rappoltpierre

mmm.... dude by 0 effort, i mean 0 effort. I'm not one of those people like "OMG IM TOTALLY FAILING, DROPPING OUT OMG" with 1 F or "I TOTALLY DON'T DO ANY HW I AM SUCH A REBEL." and end up with a 3.0. I really do not do anything, and I'm an ass to teachers so they grade me a lot harder than they would others.

juststoppingby

If you make a mistake (like the PR thing) after you post, all you have to do is hit Edit at the bottom of your post. You go right back in and fix your error. You can delete the entire post if you want to.
You only have so long to edit your post, however, like 4 minutes or something. (I have no idea how long, can't recall)

My kid has a much higher GPA than yours, is also gifted, and comparable SATs without studying too, but no ECs worth speaking of, and now it's face-the-music time for him, too. EC's apparently matter a lot.

With respect to how your GPA follows you around: My older kid got into the state u. years ago, and graduated with a 2.7 although gifted like you, and this GPA has kept her out of grad school. She did lots of things in college, was involved with student government, had awesome recommendations, but that GPA is king. That's the unfortunate take-home lesson: when you finally do get into college, study.
I know, this sounds like platitudes. Sorry. We finally learned from older sib's experience of the importance of the GPA, and now are being hit with the importance of ECs in college admissions.

compmom

Many people like you end up being hugely successful in life, so don't be discouraged.

Do not focus on SAT scores. That is just a symptom of your trying to get something for nothing, so to speak, and it seems like you would prefer to sort of game the system than do some work. I am also a bright person who hated school, so no offense is meant.

You mentioned ADD, and then belittled it. Is this really one of the things that has held you back, because you should learn about ADD, and maybe give your self a break, get some help.

I would think that, if you don't want to work academically right now, you maybe work for a bit. Or do a "gap year" activity that would turn you on (if you can afford it)

My brother was a problem in high school, flunked out of college, bartended for awhile, had a drug habit, didn't care about anything. He decided at one point, around age 24, to change. He volunteered at a tv station, just drudge work, went back to school for communications. Did an internship for a very local radio station, calling in high school football game results from a phone booth. You know what? He is now an executive vice-president at a major network.

You have conducted yourself in a non-traditional way in high school. You need to fix the situation creatively, with humility and hard work- but that may only work when you deal with whatever issues you are having, whether ADD or others- and maybe also only when you find a passion to follow.

Few people realize that the highest drop-out rate is among gifted students. If you are as bright as it seems, you may need a different path, but it can work out in the end. Good luck.

Knights09

Go to community college and transfer after two years.

VeryHappy

Good advice from compmom.

Why do you think any college would want you when they have their choice of many other students with much better GPAs? You have to consider making yourself attractive to the schools. Otherwise, they have absolutely no reason to accept you.

I also think you need to mature somewhat. School teaches you things. It's time to take advantage of that.

rappoltpierre

excellent advice compmom. you are well-educated on everything about this whole god-forsaken process.

Narcissa

haha wow. you're smart

arachnophobia12

It'll be tough for you in a college environment if that is your attitude towards schooling. That being said, I would follow the advice that some of the others have given you (CC, "lower-tier" UCs, etc.), and try to improve my academic standing from there. Good luck!

Caleno

Why do you want to go to college now if you put in zero effort in high school? Imagine that a college with challenging courses decides to accept you on the premise that your scores show you are bright and that you will flourish in college. Are you going to be happy there if you don't want to work at its wonderfully challenging courses and are uninterested in academically focused fellow students? I agree with the posters above that suggest you need to spend some time refocusing before college will be worthwhile for you.

Narcissa

haha i thought UC merced & riverside accepts anyone. I don't believe someone with a 2.3 gpa can't get in anywhere. That's like a C- average

AdamM412

I graduated high school with a lower SAT and a lower GPA, and I got into a local college... I now attend princeton as the only transfer in the past how-ever-many years.

oh, wait, I still go to CC.

TourGuide446

You can probably get in most colleges in the country with your current qualifications (though none of the really best ones). Do some research and pick 5 or 6 you like quite a bit but which accept over about 70% of applicants. You'll get into several of these most likely. Then go to one of them, do well there, and if you like it, stay there; if you don't like it and have good grades to go with the good SATs, then you could get in a lot of betterplaces.

MLEVINE07

I was just like you. I never studied. I never did homework. I was mean to teachers (made a couple cry). I started fights. I disrupted class. I spent time in detention, often. Most of my friends got kicked out.

I still pulled a 3.1 going into my senior year, before I got my **** together. I got a 30 on the ACT even though I didn't study or try, and didn't even bother reading the graphs on the science section.

A 2.3 tells me that you not only didn't do work, but probably did bad on purpose. It's not hard to fill in the right answers. With your GPA, you are pretty much screwed because you not only didn't try, but it made it a point to do bad.

silverchris9

You can certainly transfer to a great school after one or two years at another school. But you're going to have to work your butt off. Best of luck!

Anyway, if you don't want to go to your local community college for your first 1-2 years, look into schools with numbers-based admissions. I believe University of Oklahoma has an automatic admissions thing for a certain SAT score, which you very likely meet. Look into schools like that.

rappoltpierre

I heard there is some way i can apply to Cal by admission through test scores alone. Has anyone heard of this? Please tell me about it.

If the courses were more challenging and interesting I would try.

lol (to the ACT not reading the graphs thing) I did the same thing on the PSAT for the reading comp.