okay so these are my grades and idk much about college because I don’t really have anyone has who has ever gone to college in my family…so I would be a first generation college student… I’m a girl and I’m hispanic! please help me it would be greatly appreciated…i live in VA and I want to study business and I would say financial wise my parents definitely can’t afford college and have nothing saved up…they only make enough to pay their own bills
FRESHMEN YEAR
English 9 : B
Wrld Hist/Geo: C+
Algebra 1: C
Earth Science: B
French 1: B
Physical Education: B+
Art 1: C+
GPA: 2.743
SOPHMORE YEAR
English 10: B+
Wrld Hist/Geo: B
Geometry: A
Biology: B+
French 2: A
Physical Education 2: B
Video / Media Tech: B
GPA: 3.4
JUNIOR YEAR
English 11: B
US& VA History: A
Twen Century History: A
Algebra 2: C
Chemistry: B+
Pre Ap French 3: A
so my overall gap is a 3.2 and I had a job during junior year…
but like Im debating what to take senior year…
English 12
Advanced Math
APES???
US Gov
Pre Ap French 4
Econ
AP Psych?? (idk if I could handle AP’s)
and if i do the two year community college and then go to a university… how does that whole process work?
Your GPA is a bit low but I can definitely see the upward trend. What is your standardized testing score? EC’s? Being a URM and first gen will help.
Your best bet at an affordable and top academic education would be UVA or William and Mary. Both would be in-state costs and I’m sure that they will give you a decent financial aid package if you are low income.
Both have business schools. UVA McIntire is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the country, but unless you want to go into finance, it probably won’t matter whether you went to UVA or W&M. I would say apply ED to William and Mary given that you visit the school and it is a good fit.
Other schools to look at would be Virginia Tech, George Mason, James Madison, and Old Dominion.
If you go to a CC, you will have to transfer after 2 years. It may help you save money and getting a good CC GPA will decrease the importance of your HS stats. From what I know, both UVA and W&M take a lot of CC transfers.
@Dontskipthemoose I think the OPs gpa and lack of honors and AP are going to make UVA VTech and William and Mary impossible. George Mason is a good idea as is VCU.
^^ Mary Washington is another to look at, as is St Mary’s in Maryland.
@wisteria100 OP is instate and a first gen URM. Standards for in-state residents are lower than oos applicants. While these hooks won’t guarantee an acceptance by any means, applying ED and a great college essay may be enough.
Also, OP hasn’t included ECs but I am assuming she has some. And if she can get at least a 29 ACT, she has a chance.
Both are still reaches, but that’s why I said apply ED to one of them. Applying ED to a reach isn’t a crazy idea… I also listed several more realistic targets.
Schools are more forgiving of low standardized test scores from URMs, than they are of low gpa and rigor. They need to feel comfortable that those they accept can do the work and won’t struggle.
yes, i have EC’s a job and a volunteer job but I haven’t taken my tests yet, I will be taken them in august…I would probably end up doing the community college thing, but I wanna know my options.
so if I do the community college 2 year … can I transfer to any school or just the schools in Virginia?
You can transfer to any school you want given that they accept you. But transferring from a CC to a public university in Virginia would make the most sense admissions wise and financially. But you can definitely apply to any school you want.
Are your EC’s only one job and one volunteer work? Do you participate in any clubs at school?
yes, french club and environmental club!
You can, in theory, transfer to any school that accepts transfers. In practice, the community college system is optimized for transfers within the state system. You can be certain that the courses you take at your CC will be the appropriate prerequisites and give you full credit at Virginia universities. The counseling services at the CC will be set up to help you identify and enroll in Virginia universities and they can help ensure that your financial aid stays on track when you transfer. If you want to transfer to a private or out of state university, you’d probably need handle all of that yourself.
In short, you’re free to go anywhere that will accept you as a transfer but going from a Virginia CC to a Virginia public university will be a lot easier and almost certainly cheaper.
@wisteria100, I think St Mary’s College of Maryland is a hidden gem. But it is a public Maryland university, so unlikely to be affordable for the OP.