Hey, my name is Joseph and I guess I will explain my situation.
Im 16 years old and am going to be a senior in this next fall semester. Because of this, college application time
is coming and my time in highschool is running out.
My whole life ive been pressured by my whole family to get into a good college and its practically my one and
only goal right now.
However, i feel like my grades and test scores are lacking.
This last year (junior year) I got all A’s except a B in IB chemistry and a C in IB calculus. Because of the C I decided to take a summer course in calculus and I got a B.
The previous year (sophomore year) i got four B’s and freshman year was meh as well.
I also just checked my SAT Subject test scores and I got a 660 in World history and a 620 in literature :(.
My unweighted GPA is around 3.63 and my weighted is around 4.47.
With all of these meh grades and subpar test scores, im not sure if I can get into colleges I want. I really want to go to Pitzer, since its totally my type and my sister went there. I also wanted to apply to UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, Pomona, Amherst, Northwestern, Middlebury, and Berkeley.
Im really scared that none will accept me, especially Pitzer and that would break my heart.
Also my mom found out I got a B in my calculus retake class and she keeps saying that Im a failure and I would be lucky to go to a community college. Its really making me depressed and I feel like my life would be a failure if I didnt get into one of the colleges i wanted to.
I just really would appreciate some advice, or someone elses opinion on my situation and what I should do.
Thanks.
Surprisingly, your stats appear rather high, despite the C and B letter grades. I do notice that many of the colleges you have added are considered “highly selective”, which means that even the best applicants are rejected often. I would recommend for you to look into colleges that are slightly less selective, but still boast powerful academics. Up in Portland, Reed College is very comparable to Pitzer, both in academics and campus feel. Keep your stats high for senior year, and you may just get into your first choice. Best of luck Joseph!
No one should be made to feel like a failure when they are 16. You are demonstrating good resiliency by going from making a C to working hard and improving your grade to a B. You should have someone to help you celebrate your success! I wonder if you could get a school counselor to intervene and talk to your mother about how she is making you feel.
There are many paths to a good education. Your unweighted GPA is quite high, so I imagine you will get into a UC, but there is nothing wrong with going the community college route and then transferring if that is what happens. Plenty of kids who don’t get into the UC they aimed for choose this path to get a second chance to get there. Your family should be your support system. They should be alleviating your anxiety by being accepting of various possibilities for your college education.
A 3.63 unweighted is a pretty good GPA, and is way ahead of the average US high school student. Your test scores are also well above average.
There are a large number of very good schools that you can get into with your GPA and test scores. Unfortunately your list of “Pitzer, UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, Pomona, Amherst, Northwestern, Middlebury, and Berkeley” is an extremely difficult list of universities to get accepted to. Pitzer, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz are reaches for you, and the rest on this list might be out of reach. However, there are a very large number of other very good universities where you should have a good chance.
I am actually a bit surprised to see Middlebury on your list, since the rest of your list makes it look like you might be from California, and Middlebury is of course a very long way from California (both in distance and in terms of weather), and not at all easy to get to from there. I am actually a bit at a loss to even guess how you would intend to get back and forth from the west coast if you were a student there (eg, if you fly to Boston, you still have a long car ride left which is way too far for a cab). Amherst would also be quite a trip including a two hour cab ride from the Boston airport.
With your grades and test scores, there are several UC’s that you can get into, as well as most (or all?) of the CSUs, a large number of LACs and a large number of other very good universities in the US and also outside the US.
Sorry to hear about your family situation. You don’t say what your act or sat score is. You are far from a failure.
Your list is unrealistic. I cannot see you getting into most of those schools. You are a very good student, not CC material at all, but all of those schools turn away thousands of students with better GPAs. B averages are great, but will not work for Pitzer, Pomona, amherst, mid, NW, UCB, UCLA, USC, ucsb, etc… You know this. Why torture yourself? Get the heartbreak out of the way now, before you waste your money.
Make a new list based on colleges where your grades and test scores put you above the 50th percentile, and ideally into the 75th. You have unrealistic expectations. There are a lot of excellent colleges that would love to have you, especially LACs. Look at Lewis and Clark, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, Goucher, Eckerd, and many other wonderful colleges where you will be a strong student. Look at the CSUs. These are all great schools, even if they aren’t famous. Get a Fiske or Princetonnreview college guide book. If your parents are willingntompay for an LAC, they should be delighted for you to go to any one of these colleges.
Your stats aren’t nearly as bad as you think they are, they are actually well above average. Your list includes many very very…very competitive schools that routinely reject perfect sat and gpa students every single year. I think that if you do well on your sat I and show interest in Pitzer (visits, interviews) then you should have a good shot. You are well above CC level and will have great success in college. But even if you don’t get into Pitzer or the other colleges on the list, it’s not the end of the world. Good Luck!
Joseph, @panqueque101 , so sorry you have been feeling the pressure of trying to succeed and get into a “good” college. It sounds like you might have a Tiger Mom (or parents).
First off, you probably know this, but anyone who threatens that your are going to Community College when you have already taken Calculus as a junior is just pulling your strings. She is probably trying to “shame” you into working harder. I am confident she does not believe that. Especially with a college list like yours. Children, for the most part, who have strong grades in high school and are gifted enough to take Calculus in the 11th grade are not on a path to attend CC. Please remember this every time you feel threatened. (It may get worse — up until you are accepted at college.) At 16, you are young for a senior–especially as a male. (I will come back to this point later.) Just call her bluff to yourself. She is frustrated (btw, being a mom is frustrating sometimes!) and she doesn’t know how to incent you into a great academic performance. We are all human. She absolutely has no intention of enrolling you in CC.
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Your situation with learning calculus is very, very common. Calculus is an entirely different kind of math. Some of us are just not innately wired to intuitively understand it. I remember when I first took it, I was completely overwhelmed. Same for my husband (who used to be on his HS Math Team), and same for my daughter. I don’t think I have ever used Calculus in my professional life, and I have worked in IT for almost 30 years. It does grow on you once the concepts sort of sink in. You were brave to take it over again, and how awesome you improved! Most highly selective colleges expect you to have take Calc in HS. Unless you are majoring in CS or Engineering or Math, you most likely will not need to take advance Calc in college. LET IT GO.
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What are your SAT or ACT test scores? (Feel free to privately message me if you don’t want to post.) That, and your essays, are the next big thing. I would work on studying for those tests and practice writing your essays for whatever time you have left in the summer. The SATs will be paired with your grades, as you know. If your mom will spring for it, get some great tutors or practice online at Khan Academy. It is a matter of knowing the kinds of questions and knowing how to prepare for them. Once you get the overall rubric, you will no doubt excel!
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Please talk to your parents about applying early decision to Pitzer if it is your FAVE. If you apply ED1, you have a much, much, much higher chance of being admitted. According to @spayurpets ’ fabulous post on CC, Pitzer accepted 34.4% of the applicants that applied for ED1/ED2. They accepted about 13% for RD. That increases your chances by 2.5 times. That is a HUGE advantage.
Having a sister who is an alumna is a plus. It is a great school. Your best bet, as @willdephs posted, is to go for an interview on campus, and show you are really interested, then apply ED1.
Pitzer is a very “specific” school. What does it offer that you appreciate and are looking for in a college? What do you have to offer the school? What academic and social pursuits do you have that can enhance your class of 2022? Reflect on these kinds of questions. They will help with your interview and essays.
If you are not accepted, well you gave it your best shot. If you are accepted, you eliminated the need and cost of applying to several other schools. (I think you will still need to apply to the UCs since they have the end of November deadline.)
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Have you considered applying as a Post Graduate to an elite Boarding School? This is where you would attend a high school for a year, and then apply again to college. I mention this for a few reasons. a) You are so YOUNG. If you continue for an extra year of HS, you will still only be 18 when you enter college. From a maturity standpoint, having that extra year would be a very good thing. It can be tough on a younger kid (especially male) if they enter college early. b) You would have a year to really learn lots more --and could focus on classes and subjects that you found deeply interesting. You could really learn a bit more for learning sake, not just for getting a good grade. School is for learning! You will have the chance to improve your writing skills–wherever you are on the writing spectrum. You will end up matriculating to college being better prepared. c) Some schools are quite well regarded, and might improve your chances for admittance versus coming from a public HS in California. d) Elite BS have very strong college counseling staffers. You could get some great advice. Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Choate, Hotchkiss all offer Post Graduate years.
e) You could be away from your family for a year and get the hang of independent living :-).
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Talk to your sister. She surely loves you, knows the strengths and weaknesses of your parents, and can give you some guidance and support.
I am rooting loudly for you!
Please let me know if you have any other questions.