Advice about GPA for a senior :(

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRELY, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.</p>

<p>I am a white male applying to the following schools for BUSINESS OR ECONOMICS related majors.</p>

<p>Cornell<br>
NYU
Syracuse
Emory
Boston U
USC
Carnegie Mellon
UCONN
Indiana
Illinois Urbana Champaign
Penn State</p>

<p>I am really worried because I have great extracurriculars, great essays, and fantastic teacher recs. All of my classes are AP/IB and I am a full diploma candidate so this is the most challenging course i could take in high school. My only downfall is my GPA. I find it hard given my load and my family situation with divorce etc to do my best in my classes. I had straight A’s and some B’s my freshmen and soph years, but my junior year, I had 3 C’s first semester. I converted them into B’s so it saved me. But now this year, things have gotten worse at home and I am struggling in two of my senior year courses. ECONOMICS AP and AP EUROPEAN HISTORY. These are leaving me with 2 C’s and 4 B’s in my first semester. THIS LOOKS LIKE SENIORITIS!!! But it truly isnt. I find it hard to get through the day and I feel given all of my EC commitments i have done surprisingly well. I feel like once colleges get my senior year grades and see that I have 2 C’s again it will be over. I feel so depressed about it, and i couldnt write about it in my essays. I dont want to build my app around complaining about my life. Plus I would like to keep my parents safe, as some of the horrors I have experienced may call for someone to take legal action. Its just I want to major in business, I am very cut out for it, but I have a situation that unfortunately will be unknown to adcoms. I look like a lazy senior, trying to coast. I am actually a perfectionist who just fails at doing so.</p>

<p>PLEASE ANY ADVICE AND LET ME KNOW IF WITH A 3.2 (unweighted) GPA (this is before my horrible senior grades) will get me in anywhere. I feel i have lost hope and I know that I am just as competent in school as a 4.0 kid. ANY CHANCES OR ADVICE.</p>

<p>Thanks and god bless.
Jayden</p>

2

<p>I am so surprised that no one has responded to this yet. I’m so sorry you haven’t gotten responses, and I will do my best to give you some advice. </p>

<p>First off, you sound like you are a wonderful candidate for admissions, and have many great things to offer to the table of many schools. That being said, your highest reaches (Cornell, Penn, NYU, etc.) may be looking for higher GPAs, but you clearly have a lot to offer. </p>

<p>A 3.2 WILL get you into a bunch of nice schools (including several on your list most likely) when coupled with strong ECs, essays, recommendations, etc. </p>

<p>I understand that you want to (rightly) protect your family, and keep your sitaution unknown. However, without knowing your situation, your grades will come across as something very different than they are. Schools may be more willing to accommodate for you if they know the hard family situations you have been going through. </p>

<p>All that being said, I’m sure you can get into some schools that you will enjoy. The “Name Game” people play with colleges these days is largely over-rated, and I assure you that there are some schools our there, whether they are on your initial list or not, who would love to have you as a student. </p>

<p>Don’t give up with anything! You are a strong individual who is clearly a very bright, caring student. These qualities will take you somewhere special, even if that school is not somewhere you initially were interested in. </p>

<p>Best of luck with your situation. Feel free to PM for future advice. =]</p>

3

<p>i would toss Emory up there in that high reach group, they are more selective than NYU. I think if you write a great essay, i truly believe you can get in to some of those, i just don’t think the reaches are likely, the rest are doable for sure. Even a creative essay like, the imperfect perfectionist idk lol. little late now tho</p>

4

<p>thank you so much for the advice, i really do appreciate it, perhaps some of you coudl chance me, and btw it is too late to write aobut this stuff in my essay, the addtl info section on the common app i mentioed how the divorce didnt help, but i didnt focus on it, i dotn want to sound like im pleading</p>

<p>here they are
Stats:
2090 SAT (720,650math,720) Subject tests (Lit-610, APUSH-630)
3.27 Unweighted GPA 4.1 Weighted GPA, Full IB Diploma Candidate(long4year committment)
Full 4 year load of AP/IB Classes. </p>

<p>EC’s:
3 years Basketball (Sophomore team and JV Captain)
2 years ASB (Leadership)- Apppointed PTSA Rep and Elected ASB Secretary Senior Year
1 year NJB Youth Basketball Assistant Coach (the same youth league i played for)
2 years FIES(Local Charity Org) Volunteer and Organized School-Wide Food and Toy Drive
BOYS STATE 2008 Delegate (only one from my high school)
FBLA and JSA Club Member and Conference competitor (Student Debater, etc.)</p>

<p>i think i have done alright given my predicament, any chances??</p>

5

<p>Don’t give up!</p>

<p>From what you said, it seems like you have a lot to deal with, demanding classes coupled with demanding extracurriculars… and with your recommendations and whatnot I think some grades may be simply overlooked… </p>

<p>plus, keep it in perspective, a 3.2 isn’t THAT bad… I would say it is bad if you were taking home ec… but you’re not… you’re taking AP Economics!</p>

<p>I’m applying to some of your schools with a 3.6, and I don’t even HAVE AP Economics! I’m taking 2 AP classes (we only offer 3). And see, you’re applying with all of your demanding AP courses against people like me :P</p>

<p>Anyway, take a deep breath and stay optimistic, you still have a chance at many of your schools! :)</p>

6

<p>Cornell-high reach
NYU-reach
Syracuse-reach
Emory-high reach
Boston U-Probably In
USC-High Reach
Carnegie Mellon-High Reach
UCONN-Probably In
Indiana-In
Illinois Urbana Champaign-Reach
Penn State- Reach for University Park, but probably In to a branch campus.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

7

<p>I can actually relate to your story very well, i also have a unweighted gpa of 3.2 and have family problems… I have taken the most challenging courses at my school taken 10aps and 10 honors courses. although i did say in the additional info in the essay about the situation and also told my counselor so she wrote that in her recommendation. I see why you didn’t though, for your schools it will be tough for them to actually understand you. The best advice i can give you is pray…really, I feel for you , i will keep you in my prayers. pm me…</p>

8

<p>god bless all of you, i appreciate all of your advice. I hope soemthing will work out, its just annoying, because there are some things that you just cant tell adcoms, some things that need to kept private, but that really do affect you. I have an interview with Carnegie Mellon this coming week and i hope to put a good foot forward there. I am hoping that maybe one of my reaches will understand my situation in whatever way they are able to and give me a chance. I know that I could have done better were it not for the unexpected in life.</p>

<p>if there is anyone else, please do respond :)</p>