<p>Im a junior in high school, and was a late bloomer when it came to realizing the importance of school. My average between freshman and sophomore year was around a 76. However, i have a legitimate excuse as to why my grades were bad. (says the eye doctor i had to see 3 times a week for around 14 months to correct some eye/brain problem caused by lyme disease) </p>
<p>Anyways, its junior year, and i got an 87 average my first semester, and I plan to get a 90+ for the second semester. Also, I go to the 2nd best high school in my state, and my guidance counselor told me that all colleges in the northeast know of how difficult my school is. </p>
<p>My question is, will colleges take into account the medical issues that i had, that really did cause me to get terrible grades? It sucks because i know i am a pretty smart guy, but im really scared i wont get into college. Just last weekend i took a practice ACT and scored a 31 without studying or really even trying very hard. (I left like a whole science section blank because i was tired haha) I now have a tutor to prepare for it, and am sure i can get like a 33-34 on it. </p>
<p>Can i get accepted into college? Will a 33+ ACT score back up the fact that i had a medical issue and therefore kind of off-set my horrendous gpa? Are there any colleges you guys recommend for me to apply to? Im sooo depressed college is really all i think about right now</p>
<p>THANKS A LOT FOR READING, AND THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR REPLYS!</p>
<p>Yes most certainly. Naturally, colleges would prefer a student who did well all 4 years, but if your condition is explained in a rec. you should look good for lower tier-1 and upper tier-2 schools.</p>
<p>Yes, there are plenty of colleges that will accept you. I have similar grades and a similar ACT and am sitting on a full tuition to one college and an acceptance to another good college.</p>
<p>At this point it looks like you will be going into the admissions process with a B average, likely good test scores, and an upward trend. All good news.</p>
<p>Don’t plan on spending too much time explaining why your grades are not good enough. You might want to prepare a guidance counselor to do that for you, and make brief mention of it yourself. I believe your explanation, but many students have good reasons why their grades do not demonstrate their ability. Application space is in short supply. Best to spend more time on showing what kind of a great college community member you will be.</p>
<p>With an ACT score in the projected range that you mentioned, you could get a nice academic scholarship as well to a number of schools which would be thrilled to have you.</p>
<p>You should schedule an appt w/ your guidance counselor so you can get an idea of what lies ahead of you. Having all that information at hand will make you less nervous and you’ll also have concrete things you’ll need to achieve in order to get to college right in front of you.</p>
<p>There are hundreds if not at least 1,000 colleges that would accept you. Most colleges accept the great majority of their applicants. Something like 60% of students in the U.S. get into their first choice colleges. It’s only the relative handful of very highly selective colleges – places like Harvard, Amherst – that reject the great majority of their applicants.</p>
<p>You’d probably be a highly desired applicant by most colleges and probably even could get merit aid at some second tier colleges.</p>
<p>^Lyme Disease can cause substantial neurological problems. My sister had Bell’s-Palsey (meaning half her face was paralyzed) from lyme. The symptoms can range from very severe to very mild.</p>