GPA StrugglesAnswered
I had a really rough year freshman year (COVID year) and it dropped my GPA down tremendously. Sophomore was a bit rough too but this year has been going fairly well. Is there still a chance I may be able to get into a decent college for it. Or should I just settle with a community college. I know I can do better than it but is it my only option?
(1.5 Freshmen - 1.8 Sophomore - 2.2 Currently)
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3 answers
Your GPA does not totally determine your college admissions chances. So do not look at a 2.2 GPA and think, "Welp, I am not getting into a decent college." Many colleges ask you to write an essay. Depending on the essay, you can write about your struggles and why your GPA is low. Make it motivating, but not pushy. If you do get rejected, don't worry! You can always take a gap year to gain life experience outside of high school, or settle for a community college and apply as a transfer student later on. As a transfer student, admissions will be able to see if you can handle college coursework rather than looking solely on your high school grades and GPA.
Nevertheless, my best advice is do not give up! Pursue your dreams and do your best to make that happen!
I agree that you can still get into a good college. So long as you can get mostly A's going forward and explain the circumstances that led to your GPA drop in the Additional Information section, you will be able to get accepted. Make sure to take the most rigorous classes you can, since a high weighted GPA can partially make up for a low unweighted GPA. A high SAT score, along with good extracurriculars, teacher recommendations, and essays, will all compensate for your GPA as well.
After doing all of that, make sure to build a balanced school list - CollegeVine's school list hub is a handy tool to use. You'll see that there are brand name schools in the Top 100 rankings that have acceptance rates as high as the 80% range. I also recommend applying to your state schools, since in-state applicants have an advantage.
Hope this helps!
You can definitely raise your GPA to a 2.5ish(depends on the class(CP, Honors, AP)) by the end of this year. This would require you to get A's (mid to high A) in almost, if not all of you classes. Another option is to balance out the low GPA with a VERY high SAT/ACT score.
You still have a chance of getting into a good college, but you MUST work extremely hard for it this year, because colleges will look at the full junior year transcripts when you apply, and some even ask for 1st semester senior year transcripts.
Just because you have a low GPA does NOT mean you are limited to a community college. But you must remember that there is no easy way out of this. It takes a lot of dedication to raise a GPA.
As a first step, I would suggest looking at your grades and making sure there are no 0s or missing assignments that weren't turned in of time. Step 2 is to make sure that on future assignments, you don't get late points taken off. Those extra points on minor assignments can help bump up your grades slightly, but you need to go through what you have and see which classes require the most attention and where you need to improve.
Also, make sure you're not lacking in the other areas that colleges look at, such as SAT/ACT scores, extracurriculars ect...
Hope this helps and wish you the best!
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