Did bad my first 2 years

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

Title says it all. I’m finishing up my sophomore year of high-school, and as you might guess, my grades this year and last year were subpar. I had an 83 UW GPA last year, and though I have a month left, my UW GPA for this year is probably going to be in the mid 80s.

I’m definitely intelligent and more than capable of achieving great marks, I just need to unlock my potential. I plan on doing so next year. Can I still be competitive for the following universities if I do well the next 2 years of HS and score well on the ACT?

Howard University, Syracuse University, Penn State, UConn, St. Johns (in Queens,) Rutgers University

I take 2 honors classes at the moment, and will be taking 2 AP classes next year (for the same courses.) I have 4 ECs currently, but plan on doing more.

2

There are kids in my son’s class this year going to Penn State who were what I’d call Average students. If you apply yourself, keep your grades up and good well on the SAT you will have options.

3

The upward trend in grades is looked on favorably. Keep going! You can do it!

4
  1. these universities are in all kinds of states, so most of them are necessarily out of state for you. Which ones? In state and oos criteria are different.
  2. what’s your parents’ budget?

Don’t do ‘more Ec’s’. Their number doesn’t matter - what matters is leadership in a couple, as well as demonstrable impact.

Practice for the psat over the summer.

In addition to your 2 AP’s take 2-3 honors classes if possible and if you can get a B in them. (Nobody 's impressed by a C in an AP class.)

Most of the universities above will be easier to get into if you have

  • 4 years of English, at honors level (AP English language if possible)
  • 4 years of social science and history, including honors and AP.
  • biology, chemistry, physics at any level (honors is better) + one more science (APES is a good one)
  • foreign language through level 3 or 4
  • math through pre-calculus or calculus

ALWAYS ALWAYS do your hw with your phone off, preferably in a specific place - the achoo library, the dining room table… Unless you can work efficiently in your room.

5

  1. I live in New York. So St. Johns and Syracuse are in state for me… I want to go to school out of state, though.

  2. I will be putting myself through school. So I don’t really have a parent budget.

  3. I plan on running for president of one of the clubs I’m apart of. I said “do more” because I wasn’t sure 4 was enough. I do plan on establishing leadership in the ECs i already have.

And thank you for the advice!

6

St John’s and Syracuse are private universities, so unless you apply through HEOP it doesn’t matter whether you’re instate or OOS.
You need to look into SUNY’s, try to find a couple that you like. NY is such a big state, being in Lawrence is different from Ithaca is different from Albany is different from Staten Island is different from New Paltz is different from Corning…

You can’t “put yourself through school”, it’s no longer possible. :frowning:
Loans are limited (5.5K for your first year) and tuition has risen so much that even if you work 15hours/week (maximum per week in college, any higher and your grades start to tank) it’s impossible to pay for tuition, room, and board by yourself - let alone OOS tuition.
However, strictly speaking, the NYS tuition-free system is there for you so if you’re a NYS resident, you’re lucky and will be able to commute to a nearby school for which you’ll get free tuition. In other states, if your parents can’t help you at all, your only choice would be community college.

Are your parents unwilling or unable to help you?

7

I’m aware of the free tuition thing, but I don’t care for any colleges in New York besides the ones mentioned. I don’t even want to go to school in-state. I only plan on applying to St. Johns as a safety. Syracuse is the only NY school I’m genuinely interested in.

My parents are unable to help, so I’ll just see how much I can get from financial aid + outside scholarships and grant money.

8

I realize you don’t want to, but if the choice is between community college near your home and a SUNY, which would you prefer?
If your parents are unable to help, you may not have a choice at all. Nowadays, college choice is constrained, first and foremost, by finances, and this for all families. That’s why the tuition-free initiative is so groundbreaking - with it,
nys students will be able to attend any public university they are able to get into. And I get that you don’t like some colleges, but fortunately NYS has lots of public colleges as well as lots of private colleges, so anyone can find a bunch they like well enough. Go visit if you can, with your parents or friends. SUNY Purchase, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Cortland all have nice campuses. Even if you don’t end up applying it’ll give you some ideas of what you like and what you don’t like.
(As a sophomore, you can’t possibly have visited more than a half dozen campuses, so I assume saying you only like two, out of over one hundred, ought to be a writing flourish.)
It’s up to you to create more choices by taking rigorous classes, improving your grades, and preparing for the sat every day starting now.
Neither Syracuse nor St Johns’ meet need - meaning that unless they really want you they admit students whom they know won’t come because they can’t afford to. So you must make Syracuse want you and that starts now. Get your second semester sophomore grades up.

Rules :

  • Most aid comes from the college itself. Therefore, running the npc is crucial as it’ll tell you how much aid each college is Willing to give you.
    NPC = net price calculator. Google npc+ name of college, for each college.
  • Some oos colleges give no scholarships to oos applicants. Better find out now from running the npc.
    -Outside scholarships tend to be small, although they can help pay for books or miscellaneous little expenses. They do not pay for college.
  • A safety has to be affordable.
  • Run the NPC’s on all colleges.
  • If your parents are unable to help, your budget is $5,800 from a Pell Grant + 5,500 from a loan + savings from your job (start saving if you haven’t started) + whatever the college gave you because you’re such a great applicant. Obviously the part you can affect is making yourself a great applicant and saving money from your job.

For instance, Syracuse is only a possibility if you can reach 1350 on your sat and get 90+ in every subject now on, starting this semester (because you need more than just admission, you need admission with scholarship.)

  • Your current GPA makes you an unlikely applicant to the meet need schools, so that leaves SUNY foe sure, and anything else will come from your bringing those grades up. It means this semester - you'll see how serious you are about going oos for college if you're able to turn off your phone and work in a quiet place, focus, ask for help from teachers, dedicate weekend time to studying.

Obviously if your grades improve you may be able to apply to universities that will be affordable.
Only 85 schools meet need out of 3,700 and they’re all super selective. If you manage to get 95+ in every class AND get a high score (30+/1350+) you may have a shot at a few. Do you have enough will to try and achieve this goal?

For now, SUNY 's offer you what may be your only chance at college. Many students would be glad to have several tuition-free options located in so many different areas.

If you want to go out of state, you have to do everything it takes to get high Bs and low A’s this semester; make an academic plan for your summer, enroll in summer classes or programs (ask your guidance counselor tomorrow).

What classes are you taking right now?
What is a reachable grade for this semester for each?

9

*badly

10

I finished this year with an 87 UW GPA.