Worried about getting in to college

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello, I am a high school junior who will soon be looking into applying to colleges. I have done fairly well on test scores and scored in the 2300 on the SAT and scored a 34 on the ACT. I have very good recommendations, numerous APs and phenomenal extracurricular. The thing that worries me, however is my GPA of 2.4.</p>

<p>I realize that this is very low but I was, throughout most of high school, chronically ill, and because of this had a great deal of difficulty with long term absents and with keeping up with my work. My GPA for my junior is going to be about 3.6. Is my GPA going to be a killer for my application despite my illness and the upward trend? I believe myself to be very intelligent, but at this point I am worried whether I will be accepted into any school at all.</p>

<p>How greatly will My GPA hurt my application, considering I inform colleges of my medical circumstances ?
How should I go about informing colleges of my illness?
Would it be wise to take courses at my local community college to bolster my GPA somehow?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any advice, and I apologize if this was posted in the wrong place.</p>

2

<p>Your first priority from now on is working the hardest you can to bring your GPA up. An upward trend is a very important thing in a situation like this.</p>

<p>Also talk to your counselor about it, and ask if he/she could mention it in their counselor recommendations. You should definitely also mention it in your personal statement. Just make sure that you frame it less like you’re using it as an excuse and more like you’ve learned from what has happened to you and are ready to start working hard again. :)</p>

3

<p>Usually a high standardized test score with a low GPA indicates you’re smart, but you haven’t put the effort in throughout high school, which isn’t exactly good. </p>

<p>An upward trend is always considered, but it won’t help much if your GPA is still very low.
In your case it’s different though You should have your guidance counselor or a teacher explain your situation in their recommendation, and the particular circumstances which prevented you from preforming to your ability.
Or you can explain it yourself in a supplement if there is an appropriate one.</p>