<p>Hi,
Im going to try to make this easy to understand, since no one seems to understand my issues.
Im currently a Junior in high school in Colorado my weighted gpa is 4.0 and I get A's and B's and an occasional C in one of my harder classes. I started this school freshman year about 3 years ago... idk don't want to do the math right now.. But I moved here I think the summer of 2011 and I started high school here.
THE PROBLEM is that I used to live in Florida, and I was finished my freshman year before we moved at this really hard college prep school. I had I think 8 classes and probably passed like 4 I don't remember. Anyway it was bad, so not knowing we're moving, everyone who goes to this super hard school who failed any class and wanted to return the upcoming year had to make up the credit online. I took the required courses online so I can return to the school but as soon as I finished a couple of online courses my mom says Im moving with my dad to CO. She wanted me to start over (because her friends daughter repeated 8th grade) she thought it would be good if I repeated 9th grade here in CO. I tried and begged my mom to just let me go to 10th since I had the credits but she wouldn't let me. I came here and I was registered as a freshman AGAIN. I took some of the same classes I took my previous freshman year and passed all my classes the second time around and my gpa increased a lot ( florida I think it was a 1.8) and I went up to a 3.2 my second year of freshman year. Apparently when my father signed me up for this new school they didn't look at my old transcript from my old school. They just signed me up as a first time student in HS. I found out my sophomore year (last year) that al those bad grades I got in Florida weren't on my transcript but my mom convinced me that it doesn't matter and to leave it alone. (she doesn't want my past grades to show up). Now as a junior I was selecting my classes for next year and I noticed that I haven't taken geometry ( I have in Florida though) and my counselor wanted to put me in geometry and I don't want to take that class so I told him that I've taken it before at my old school and told him about the online courses I took. He was surprised because all the 3 years he'd known me he didn't know I repeated a grade. He told me to look for the transcript at home(still sealed) and bring it to school next week. My mom is saying no because he will put all the bad grades ive gotten and it'll bring down my gpa but I think I should because i think the colleges i apply to next year should know that i struggled a lot freshman year and I've learned a lot from my struggles and my current grades and extra curriculars can prove that. Im sorry this is such a long story but i couldn't leave anything out, i wanted it to make sense. SO i guess my real question is, "Will colleges look down on me because I had to repeat 9th grade to get myself together?" I have high hopes for myself, so I intend on applying to Cornell, NYU, UF, UofOregon CuBoulder, and UChicago. Do you think its possible that with a good essay I can explain where i went wrong and why, that i can get into some of these colleges? My counselor told me i'd be fine as long as i wasn't planning to go to any ivy leagues or big name schools that its ok. But I have expectations for myself and I've really been beating myself up (not literally) when I even get a C. So I feel that even if i applied to an Ivy league I have a chance. i don't know i just don't want to lose hope and always wonder, "what if i applied to that ivy league college" I want to apply to atleast one. If your wondering what else i do besides school, I've been volunteering at a local library since freshman year, I started my own club called "angels at work" where we find new projects and organizations to help out, Im in national honers society, Im in something called
diversity dialogues where i talk to freshman every month and teach them about the importance of diversity(im also the facilitator for that, and i was elected), Im in Black student alliance, Im in speech and debate and I compete in national tournaments, I play lacrosse ,and Im in robotics.Thats pretty much it. I've tried to a diverse amount of activities, but senior year i will only be actively participating in a few. repeated 9th grade classes and grades:
Term 2 is the same as below but i got a D in bio the second semester and a C+ in intro to lit.
2011-2012 Grade 09 Term 1
Technology Appliccations: A-,Algebra 1: B-,Biology Honors: C-,Geography honors: B, Intro to Lit and Comp honors Grade: B-,Photography Grade:A, Spanish 1 Grade: A
In 10th grade i took one honors class (American Lit honors) and one AP class (AP human) and maintained an A the whole year in regular advanced algebra 2. I maintained All A'S AND B's that year in both semesters.This year we're still in the second semester but I am took 1 AP class and 2 full year honors class and a semester of a honors class. senior year: 4 AP'S.
I would ask someone in person but most kids or teachers don't know that i repeated 9th grade and I feel like people will look at me different. Rigt now im a 18 year old junior.
So I guess what im asking is do i even have a chance at any of my dream schools? Should I give my old school's transcript to my counselor like he asked? They dont have my old grades on my current records.
Thanks</p>
<p>I believe your school has to have your transcript from Florida, or how could your parent have registered you for 9th grade? You can’t register with no past information.</p>
<p>If you play varsity sports, you may have used up your eligibility before your senior year.</p>
<p>I truly hope someone wiser than myself takes the time to read your post and understand your issue. I read and I understood, but I can’t give a clear answer. To me, it sounds like you have a moral dilemma almost deserving of its own thought experiment. However, your goal is to get into a T25 school.</p>
<p>With that goal in mind, you need to understand one thing: T25 schools admissions are extremely selective. A 3.2 GPA damages your academic competitiveness, even after taking into account a URM bump. You’d need stellar standardized tests/rigorous courses to redeem your academic standing. Your EC’s aren’t too compelling, but they’re pretty good. Overall, with your current GPA, your guidance counselor might be right. I would never discourage you from applying, but I want you to understand how competitive admissions are. </p>
<p>Now, the major problem here is the moral question. Do you do the (somewhat obviously) right thing by turning in your FL transcripts and killing your GPA, or do you keep your current GPA (which isn’t too competitive) and not turn in the transcripts? Quite frankly, that’s a decision you’ll have to make on your own. Most people on this forum will advise you to do the right thing, but it’s your call in the end. </p>
<p>In my opinion, you’re in an interesting spot. Strangely, inaction is an option against action. If you don’t turn in your transcripts, you’ve done something wrong (morally), you’ve disobeyed your GC, you’re opening yourself up to quite a few potential problems. If you do turn in your transcripts, you’ve done the right thing (morally), you’ve obeyed your GC and will probably get a glowing letter of rec, but you’re killing your GPA and writing your own rejection letters to T25 schools. Both options aren’t too great. I don’t know what a third option might be, but I recommend you find one. Look into the accreditation of the online school, of the FL prep school, etc. </p>
<p>Best of luck, please keep us updated. </p>
<p>Twoinanddone - I don’t know how I was registered but I do know i still have my transcript at home sealed from my old high school.</p>
<p>Vctory- Thanks for replying, I think I’ll just give my counselor my transcript and try my best to finish my junior year off with a really high gpa and try to continue it through senior year. I’m already dreading the day that I start applying to colleges.</p>
<p>I think you have to do what your counselor asked and let him guide you. Your mom sounds shady and you don’t want to misrepresent yourself on your college applications and be seen as dishonest. That is a kiss of death.</p>
<p>Showing that you can recover from a poor start is to your credit. But students going to ivy and Chicago type colleges don’t usually have any Cs and they will still only have a 10 percent chance or even less. You didn’t mention your SAT scores. You seem to have nice EC’s. Are you AA?</p>
<p>But make sure you build your list from the bottom up, not top down. Identify 2 safety schools that you can afford and are sure to get into where you will be okay with going if nothing else pans out. Now have some fun looking for your ‘match’ schools. Then if you have a couple of reaches fine.</p>
<p>BrownParent - I haven’t taken the ACT/SAT yet… I’m planning on taking the ACT in April, do you suggest taking the SAT too?
if AA stands for African American than yes.
Im also planning on applying to many scholarships. My counselor said since I am a 1st gen and I am a minority there are many scholarships available for me I just have to find them.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, your thread was removed to Chances because you asked chances question. It would have been better to ask Admissions general questions or College Search and Selection questions for where you are in the process, instead of wanting chances on specific schools, which are often too unpredictable.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear your GC is talking to you about this stuff. You will help yourself out a lot if you take time to read the financial aid FAQ and understand how FA works. Some colleges will give you need based aid and merit aid for 4 years. A lot of time outside scholarships are only for one year. You need to be sure you set yourself up for 4 years first, then any one year money is just a bonus. Start here:
<a href=“Financial aid FAQs - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Financial aid FAQs - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>Some people do better on ACT some on SAT. Usually people only take one but it can be a good strategy to try both. Getting a high score will help you a lot. But prepping for both exams can take time and you need to keep your grades high as possible this semester. There are test prep forums here with tips.</p>
<p>You might want to look over the African American subforum under admissions - not as busy as the main forums, but might have some good info to browse</p>