What are my options at this point?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I was a studious student in middle school, and my parents always had high expectations in terms of where they wanted me to attend university. However, once high school started, I had a computer gaming addiction which led to massive procrastination. I was extremely lazy; I consider myself intelligent, but I did not bother to do homework. This led to sub-mediocre test scores and grades. I am now going into senior year and realized how much I screwed up my future. Here are my current stats:

9th grate: attended number one ranked school in America (http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/best-prep-schools-2010-opinions-trinity-school.html)

**GPA: 2.4/b

Algebra II: A-
Biology: C+
History: C-
English: C-
Latin: C
Technology: B
PE: Pass
Public Speaking: Pass

10th grade: moved to a midwestern state, attended a public school

**GPA, unweighted: 3.2/b

Grades by term:

AP World History A A A- B
Pre-Calculus A A- C D-
Chemistry Honors A A- C- C-
Language Arts 10 Honors A A B B
German III A A A C-
Driver Education . . D+ B+
Beginning Piano A A A C
Body Conditioning . . A A
Companion Animal Science A A . .
Counselor Aide A A . .

11th grade:

GPA, unweighted: 2.79

Grades by term:

AP Calculus (AB): B B C+ B
AP Chemistry C+ B+ D A
AP German A A A A
Language Arts 11 Honors A A- D D-
U S History B- B+ B+ C
Intermediate Piano A A- C- F
Body Conditioning A A . .
Health 0.250 . . C+ F

AP Scores:
APWH: 5
AP German: 5
AP Calc AB: 3
AP Chem: 1 (yes, a one)

Extracurriculars:
I feel like I’m not particularly “good” at anything. I’ve tried many things, but either quit them, or was merely mediocre at them. No leadership positions, whatsoever

Swim team: country club league during summer time in middle school, 9th grade HS team, 10th grade HS team (I quit a week in so not sure if I can even list that)

Tennis: played a bit when I was in middle school, then during high school also (non-professionally; I take classes at a tennis center), was on team 10th grade (although I was on the team, I only went to their practice sessions, never actually played any matches)

Skiing: recreationally (I live in a place great for skiing)

Boy scouts: did this during my pre-HS years. Not an eagle scout though

Guitar: played for 2-3 years pre-HS, then quit

Piano: took classes in HS

I also learned: wave surfing, kitesurfing, and sail boating during summers abroad. I’m a novice at all of them though.

Joined a few clubs freshman year but was fairly inactive

ACT/SAT: Unknown, haven’t taken it yet.

My essay writing skills are also most likely subpar. I’ve read some application essays on here, and the vocabulary used far exceeds what I would ever be able to use.

12th grade:

This year. I will be taking the core classes, plus AP Statistics and AP Physics C. There’s a decent chance I’ll drop AP Physics and replace it with Physics Honors because I do not want to repeat the AP Chem disaster (where I outright did not study). At this point I am not sure if I should take “easy” non-AP classes and easily maintain a 4.0 for my senior year, or if I should take AP Physics. I had a B average and a 3 in AP Calc without ever studying. Did homework before class. Maybe this is a good sign because AP Physics is math-centered, while in Chemistry there is, from my understanding, much more theory, which is why I was not able to keep up (towards the end of the semester I had absolutely no idea what the teacher was even talking about because I had fallen so far behind. Unlike AP Calc, not a class I could simply “cruise along” with).

I guess I should mention that my dad went to Wash U (as a graduate student I believe) but I doubt my legacy status would have any impact whatsoever.

I have no idea what I even want to study, other than the usual “want a job that makes money”. The only subject that sounds appealing to me is the Hotel Management school at Cornell. I plan on taking a gap year after high school, so I guess I could get internships and/or hospitality jobs, but there is no way on earth I could get into that school with my current grades.

If I were to just go to a random state school (Arizona State maybe), I would drop AP Physics. I originally took AP classes to help with admissions; I couldn’t care less about the “college credit” aspect.

So what would be my best route at this point? If I worked my butt off would I have any chance at a decent University, maybe Cornell Hotel Management? If I took the next year off and applied a year later? Should I drop AP Physics and attempt to bump my GPA this year?

2

Have you thought about a community college? Cheaper, more trade-focused, and a chance to redeem yourself academically and show that your fooling-around with computer games is over.

3

@jsm2015 I do not want to go to a cc. Period. I’d rather go to a state school.

“more trade-focused”: I want a white collar job, not a trade job.

Can’t I use senior year of high school as proof that I’ve “redeemed myself”? Assuming I’d apply a year later, they would see all of my senior year’s grades.

4

Here are the entrance requirements for ASU:

English - 4 years (composition/literature based)
Math - 4 years (algebra I, geometry, algebra II and one course requiring algebra II as a prerequisite)
Laboratory Science - 3 years total (1 year each from any of the following areas are accepted: biology, chemistry, earth science, integrated sciences and physics)
Social Science - 2 years (including 1 year American history)
Foreign Language - 2 years (same language)
Fine Arts or Career and Technical Education - 1 year

And ONE of:
Top 25% in high school graduating class
3.00 GPA in competency courses (4.00 = “A”)


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ACT 22 (24 nonresidents)* SAT Reasoning 1040 (1110 nonresidents)*

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Check out “Tourism Development & Management (Resort and Accommodations Leadership) - BS” too.

I’d take the ACT and do well.

5

@jsm2015 You think I’d be able to get into Ole Miss or Bama with my current stats? I’ll drop AP Physics and make it my goal to have a high GPA

6

Not sure. Ole Miss is a state school, so they likely have strict criteria. You’ll have to do some research.

7

Your best bet is to go to a CC, do well there and get transferred to a much better university. Now you are entering senior year without a single test score. Where do you think you can get into? It is not even worth to ask for a chance here without a score. It seems you did not even have a plan to go to college at all until now.

8

What state are you from?

9

@iamjack I’m from Utah

10

I feel like University of Utah, Ole Miss, Bama, and other schools like ASU or University of Oklahoma are your best bet
with a good SAT or ACT score and essays (if any of the schools have essay options), i believe you can get into a decent university. and then yeah, if you have a good senior year and a good first year of college, you can redeem yourself enough to try to transfer into a better university.

for now, i’d recommend registering for the september ACT or the october SAT, if you haven’t already. depending on what deadlines your colleges have, you might even be able to take the SAT/ACT a second time before you apply. good luck!

11

So unlike the other, I will not be making optimistic SAT projections. I do not know you personally, so I will not assume that you will get a high sat score or act score (although that is completely up to you and is possible… I am just chancing you on your current stats). I will assume your SAT is around 1500.

  1. I do think you should consider community college. It's a great way to prepare yourself for college and helps you adjust to the responsibilities. Do you mind explaining why you don't want to go to CC? Is it because of the low prestige?
  2. If you absolutely 100% are not considering community college then your options will be tough. My first thought was try the CSU's in California. They have eligibility index's. The CSU's do not look at EC's really, and mostly care about grades and test scores (but most of the CSU's aren't too selective anyway). Your current UW GPA is 2.79 (from what I've calculated). Just to apply to the CSU's you need a 1270 (CR+M) SAT score.... thats 1270/1600... NOT 2400. https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/nonresidents.asp (there is the link to the eligibility indexes). You might wanna search up nonimpacted colleges in google. Nonimpacted colleges mean there aren't too many people applying to that school so it is easier to get into.

Good Luck!

12

@Hiya12345 Hey a fellow Utahn! There are a few state schools you can probably get into with a high enough ACT and a good senior year GPA. Not sure where you live, but Weber State, the U, and Utah State all seem like viable options if you have good recs and essays explaining the drop in grades. As others have also said, ASU could work too if you want to leave the state. Or if you’re fond of Wyoming, the University of Wyoming is an option. Also if you’re Mormon and plan to serve a mission, BYU will look VERY favorably on that (they have a much higher acceptance rate for returned missionaries).

About the AP Physics thing: it depends on the teacher. I’m actually taking AP Physics at a different high school this year (meaning I have to literally drive a mile down the road between 3rd and 4th period) just because the teacher at my school is so bad. AP Physics is a pretty hit-or-miss class, and it largely depends on the teacher. The main thing you should have a solid grasp on for AP Physics C is Calculus AB material. Our first day was this past Wednesday, and our teacher asked us first thing if we all knew how to derive and integrate. Then he said that if we didn’t, we should either learn or drop out. It’s very important. Just my two cents: I think you should take it if you feel you have a decent grasp on Calc AB. If you find that it’s too difficult, you can always form a study group or teach yourself a little extra material.

Schools like the ones in this state won’t necessarily fault you for a drop in grades as long as you can coherently explain what caused them. You had a video game addiction? Talk about how you overcame that, and be honest. It will shine favorably on you if you can explain that you’ve overcome the addiction and you’re ready to work now. And who knows–Cornell could always be a transfer or graduate school option!