<p>Would my son be able to apply to any competitive/selective colleges? Due to prolonged depression during his junior year in high school, he was unable to attend normally. Up to his illness, he’s been a shining student-- all honors, all APs, first stand in a regional youth orchestra, leader of multiple clubs, considerable amount of community service (250+ hours right now), wonderful teacher reviews, 2350 on his SAT, etc… right now though, his GPA is a 2.5 because his junior year courses are recorded as F’s. He has recovered fully and is working hard to improve what he can, but I’m afraid he can’t apply to anywhere except community colleges. He does have senior year, but his school is only letting him take standard courses. Getting all A+'s will obviously not bring his GPA to a 4.0
Are Carnegie Mellon, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and such definitely out of his reach?</p>
<p>If you can afford it, try looking at prep schools where he can improve his grades and GPA.</p>
<p>He can spend a year there before applying to college.</p>
<p>The school should have retake procedures for medical illness, including not counting failed courses? I’d check with the school or the school district. GL</p>
<p>I’m quite certain there are schools he can get into even with his current grades…Harvard and the like are probably not a decent option, but if your son suffers any remaining residual depression, I’m not sure that kind of school would be a great fit anyway…The flip side is that his grades likely would put a dent in his financial package at those schools. Most mid sized state schools would likely accept him even if he still had the 2.5 at the end of the year as long as his test scores are good. Many schools compute a number that combines test and GPA scores into a measure they use for admissions.</p>
<p>That said, I’d suggest you also look at some of the smallish private schools out there. Many of them have much more flexibility with things and there are a number of them that offer scholarships solely on test scores.</p>