Basically throughout my high school career I have gotten pretty terrible grades to say the least. I’m currently about to enter my second semester for my Junior year, and if everything goes pretty well I’ve calculated that ill end with a GPA around 2.0-2.3. I have not yet taken the SAT but scored a 1200 on my PSAT and have been studying rigorously hoping that I can achieve a high score to somewhat make up for my terrible grades. Also as a side note: My Freshman and Sophomore year I went to a different high school than the one I am currently enrolled in now. With that being said, it was a significantly lower funded school, and what came with that was constantly being around a majority of kids who had do desire to do well whatsoever (most of the people who go there came from a much worse background than I probably did) which would most likely explain why. My sophomore year though I did very terrible though because of a situation that happened AT the school in the bathroom. One day I had a gun pulled on me when I walked in the restroom. Because of this situation it left my fearing for my life and induced some serious anxiety at school for me, which caused me to not be able to fully focus on my education at school, and even outside of school I was frightened as well because I was getting threats. With all of this information I want everyone to keep in mind that I come from a background that does not involve any violence like this whatsoever. After that year though I decided to transfer to one of the top public schools in my state. This year I am also taking AP Psychology, AP Computer Science, and AP Language and Composition and also plan on taking the AP tests in May for all three of those. On top of that, I played for the varsity golf team and lacrosse team for my new school, and at my old school I had no EC or AP classes. I also will not need to apply for financial aid for basically every school that I would even think of applying to which is a huge bonus.
With all of that information, can someone please give me some input on what I should expect to hear If I apply to schools such as SDSU, Hawaii Pacific University, USC, Arizona, UH Manoa? (those are just a few examples) I want to hope that with a good SAT score, an extremely strong essay explaining the reason for my transfer, and the EC I have now that I could hopefully get in to some good schools. But I also understand if people say I’m better off going to community college for 2 years and then transferring somewhere else. I’m honestly just totally lost on what I should expect and am looking for any advice.
Thanks guys
First of all, so sorry to read about your trauma. That had to be horrifying. You survived it and are trying to improve your academic circumstances and record. Congratulations for that. I don’t know what your chances are for those specific schools, but I am quite certain that there are some schools out there that will accept you. Start with your budget in mind then look at the information on the school websites that describe admitted student profiles. You may want to look at the instate options first. Community college could still be a back up plan.
My sincere sympathies-- for you and for all the kids still in situations like the ones you describe.
There are plenty of schools that will accept you with your scores-- certainly including, but not limited to community colleges. Be careful not to get caught up on what others perceive to be “good” schools. In reality, any school can be “good” if it’s the right fit for you.
I could reel off a list of schools, but I’m from NY-- the schools I know are all east coast.
Or, better yet, make an appointment with your guidance counselor. Skip the part about why your grades are what they are; he or she is likely to be familiar with your background. Get to the gist of the matter-- you’re looking for “Match” schools, and let him/her know what you’re looking for in terms of finances and major.
Assuming that you earn an SAT score above 1200 ( 1240, for example), I think that you have might be accepted by Arizona, ASU, Hawaii Pacific, & University of Hawaii–Manoa. SDSU is too close to call, in my opinion.
Arizona & ASU do not require standardized test scores, if I recall correctly, but they are necessary in your situation in order to counter a low GPA.
University of Oregon & University of Colorado are worth investigating as well.
Average CSU capped weighted GPA: 3.93
Average SAT score: 1264
Average ACT score: 27
Your best option for any college is one that accepts essays to explain the terrible situation in which you were involved in at school such as the private schools. The Cal States admit based on your stats (CSU GPA and test scores) so there is no where to address your situation.
Also depending upon your home state, look into your community college with a transfer to a 4 year university. This is a great pathway to a better school of choice in the end.
Best of luck and there are many schools out there for you so do some research and find schools that will accept your Mid-year Senior grades, offer LOR’s and essays for admission and keep working hard.
Could you possibly list some east coast schools that I could look in to? Im honestly open to everything right now, just trying to find something that would work for me. Do you think I would have any possibility at getting in to any west coast school such as Arizona?
Making recommendations without SAT scores, will be difficult. Since you are a CA resident, I would suggest you take a look at the Cal States non-impacted campuses which accept CA residents with a minimum GPA 2.0 and a 1350 SAT score or and Eligibility index of 2950. CSU’s such as Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills, San Francisco State, Channel Islands, Stanislaus would be good targets. Also your local CSU would give you priority unless it is SDSU or Cal Poly SLO.
Thank you for all the information! Unfortunately im actually a WA stste resident, so im guessing only the private schools you listed would be worth looking in to in the future?
As an OOS applicant, the California public schools will be full pay so for the Cal states around $40K/year with no financial aid.
You should first look at your in-state options first. Every school should have a net price calculator on their website to help determine if they affordable and you can check the common dataset for each college of interest for average GPA and test scores of enrolled students to help gauge your chances.
It is vitally important to get good grades from here on out. You have a rationale why your first two years of high school are poor. Do realize that many colleges believe that GPA is the best indicator of future performance. Good grades from here on out will show that you are capable and will, somewhat, override your poor years.
Thanks again for more information, luckily I was blessed to have a pretty decent size college budget <40-45k a year.
Im assuming this improves my chances slightly at being accepted in to some of the California public schools?
Why exactly is Kansas State and University of Kansas likely to accept me? Do they have a history of accepting students with poor gpa but showed improvement?
also look at U of Maine at Orono. It’s got 90+% acceptance rate AND it has tuition-matching program, so you’d pay about what you’d pay for your in-state college. It’s a pretty school in a beautiful state.
Other schools with really solid academics that take below 3.0 averages with decent FA include–
Wheaton in Massachusetts (14% below 3.0 average)
U of Maine at Orono (23% below 3.0 average)
Beloit (cheap school and 25% below 3.0 average -- also a fun school)
My son is at Kansas State. They like to accept students. Their philosophy is that everyone deserves a chance to obtain a higher education. That saying the school is not a walk in the park. You would be full pay OOS. Even though they accept everyone they don’t make their classes any easier. They are a very solid school. My son chose there over higher ranked schools (but he is animal science and they are excellent in that field and all the pre-vet, pre-med common majors). They have caring excellent faculty and happy students! My son is a sophomore from OOS and loves it! He is president of his fraternity and has a 4.0 at this time. Look into it. Contact an admissions officer. They will talk to you and give you an honest opinion of whether you could get in.