I am in my junior year, and I am really starting to worry about college admissions. If i am trying to do engineering at, for example, Texas A&M, or Purdue, will I be a remotely selective applicant if I have gotten some Cs on my transcript junior year? for a little background info, I took 1 AP freshman year, 3 APs sophomore year, and 6 APs this year (junior). I go to an extremely, extremely competitive school, and my gpa is 4.88 out of 6.0 (weighted). will i be able to get my GPA up for schools such as A&M and Purdue engineering? And what kind of SAT score will I need (my current score is 1480)? I plan to take 6 more APs next year, and join more extracurriculars, since I am only on the debate team this year, will I look like a more well rounded applicant?
Assuming my essays are strong, will i be a competitive applicant for engineering at the colleges similar to the ones mentioned? What will i need to be more competitive, like recommendations and extracurriculars? will i be able to get my gpa up a decent amount if i get good grades 2nd semester junior year? If you need any more information, let me know
You can only depend on academic information such as classes taken, grades, and gpa that already appears on your transcript. You already have a score on the SAT. Anything else that is not on your academic books is speculative.
Perhaps you will earn higher grades, take more rigorous classes, get higher scores on the SAT with a great essay and merit teachers writing superior letters. Perhaps you will not achieve some of your goals. I assume you worked hard already to earn your grades and that you will improve your learning, studying and test taking skills. Your question assumes that there is more wiggle room in your academic profile. Your only real plan is the same as you had freshman year…do as well as you can. Get going.
The acceptance rate for Purdue varies if u are in-state (almost 60%), OOS (around 35%), I believe it is the same with A&M (look into that).
Your SAT score is competitive.
Work on your senior year GPA to maximize your chances (grade improvements are very valued).
Agree SAT is competitive, but you have alot of time to improve it! SAT is the single most important factor in college admissions (in my opinion) because it levels the playing field and brings any hidden grade inflation out into the open.
Take @VegasRoller advice and multiply it by -1. You SATs are above the 75th percentile. What is your unweighted GPA? Spend your time on getting up your grades. Starting to get sees when the classes get more difficult can be a big red flag.
Keeping grades up is a no-brainer. @Riotmaker sees that grades are important, and to strive for the best grades possible in a competitive school. Trust me, when it comes time to apply to colleges, you will want the highest SAT possible. What was your breakdown (English Math)? A high SAT offsets the existing “Cs” and shows colleges that you are doing everything you can to improve. If the C was in a science, take the ACT or take a relevant SAT subject test to offset the grade. Or take the course over again online this summer. And what if you want to expand your school list or be competitive for merit scholarships? Trust me, I have two kids who have been very successful in the college application process.