I’m not very familiar with this site, however, I’m fairly certain that experienced members may be able to offer suggestions/comments.
[Prerequisite Info.]
As the title explains, I’m entering my senior year in the coming weeks and my GPA is less than a 3.0, but a little above a 2.0 (I’m not sure exactly what it is).
[Acknowledgement of generic responses / Question]
Of course, hard work and dedication is warranted but is there any chance that I could still get into a great college?
I’m looking for specific and elaborate answers, i.e. “You should do X, Y, and/or Z to maximize your outcome, but be wary of S…”
[Motivation]
Great College = Hard work with statistically good payoff
I want to reap the benefits of a great education, and I’ll do anything it takes to achieve that… I’ve been reluctant in the past but I’m certain I’ve changed.
[Condensed Version]
I want to get into a great college (Harvard, Yale, University of Chicago, etc.) but my GPA is 2.0<GPA<3.0 and it’s my last year of High School.
Perfect ACT/SAT scores and 5’s on AP test go a long way. You’d be hard pressed to convince an IVY you are worth taking a chance on at this point. Senior year GPA will have little to no impact on college acceptance. You are, IMO, a day late and a dollar short. FYI there are plenty of “great” schools out there that are not HYPS and have an excellant payoff. Try expanding your worldview.
Just to clarify, I understand that other great schools exist, and I wouldn’t be embarrassed to attend them; pardon me for not being elaborate. The examples I gave were very narrow (Harvard and Yale are a stretch), it would be more appropriate to have clearly defined “great college” – which I (personally) would define as yielding, on average, a significant source of income. I appreciate your honesty and frankness. Thank you for your response.
To get into an Ivy League university, you need 4 years of grades close to straight A’s, with many A+'s. Actually four years of straight A’s is not enough to get you into an Ivy League school, it is just the start (sort of like needing four tires to win the Indianapolis 500 auto race).
It is going to take a while to dig yourself out of the hole that you have put yourself into.
I think that you need to take this one day at a time and one week at a time. You need to start taking school seriously. You need to start showing up at all classes early, sitting in the front row, paying attention at all times, showing respect for your teachers, doing ALL homework early and keeping ahead of the reading. At this point you are almost certainly behind in multiple aspects of what you should have learned up to now, so you will need to seek out additional help from teachers after school. Mathematics is an area where what you learn is particularly dependent upon what you have learned in the past. Therefore you probably should first try to catch up on math. You probably should use the rest of the summer to take classes or get tutoring in math to try to catch up on what you did not learn last year and the year before.
There are a LOT of very good universities in the US. You will need to start with ones that are very easy to get into. I don’t know what is available in your area or what you can afford, but you will need to look for universities that have very high acceptance rates. When you go to one of these, or to a community college, continue to work very hard and make a strong effort to catch up. Over time you will catch up and start to pile up A’s.
At some point in the future, you might be able to transfer to a higher ranked university or perhaps go to graduate school at a higher ranked university. I have met people who have been very successful, including getting degrees from very highly ranked universities, after a very bad start to high school. However, it will take you a lot of work and some time to catch up and to get ahead, and you will need dramatically improved study habits.
You’re absolutely right, I wish I realized the future I was “destroying” in the years prior. Don’t get me wrong, I love school, in fact, I’ve never even missed a day of school, ever. My particular situation is a bit different than typical circumstances involving this issue. I’ve taken loads of AP, Honors, and other strenuous classes. I always had a habit of getting in over my head and being unable to deal with it. I’ve since learned to handle my problems more efficiently, and maintain healthy emotional habits. I’ve only struggled with a few classes, namely H. Algebra 2 and AP Calc AB and BC. Those classes destroyed my GPA, despite (now) being well knowledgeable of Calculus and of course Algebra.
I like the attitude you give for my past actions/errors. My parents and I lacked that attitude, unfortunately.
(Not saying my parents didn’t help at all, but they were much less concerned than I wanted them to be, looking back)
Community college seems like a very good idea for catching up.
It’s also encouraging that you know others who have been successful after having a rough time in high school.
“…would define as yielding, on average, a significant source of income.”
You can’t convince a Harvard that your 2.0-3,0 average makes you qualified for their academics or the level of prep other students come with. Nor can you convince them you have the drive to catch up. In forming their class, they don’t need to take that risk.
The best situation would be if you live in a state that offers a Guaranteed Transfer program (sometimes called something else.) Two years at CC, keeping a min GPA and you can move to that sweeter U in your state. Look for it.
If you can turn this around, we’ll be happy for you But the snapshot you now offer isn’t tippy top. And they get to cherry pick.
Would Transfer Admission Guarantees (TAGs) obfuscate my high school GPA? I feel it was implied, but I am not certain.
As I’ve read TAGs only work for certain colleges/universities, I’m wondering if my CC grades would make colleges see my academic career in a different light?
The advice you’ve provided seems very promising, and I’m beginning to have a more positive outlook for my future in education, thank you very much.
One thing you should be aware of: At some point, probably after two years of a full course load at community college, your high school grades won’t matter any more. You will be able to apply as a transfer student based on your community college grades.
Also, if you graduate from a 4 year university and apply to graduate schools, high school grades won’t matter at all.
Well good for you for realizing this ambition, and while ivies are a large strech it is not to late to go to college. I’m not entirely sure on how CC transfer works, I did CC while in high school so they obviously looked at both, but if you already graduated high school, do universities need both HS and CC grades or just CC? Anyway, I think starting at a CC would be a great way to show your more positive outlook on education if your CC grades are better than high school. I know you first spoke about great schools and CC may not be what you want right now, but it may make a great stepping stone.
CC being smaller than a uni can be seen as a benefit since it is usually easier to to use the resources offered to you even though there aren’t as many.
Regardless of which path you choose, just keep your head up and have faith in yourself and your own abilities and keep this positive outlook going forward. Good luck!
The reality is that, at this point in the process, your resume pretty much is what it is. There’s really not a whole lot you can do the August before your senior year that will significantly change the schools you can get into.
There are so many schools that are the perfect fit for the kids that attend them… even if they’re not Ivy league.
Do a college search, in fact do several of them. Come up with a list of schools that have your major that you have a realistic shot of being able to get into.
I teach in a college prep school that has a graduating class of ballpark 500 kids. EVERY one of those kids gets into college, even numbers 499 and 500-- with GPAs lower than yours. And, yes, some opt for community college, thought that’s typically more of a financial choice than one motivated by a lack of options.
Do your research, find options that are workable. One or two reaches are fine, but make sure that you’re comfortable with your safeties. They’re out there, you simply have to find them.
My daughter has an 82 average-- we know we’re not looking at merit aid. Her safeties are two community colleges upstate that have dorms, though her number one choice is a SUNY school that offers a 4 year program.