Will I Ever Amount To Anything???

Applying to College
1

<p>^^ I ask myself that question every single say.</p>

<p>Ok, so here's the deal ..</p>

<p>Freshman year: 1.0 GPA (my dad died 2 days before school started)
Sophmore Year: 2.0 GPA (my mom remarried this year and I was depressed)
Jr. Year: 4.25 GPA
Senior year: 4.5 GPA</p>

<p>Those four years round up to a 3.0 GPA.
But here's the catch: When colleges are making the decision on wrether to Accept or Reject you ..they only get to see your Freshman through Jr. year grades because you send your stuff in at the BEGINNING of Senior year.</p>

<p>MY FRESHMAN THROUGH JR. YEAR GRADES ONLY AVERAGE UP TO A 2.5 GPA. ..I NEED for them to see my senior year for even the SLIGHTEST chance of acceptance. What do I do???</p>

<p>Howard University is my DREAM college.</p>

<p>Here are my EC's:</p>

<p>Mock Trial - 3 years - Outstanding Attorney Award
Debate Team - 1 year
NAACP Youth Council - 4 years - Treasurer
DECA - 2 years
Show Choir - 2 years
Cross Country - 2 years - JV
Track - 2 years - JV
National Honor Society - 1 year (senior year)
American Cancer Society - 3 years - Treasurer
Environmental Club - 3 years - Vice President
Character Counts - 3 years
Key Club - 3 years
Black Teen Summit - 4 years
Literary Magazine Editing Board - 3 years
Study Buddies - 3 years
High Fashion Modeling - 4 years+</p>

<p>Volunteered at all local Special Olypmic events
Volunteered at all local Senior Olympic Events
Volunteered at Blank Park Zoo over the summer
Volunteered at Iowa State Fair
Volunteered at Juneteenth
Summer job at Hy-Vee</p>

<p>Participated in 12.6 mile long bike marathon
Participated in 6 mile long road race.
Participated in 4 mile long running marathon.
..SEVERAL marathons (over 15), too many to type.</p>

<p>ACT: 34</p>

<p>I'm a female Ethiopian-American. Neither of my Parents went to college, nor did any of my brothers and sisters. I want to go to Howard University really bad.</p>

<p>I'm scared, and ****ed. Please tell me what to do... I want the flat out TRUTH. Please don't sugarcoat things for me by saying things like "anything is possible" or "you'll never know if you don't try". Just tell me: Do I have a chance, or not?</p>

<p>Because I'm really not in the mood, this is my future. </p>

<p>Oh! ..And please don't give me an answer like "I think so" ...WHY do you think so?</p>

<p>Thanks,
SomeGirl</p>

2

<p>Colleges will see your first semester senior grades (usually due dates for applications are around January 15). I think you have good chances, especially with the upward trend in GPA and being a first-generation student with excellent scores and ECs. If you want, you could write a letter of explanation for your GPA.</p>

3

<p>Your ACT score is great. I think the 75 percentile at Howard is like a 28. Also like 25% or so of the admitted class last year had GPA's between 2.5 and 2.99. So I think you'll be just fine.</p>

4

<p>Many studies have shown that grad school matters way more than where you go undergrad in terms of success later in life.</p>

<p>You'll be fine.</p>

5

<p>I'm assuming that you're a junior. If you're a junior, then how do you know that you will have a 4.5 GPA in Senior year?</p>

<p>Also, you said that colleges only see your freshmen through junior year grades. When making their decisions, colleges do see first semester grades for senior year. </p>

<p>Yes, you do have a chance of getting in, because there are reasons why the grades aren't what you'd want them to be. The colleges will see that you're a bright student, and that your grades aren't low because you weren't a hard worker or because you didn't care about academics. Make sure you mention the real reasons in your application.</p>

<p>The thing is, you're not going to be guaranteed into any college. You're not guaranteed to get into Howard, so it would be a wise choice to find more colleges that you'd like to go to, that are easier to get into. </p>

<p>Also, if Howard actually is your dream school, then wouldn't you apply there even if your chances weren't good? I'm assuming that the answer is yes, so then why bother asking how good your chances are? I'm not an admissions officer. I don't think that many people on this site are.</p>

6

<p>I think anything is possible with your high test scores as long as you explain what happened your frosh and soph year to cause such poor grades and what brought about the turn around your junior year. Whatever it is, it will most likely make for a compelling essay. Good luck.</p>