I just joined this website so I’m not completely sure if you’re supposed to make a new thread for new questions or use an old one so sorry in advance.
I messed up pretty badly second semester of my sophomore year-- I got two Ds- one in AP european history and one in Pre-AP chemistry. I made up the AP euro class but not yet the chemistry. I’m planning on taking it next year as a senior, but by then, I’ll already be applying to schools. Will they see that I’m taking the course and I’m receiving an acceptable grade and that I’ll be eligible, or am I automatically disqualified if I don’t retake the course before I apply? Also, how much do these bad grades limit my choices? Since then I’ve gotten straight As my last two semesters because I realized how badly I messed up and how much my future means to me.
As of now I have a 3.35 UW, 3.73 W GPA, a 2150 SAT, and I’m taking the ACT next month. Done volunteering and a few clubs and all of that stuff, but I’m worried that my past grades basically ruin my chances at getting into any college. I know I could never get into the higher UCs such as Berkeley or UCLA, but would I still have a chance at Riverside, Merced, or Santa Cruz? What are some out of state colleges that I have a chance at?
Firstly font put yourself down too much, everyone makes mistakes and admissions officers understand that. If you continue to show an upwards trend in your grade, and you recieve a decent act score, I would say your chances for the middle to lower ranked uc’s are still decent. Couple that with extracurricular a that you are really passionate about and done stellar essays and recommendations and you should have a good chance 
UCR/UCM and UCSC are reasonable based on your GPA and test scores now. You will have to report the D in Pre-AP Chemistry and it will be used in the UC GPA calculation, but can also report that you are retaking the class Senior year on the UC application. An upward grade will be noted. In regards to OOS schools, what can you and your family afford? Private/Public?? Which states?
I would also look at some of the high ranking Cal states such as SLO/Fullerton/Long Beach and San Diego if you want to stay in-state.
My family doesn’t make that much money but to be quite honest some of my immediate family has offered to help out, so any out of state schools would be acceptable as long as they’re not like 40-50k a year. I’ve always wanted to study in DC but now I’ve moved those plans to grad school. I really like the east coast, what are reasonable schools I could look at there?
Okay but wait – when calculating my UC GPA, my bad grades weren’t counted because I got them freshman year, so my capped UC GPA is 4.21. How much does this change things?
You stated you got your bad grades in your Sophomore year in original post. What is correct?
AP euro and pre-AP Chem are sophomore year classes for us. Did you get Ds in sophomore or freshman year?