Grade Drop Junior Year: Effect?

Applying to College
1

<p>I go to a pretty competitive public school in Illinois and my grades have been really solid (all As, mostly honors and AP). This junior year my grades have dropped. I want to know HOW BADLY this will hurt my chances in the colleges and I am interested in. (I have in depth stuff below if necessary). I know my grades are HORRIBLE but I have been getting more Bs junior year than I am used to and because I want to apply to harder colleges I want to know the effect this will have. Thanks! </p>

<p>I am looking at some competitive colleges: Northwestern, Washington University St. Louis, University of Chicago, Yale, University of Michigan. </p>

<p>ACT: 33
SAT: 2100</p>

<p>I have strong extracurriculars (I think): Vice President (2 years) and President (1 year) of Aspiring Medical Professionals, Science Olympiad Regionals and State (senior year=team captain, 5 medals to date), Model United Nations (winner of the Verbal Award), 150+ hours volunteering at the local hospital, Active Volunteer for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (raised over $3300 and med with Representative for JDRF Advocacy), and work part-time summers at a local software company. </p>

<p>Freshman Year GPA: (W) 4.57
All A grades, 4 honors classes, 2 regular classes </p>

<p>Sophomore Year GPA: (W-cumulative) 4.4
All A grades except 3 B+s (one in AP Euro 1st semester, one in H. Chem and H. Alg 2/Trig 2nd sem)
3 Honors classes, 1 AP class, 2 regular classes </p>

<p>Now here is the problem child year :frowning:
Junior Year GPA: (Only first semester=4.3)
(1st semseter, 2nd semester)
Classes: H. Pre Calculus (B, B+), AP English (B,B), AP Chemistry (B,B), H. Physics (B+, don’t know second semester grade yet), Spanish III (A-, A-), Anatomy (A, A)
**I have been getting Bs in my harder classes and I am studying really hard but I am just not doing as well…how big of a change will this make?) </p>

<p>Thanks :D</p>

2

<p>You can still go to a great college. Just probably not an Ivy League college.</p>

3

<p>You will most likely not get into Yale.</p>

4

<p>Yale was a REACH anyway…what are your chances for Northwestern and Wash U? I would really like to go to one to one of those.</p>

5

<p>A grade drop junior year is one of the worst things that can happen to your application.</p>

6

<p>1 or 2 Bs won’t kill you, but 7 will.</p>

7

<p>Yes I know all this. But my B’s are in hard classes which are all honors or AP level and my overall GPA is still well above a 4.2…does that make it less bad? </p>

<p>And overall how does this effect chances for Northwestern/Wash U?</p>

8

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<p>It will significantly hurt your chances everywhere, though you still have a chance at those schools (albeit lessened).</p>

9

<p>I know people with similar stats that got in to Wash U and waitlisted at Northwestern, so you have a decent chance there. It’s not a given, but much better than Yale.</p>