The problem is that I am transferring schools, and therefore, I have no choice but to take honors Latin instead of Italian. Which is why I wanted to study for Italian AP test online.
I’m confused. When are you transferring high schools? How many years of foreign language do you have, and how many will you have? How integral is foreign language to your purported fields of study? Are you trying to get into highly selective schools? What sort of rigor do your courses show?
I can tell you right off that Sports Management is a flag unless it’s IN ADDITION to a rigorous academic regiment. Even there, it adds nothing unless you have something compelling there to discuss
Dropping any course is a flag. Especially a core course, like foreign language. When the course and the subject also disappears from your transcript, it can be a problem.
Understand that AOs have very little time to evaluate your application. Many have the stuff summarized—they often don’t even see your application. Your transcript is evaluated as is, and then other stuff taken into consideration—maybe.
You GC’s LOR is very important. Any of this stuff should be succinctly and favorably reported. Often isn’t.
The direct answer to your title question is YES, it looks bad
When you graduate from high school how many of each of these courses will you have taken?
English courses?
History courses?
math courses?
science lab courses?
Highest level of foreign language taken?
Where are you competitive for admissions? Your GPA is too low for Fordham and Syracuse. In NYS with a 3.1 weighted/2.5 unweighted GPA, maybe Buffalo State or SUNY Plattsburgh are possibilities, but ONLY if you take the minimum number of core classes NYS requires. If you don’t have 3-4 years of Eng, math, history, science, and foreign language I don’t think you’ll be competitive for the SUNYs. You could start at one of our community colleges then transfer to a 4 year SUNY, but I don’t think you’ll be eligible for direct admission.
First you said that you were registered for Italian but wanted to drop it in order to take an honors class that conflicts with it. Then you said that you’re enrolled at a new school that doesn’t offer Italian at all. (in which case, what was even the point of the question?)
Nothing you’re saying is adding up. As implausible as it seems that you could have started 42 threads just to play with us, it’s looking even more implausible that this is real.
I think OP is serious. My understanding is that he just moved to a new school (I think it literally just opened and it’s not a traditional high school). It sounds like he wants to attend a name brand school (such as Syracuse) but understands his GPA is too low. Now he seems to be desperately looking for ways to make his record look better and to make up for the 2.5 unweighted GPA, but he seems to have a lot of misconceptions.
OP, taking AP and dual enrollment courses won’t make adcoms overlook low grades in core subjects.
Adcoms won’t make allowances for scheduling choices. Taking AP and Dual enrollment electives instead of core courses then claiming you didn’t have room for the core won’t make adcoms overlook that you chose not to take the core courses.
Colleges will strip the weight from your 3.1 weighted GPA and use your 2.5 unweighted GPA.
I don’t know how much plainer we can be. If you want a shot at a 4 year college (instead of community college):
- take at least 4 years of English
- take at least 3 years each of math, science, and history
- take up to level 3 in one language (If you have 2 years of Italian, see if your local college offers the next level)
- Do as well as you can in all your classes to pull your GPA up
Taking AP and DE classes when you’re getting C’s and D’s in regular classes is the wrong approach.
Make sure you have an academic safety on your list. Right now, that means a college that accepts students with an unweighted 2.5 GPA and 2 years of each of the core subjects. As your record improves, adjust your safeties list. But make sure you have one or your default safety will be your local community college.
You can’t take Ap Italian after ltalian 2 or even Itamian 3 - AP Italian isn’t an enriched version of Italian 3, it’s a final course that you take after Italian 4. You can try to take Dual Enrollement Italian though, taking College Italian 2 would cover HS Italian 3 and College Italian 3 would be similar to HS Italian 4.
Haven’t you transferred already? When do you graduate?
I am not playing with you
Thanks so much. You explained my problem perfectly. At my new school, I’m taking Latin 1 and that’s why I wanted to take AP Italian online. Lets say I get straight As and Bs with nothing lower than an 80 in all classes, would I still have a shot at Syracuse or Fordham or Holy Cross? Especially with a high ACT and good extracurriculars? This was all I wanted to ask. If I can show colleges I’m capable and asking if a have a chance of admission if I do raise my grades.
I’m transferring next week and am taking Latin. I wanted to take AP Italian online because I wanted to submit an AP score to prove I’m still dedicated to Italian. I’ll also take summer classes to take Latin classes for high school credit to advance my studies. I have 2 AP classes and one honors (Latin). I am trying to get into Holy Cross, Ohio State, Baylor, Fordham, and Purdue.
I asked this question for this same reason. I transferred schools and had to drop Italian. Which is why I am asking if I can take AP Italian online and take the test. All while getting straight As and Bs in every class, including my two APs and honors Latin classes. If combined with high ECs and a high ACT score with improved gpa, would I have a chance at getting into Fordham. Otherwise I am not playing with anybody on this site. I’m just asking for help.
@CollegeFreak9488 , we would have no idea if you would have a shot at those schools without knowing what core courses you have and haven’t taken, and that is what you refuse to tell us. So I don’t think anyone can give you further advice. I know I won’t spend more of my time trying after finishing this message. As everyone has stated multiple times, getting into these schools is not a matter of having taken this class or that class but the sum total.
Also, I would say that most students at these schools may have had a smattering of below-“A” grades, but they have mostly gotten “A”s throughout high school. GPA is almost always seen as more important than test scores because consistent grades over time show dedication and work ethic. Taking core courses and doing well in them (not just in your favorite classes) shows you can stay the course, defer gratification, and shows that you are a grounded and well-rounded scholar with a good grasp of all basic subjects. Plenty of smart kids with high scores flunk out of college because they lack the maturity or character traits to do the work. Test scores can show you have ability to do college-level work, but it’s grades and a balanced, rigorous schedule all four years that show you have the grit to actually do it.
You can find the answers to your question yourself. Google the name of the school you’re interested in and “common data set 2019 section C”. You will find out all kinds of information about the last admitted freshman class, such as the middle-50% GPA range and ACT/SAT range of students. There is also a place where it states which and how many High school core courses and electives the school requires or prefers the student to have had. Also, what factors the school considers most important for admissions. If you are weak in several of these areas (I.e. closer or below the 25% mark or lacking preferred classes) your chances are slim unless, perhaps, you are a recruited athlete, an underrepresented minority student, will be a first-gen college student, your parents/grandparents attended the school (legacy) or they have donated millions to the school. Barring that, your chances are fairly slim unless you are above the 50% mark (some say 75%). I don’t think you realize just how competitive college admissions is for selective schools. It’s not just a matter of wanting to go to these schools and taking a few classes you hope will impress. These schools get more highly qualified applicants who meet all their standards than they can admit.
If you were not able to do as well as you wanted early in high school you can go to a lower-ranked college, work very hard and transfer, or go to a strong graduate program after college if your grades are high in college. Some lower-ranked colleges have extremely good professors who like to nurture the abilities of promising students. Many people have successfully worked their way up that way after a weak start in high school.
Good luck, you really need to follow the sincere advice of the people who have written here (I’d say @MYSO1634 may be one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum…you should pay attention). Unless you give more information on your entire high school schedule I don’t think anyone can further help you.
We need to know all the classes you’ve taken in high school and what grades you earned before we can give you an educated guess.
Freshman Year: I did poorly in Honors English with a 74 and ended up getting kicked out of the class into a CP English class for my sophomore year. I also got a 71 in Algebra and a 68 in chemistry. I got a 91 in Italian and Biology, an 87 in history and health ed, in 88 in intro computer science, a 94 in financial literacy, and an 88 in communications literacy. Communications literacy is a graduation requirement at my school where we pretty much write essays the whole time. Overall, my freshman year GPA was a 3.1 weighted out of a 5.0 scale.
Sophomore Year: Besides the 68 in chemistry, I earned 3 As and 4 Bs. 83 in history, 85 in business, 80 in English, and 88 in Driver’s Ed. My Sophomore GPA weighted on a 5.0 scale was a 3.07. My cumulative GPA from these two years combined is a 3.11.
Junior Year: I am taking Honors Latin with AP CS Principles and AP Environmental Science. I was forced to drop Italian since the new private school I transferred into this year did not offer Italian. I was planning in taking AP Italian online this year and reporting my AP score with the application. I was also gonna take high school Latin courses over the summer to go from Latin 1 Honors to Latin 3 Honors my senior year at this new private school I just started.
I will definitely raise my GPA from a 3.1 to a 3.4 or maybe even a 3.6. After raising my GPA and getting a high ACT score like a 27 to a 32, would I still have a chance of getting into these schools like Fordham? Also, would it look bad on college apps to explain that my school did not offer certain clubs that my old school offered, therefore, which is why I had to join completely new clubs like Model UN or the Foreign Language Club since I am joining new clubs late into high school because my old school did not offer much? Any feedback is deeply appreciated. Thanks!
Major: Latin with Italian. I also have high Italian grades if that helps my chances.
One. More. Time. Your GPA for purposes of college admissions is NOT 3.1. Colleges only care about your UNweighted GPA. You need to put together a realistic list of what your GPA of ~2.5 is, not what you “think” it is and what you “think” you can raise it to. If and when you raise it, then you can adjust your list accordingly. For now, Fordham is not a realistic admit for you.
Thank you for providing a list of some of the courses you’ve taken. It’s a start.
Please fill in your core courses and grades for us. You don’t have to copy and paste entire posts. Just paste the courses, fill in the ones that are missing, and enter the grades.
9th grade:
- English ©
- biology (A)
- history (B)
- algebra ©
- Italian (A)
10th grade:
- English (B)
- chemistry (D)
- history (B)
- math (did you take geometry?)
- Italian (did you take Italian 2?)
11th grade:
- English (are you taking?)
- AP environmental science
- history (are you taking?)
- math (are you taking?)
- Latin
- AP computer science
- DE sports management
Based on your summary, it looks like these are the classes you still need for college’s to consider your application (if @MYOS1634 makes other suggestions, go with whatever those are):
- 2 more years of English
- maybe another Science to replace the chemistry
- 1 to 2 years of history
- 2 to 3 years of math
- 2 years of the same foreign language (up to level 3)
Why do keep ignoring the fact that college’s use unweighted GPAs for admissions?
Do yourself a favor and start calculating the maximum GPA you can get using a 4.0 scale. That’s what most colleges use. If you continue to ignore that vital piece of information you run the very real risk of getting rejected everywhere. That’s fine if you’re okay with a gap year or starting at a community college.
According to Fordham’s website: “The mean GPA for enrolled students is 3.65 on a 4.0 scale.” Since your current GPA on a 4.0 scale is ~2.5, I don’t think you’re competitive for them right now.
Don’t worry about your ECs. If you don’t pass the academic hurdle, they won’t matter.
What state are you in? If you tell us that and your budget we can suggest schools where you might be competitive for admission.
Just another note about grades. An 80 would have been a C- at my D’s HS, not a B. And even though your transcript may show the B, your school’s grading scale will go along to colleges along with class rank or decile.
I think what so many people are trying to say is do the best you can this year and then find schools that match your actual stats. You are wasting way too much time here on CC that you could be devoting to studying, test prep and ECs.
Sounds like from your interest you will need to go to grad school. Knock undergrad out of the park and go to one of these schools for your graduate degree.
I am from NJ.
I think a 3.4-3.6 weighted on a 5.0 scale is a ~2.8 on a 4.0 scale. I think that’s still too low for Fordham. If you’re in NYS you might try Buffalo State or SUNY Plattsburgh.
When you calculate your GPA, make sure you’re only using core courses (English, science, history, math, and foreign language).
OP is in New Jersey.