonable plan for colleges as everyone says on here - reach, match, safety and stop worrying about the past events that can't be changed. Learn from them instead and move forward.</p>
<p>everyhting you said is bs, you cant get those kidn of awards with a C and and F in science and math respectivley. That makes you average, which is not who those awards are for.</p>
<p>Hey, princeton doesnt look at freshman grades? thats awesome. anyways, how did u get an F in Alg 2 in the first place? If you were so smart you would know that smart people keep their grades on check. i understand hard tests/quizzes, bad teacher, really busy w/ ec's blah blah blah. but u have to try hard. maybe it takes a huge imperfection like a C/F to get you where you need to be. So you're not a math/science wiz-you have to be good at something else. make that strength shine through in your applications. ivies want to see confidence in their prospective students, not just perfect grades.</p>
<p>I'm in my school's gifted program, I was an International Future Problem Solving finalist last year, I was recently accepted to Tennessee Governor's School, and I won the Congress-Bundestag Scholarship. (The C-B scholarship is a REALLY prestigious program where I spend my Junior year in Germany. Paid for by our Congress.)</p>
<p>Do you really think that is worth much? Gifted program. No offense, but these gifted programs are not exactly difficult to get into in certain states. All you had to do was pass a simple "IQ" test or something I bet. Besides, many children are in gifted programs. Isn't the Congress-Bundestag Scholarship essentially an exchange program? I saw on the website that there are 250 full scholarships. Not exactly competitive for an unheard of program. Tennessee Governor's School is not exactly top notch either. Even though the website says it is for "gifted and talented" students, the course curriculum is essentially middle school/high school level. Sorry to dash your dreams but Princeton is out of your reach. There was one girl at my school who got straight As with 11 aps, 2400 sat score, captain of the cheerleading team, president of Red Cross Club, president of National Honor Society, california state captain of FBLA, plays piano, etc who failed to make it to Yale. Princeton is equally competitive. Unless you can match her, you have no chance. If you work yourself to death next year get a 2400 straight As in 6 APs, you might have a chance at Cornell or some of the lower Ivies and UC Berkeley or UCLA. I seriously doubt you would consider low schools like University of Miami if you had your goal set at Princeton. Try for some of the less prestigious but still decent schools like UC Berkeley ( I plan on going there since I heard it is easy to graduate in 3 years if you have the willpower).</p>
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I'M IN HIGH SCHOOL so I haven't even applied to colleges yet. He honestly has no chance at the IVIES or ANY of the top 25 colleges with those horrendous grades of his so far and I'm just trying to help him wake up and face reality. No top college is going to give leeway to a kid with a 3.5 UW GPA no matter how good his other credentials are. It's people like you are who are misguidng him to believing that he has a chance to get into Princeton and waste like $60 on an application when he could be focusing on more realistic goals like "mid to low-tier" state schools and community colleges. He can always transfer to a batter college/university if he performs well at the beginning of his undergraduate years.</p>
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Arti is the same person that told me that I wouldn't get into Vanderbilt, Emory, William & Mary OOS, and UMiami with a 2040 SAT and a 3.8 uw, so don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he is talking about. Turns out I got into all with money and a full ride at Miami.
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<p>And do you have a link to that? I doubt I was THAT wrong unless you forgot to mention minority status or something.</p>
<p>If you go to Princeton, you will be hard pressed to find an unhooked student who made a C in his high school career. Let alone an F, a C, and several B's.</p>
<p>Evil asian: I realize that you're in high school, hence the reason why UCB or UCLA would be better.</p>
<p>Guys, this thread is getting nasty, can we curb it a little? Saying that people are lying about their stats isn't a judgement call any of us can make - please remember that this is the internet. </p>
<p>Carton - I agree that you should try to retake Algebra II if possible. I can empathize with you because Math is not my strongest point either, my freshman Geometry grade was a C+ first semester and a B- second, since then my Math grade has hovered at B+/A- and though I try as hard as I can, I can't make it go up any higher. Schools understand that you will have subject areas that are weaker than others. Are you good at English/Humanities/Languages? Get the best grades you possibly can in those subjects - take APs/IB classes. In my opinion, a "C" won't kill you, but the 'F' just might, especially as schools as selective as Princeton. But - you never know. Go to summer school, retake the course - even if your school won't remove the grade, it will show that you tried. </p>
<p>You could also try taking as many courses as possible that you'll be good at this year. I did that in sophmore year to try and cancel out my 3.4 freshman GPA. I took 10 classes that year, and got a 4.0 uw, which balanced soph/freshman grades to a 3.7, and my GPA has since risen to a 3.9 uw - its possible, you just have to try.</p>
<p>It is possible for a regular applicant to get into princeton with one or two B's...but F in sophmore year?</p>