Really Bad Grades, Everything Else Strong...

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Ok, I am now a rising senior and I have terrible grades- my gpa is about 3 uw, 3.8 w. I have A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s and even worse. I have a 2340 SAT (800 CR, 740M 800W) and strong ecs, leadership, and course rigor. I’m looking at Liberal Arts Schools, preferably on the east coast, in or near large cities and are generous with aid. I can afford a fair amount, but obviously the best situation is me not having a ton of debt to the bank and my parents. My number one choice is Vassar (visited and loved it), but I don’t know how good my chances are there. Are there any schools similar in terms of social environment and aid (that I have a decent chance at)?</p>

2

<p>You may have to look at schools with median SATs quite a bit below yours so they may want you for your SAT scores and be more lenient about grades. Skidmore may be somewhat Vassar-like but with a lower SAT median. Look at the US New 15 - 30 range. Macalaster is in a city and in that range but not east coast. Connecticut College-- maybe Trinity. Maybe Bard. But keep several more selective schools as well, of course (i.e. Vassar and Wesleyan).</p>

3

<p>Are there any extenuating circumstances you would want to tell colleges about (i.e. ones that affected your GPA)?</p>

4

<p>What were your poor grades in? Was there any trend in subject matter or something like that?</p>

5

<p>There are extenuating circumstances for most of the grades- I was sick for my first two years of high school and didn’t really keep up with the work. My junior year I took on way too many classes in order to compensate for my low gpa and grades, and it didn’t really work out the way I had hoped.
Most of the bad grades were in Math and Science classes as well. There is an upward trend in my grades though…</p>

6

<p>A B average isn’t terrible. It’s just not consistent with your SAT scores and makes you a risky candidate for schools that don’t have to take admissions risks (ie where admission is competitive).</p>

<p>As stated above, Vassar is a major reach for you unless you have:

  1. a significant upward trend (most of your Cs and Ds were in your freshman year)
  2. you have some very compelling story, or personal tragedy that explains a really bad semester or two, or
  3. you are both male and a URM with great recommendations and ECs who writes very compelling essays</p>

<p>My suggestion is to get into a good school (there are many that will take a solid B student-see the thread on that topic), and excel academically. If you have a stellar 3 semesters under your belt, apply to transfer to a more academically competitive school. Your high school grades will be much less important at that point.</p>