I bombed, literally BOMBED my Sophmore year of high school, and didn’t do too much better than that my freshman year .Had all C’s and even a D in one class. That being said, I was a B/A student (with only one C+ in physics) all junior year and so far the first part of senior year my grades have been about the same, if not better. Because of those unfortunate circumstances, my average for all of high school is a 74.5, even though my junior year grades and my grades for the first half of senior year have been good. Will colleges keep any of that in mind? Do they know that my GPA is only low because of bad grades during the beggining of high school? I’ve just been rejected from a school with an 80% acceptance rate and I am terrified of not getting in anywhere. My test scores are good but nothing insanely amazing. My top choice school accepts 88% of it’s regular applicants and supposedly 94% of it’s early action (I applied early action btw) applicants. Despite the amount of applicants this school accepts I am terrified of being rejected from every school I applied to because of my low GPA. The lowest acceptance rate I have is a 63%. Is there any hope for me? I’m totally shitting bricks. Please help!
There’s not really much you can do now besides try to improve on your test scores and try to write a stellar admissions essay. It would help if you could work into your essay why your grades were so low and how you learned from the experience. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting into your top school or not; you can still receive a good education at a supposedly “lower” tier school. What you put in is what you get out
Well, 74.5 is a 2.0. Many colleges won’t accept lower than a 2.5, but some will.
Also, an upward trend in grades is supposed to be helpful.
There IS more you can do - you can find some other schools - that your family can afford, and have what you want to study - that admit incoming freshmen with a 2.0 GPA.
What state are you in?
What do you want to study/major in, or are you going in undecided?
What exactly is your test score, because that is very relevant?
I’d say, wherever you are, that you have a better chance at public schools that are not the flagship, or main campus.
You can go to the websites of the colleges you applied to, and search for “common data set” and then you can see the averages and percentiles for incoming freshman class last year, for both grades and test scores. This will give you a good idea if you’re in the running.
I hope you get into your top choice. But if you don’t, it still may not be over. Find some rolling admissions schools that admit 2.0 and apply to those.
If anything else, there is community college - and cc will give you a second chance. Then you can transfer after two years, and who knows, you could end up at a college you wouldn’t be admitted to as an incoming freshman.
Some colleges even give transfer scholarships.
regarding the “write great essays” advice by @timbercreek16 , that won’t apply to you. The suite of possible target colleges will be those that purely accept you based upon your potential to do well and won’t have required essays. Your HS guidance counselor will be the best source of info for you.
An additional bit of advice – the schools that may be available for you will likely have a higher percentage of students who’ve not been very serious as well and will likely have a high dropout rate. You’ve got to pull away from that mentality or you’ll be among the high numbers of them who won’t finish. Best of luck to you on your turnaround plans!
Katherine, tell us a little more about what you’re looking for.
Where do you live, what are you looking to major in?
There are schools with 100% acceptance rates, just look it up. The cc route can work as well. One of my good friends had lower HS grades than you because he had only done his music and didn’t pay any attention to his classes, but he was smart. He aced a year at cc, then transferred to a directional U where he aced as well and then transferred to the state flagship where he got his diploma. You can do something similar if you are motivated.
Where do you live?
What’s your parents’ budget?
What are your test scores?
Your parents’ budget will likely determine where you should apply. There are schools that will accept nearly every applicant, but it depends on payment.
How much will your parents pay?
sorry I didn’t reply to this for awhile, but I live in Massachusetts, my parents budget is pretty high thanks to my grandparents leaving me a large sum of money for college. My total composite score on the SAT the first time I took it was a 1540 but I am not using that score to apply to any colleges since i am taking the SAT again. I’ve been a B/B+ with one C in physics for the past two years. My average for all of last years was anywhere from a 78-82, depending on the term (during my winter semester I was taking a really hard history course so my average dipped down). My school is a very competitive private school that puts a lot of pressure on students. I feel like no matter how well I do I am screwed because of one terrible year of high school dragging down my GPA. I know they say colleges like upward trends, but I feel as if no school will let me in. I’ve worked my ass of to turn things around in terms of my grades but I guess it was all for nothing, and not at all good enough for any school. My top choice school is a very large state school with a high acceptance rate, but at this point i don’t even give a care since apparently I’m totally screwed for college. I’m not the person that I was two years ago as a sophmore, but the way I see it that doesn’t matter and all this “personal growth” that I went through and success I worked so hard to achieve is useless to me. Not going to college at my high school is pretty much unheard off, so I can’t wait to be the first person stupid enough to not receive any acceptances.
Thanks everyone for your advice.
Look into:
any of the UMass schools that are NOT the one in Amherst. For instance, look into UMass-Lowell, Dartmouth, Boston, etc.
Also non-flagship state schools in nearby states.
Go to their websites, search for “Common Data Set” to see where you fall in among other incoming freshmen…
Also go to Admissions page on the websites and see if you can find any info on admission requirements - classes needed, grades needed, etc.
I am more familiar with Midwest schools, but - I’ve found in my own research for my child, that the non-flagship state schools are usually easier to be admitted to.
Hopefully others on this site will be more familiar with some private schools near you, and/or can give you specific public schools to which you’d be admitted.
Good luck to you and keep up the good grades! I think an upward trend may work in your favor.
I think you should consider going to community college for a year. Work really hard to get high grades and then transfer. That is your best shot to go to a better college at this point.
Or, you might consider going to Canada, as I beleive they only consider grades 10-12.
You attend a very competitive private school in Massachusetts. Your GCs are fully equipped to make great suggestions. They are well paid and you should get the most out of the tuition your parents are paying. Good luck
I’m going through a similar experience. Although my GPA isn’t that low, it’s still around a 2.7. Knowing that my GPA is also relatively low, I don’t lose hope. Most of the schools I applied to have an acceptance rate from 40-80%. I write my essay as well as I can, stay in touch with admissions, and try to get as many extracurricular activities as I can. Remember, a lot of schools don’t really look at grades alone, but as well as what kind of a person you are in general. A LOT of schools admit people who REALLY want to go to that campus, who think they would contribute greatly to that campus. If you can show something like that, then i’m sure you’ll be okay.
Consider going to Community college and doing well. That will mitigate your high school GPA.
Two years of CC. Study. Do well Make straight A’s. Transfer.
One of my roommates pulled 4.0 his Jr & Sr year in Mechanical Engineering. Didn’t study in HS, partied and graduated with a 1.5 GPA. Life sucked without an education. He went to the local CC, studied hard, got perfect grades, and transferred in as a JR. His acceptance was probationary on the account he needed to get good grades to stay. He did. He continued studying and graduated SCU with a 4.0.
Get a goal. Stay focused. Work hard. Accept probation if it’s offered. Then, as Nike says, just “Do it.”
Have you considered Canadian unis? They care more about test scores than GPAs, and they don’t count 9th grade. I don’t know what their timeframe is, though.
Listen to me – don’t panic. In a competitive private school, you’re not exposed to reality, and the reality is that millions of people with your stats get into decent colleges. You also have a huge advantage not having to worry about finances.
With those grades and test scores, I wouldn’t expect to get into UMass Amherst, but look into the others – things like ULowell, Bridgewater, Westfield, Framingham. For the local state schools, URI, UNH, UVT and some of the UMaines are very viable – lots of people apply there from out of state and then are surprised by how much it costs, so they don’t go, so they actually can be generous in accepting out of state kids who don’t need financial aid.
Talk to your guidance counselor. He/she will know which local state schools have a good relationship with your school and will appreciate the rigor & quality of your school, and will give you “extra credit” for going there. Use Naviance, if you can.