<p>Hello. My 16 yr old daughter is in the 10th grade at a 3A public high school. Her class size is approximately 280. Last year she was ranked 5th with a GPA 3.8. Her PSAT score was 1490. She takes all preAP classes. This past fall she was very ill and missed three months of school. Her grades have gone down drastically. Her semester grades were 80, 88, 96, and 97. She was unable to take the PSAT due to her illness. She is involved in volleyball, softball, marching band, concert band, and very active in the church youth group doing missions work etc. . . She has recovered 90% and is doing better. Her past six weeks grades were 86, 89, 97, and 99. </p>
<p>She is a great above average softball player. Scholarship potential is there. </p>
<p>How will missing school and having lower grades for one semester affect her college potential? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>I’m confused…in one sentence you said she had a PSAT score of 1490. In another sentence you said she was unable to take the PSAT due to her illness. The PSAT that REALLY matters is the one taken in 11th grade as that one is the determining score for National Merit status. Re: her absence from school…did she receive any homebound tutoring from her school while she was out? In most cases, if there is an extenuating circumstance (like illness) that lowers a student’s grades from what is typical, the guidance counselor can write a letter of explanation to the colleges talking about this. Most schools actually look at only final grades anyway…except for the midyear senior grades. So assuming that she continues to progress, her end of year grades will likely be on par with what she has done in the past, maybe even better.</p>
<p>She took the PSAT in the fall of her freshman year. She did have a “homebound” teacher but all she did was take papers from the hospital to the school. She was a sixth grade english teacher. Not algebra II or Bio II.</p>
<p>“great above average softball player”- that is inconsistent. Is she great or is she above average? Sports scholarships are very hard to obtain- especially at top academic schools, many of which do not offer any athletic scholarships.
Her illness may affect her class rank, which will matter with some schools. Your guidance counselor will need to write an explanation.
There will be many wonderful colleges for your daughter. My son got kicked out of a school sophomore year and now, as a senior (at a different school) is heading for a great college next year.</p>
<p>you really like your daughter… Let her worry about it the grades are her responsibility not yours. Let go now and college will be much easier for her</p>