Im freaking out, please help

[metalhead1023]

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Ok so I don't know what to do. Let me first say Im just beggining my junior year of high school. I have a 1.75 GPA. But, I scored 34 on my ACT.

I'm ready to do what ever it take to get into a college I want. But, the colleges I want are Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Is it likely that I can get into them?

I'm not talking yeah if I'm really lucky I'll get chosen, I mean do I have a good chance at all?

 

[Caesar]

Ok so I don't know what to do. Let me first say Im just beggining my junior year of high school. I have a 1.75 GPA. But, I scored 34 on my ACT.

I'm ready to do what ever it take to get into a college I want. But, the colleges I want are Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Is it likely that I can get into them?

I'm not talking yeah if I'm really lucky I'll get chosen, I mean do I have a good chance at all?

I don't really know. starting with a 1.75 gpa, I assume on the 4.0 scale is not going to help. You would have to make a huge improvement (4.0) and have a killer reason that you kill in your explanation of. Ivy is overrated though, state schools are where it's at for undergrad.

 

[wahoo2009]

Let me preface this by saying I'm not a college admissions expert.

I think with a 1.75 GPA you chances of getting into a top university is very slim ( I might even say non-existent.) You may be impressed with your own standardized test scores - but I guarantee good scores are a dime a dozen to those schools. In addition, I am sure many people applying to those top schools have good scores AND good grades. Unless your father is the dean of the school, or you are the son/daughter of a famous politician - I wouldn't get your hopes up. But if you have money to burn, apply to your dream schools - just apply to a lot of other places to hedge your bets.

That being said what you should do seems obvious. Work your butt off and get straight A's this year (and next for that matter). Learn how to study, get a tutor and get it done. Don't be embarrassed to ask for help from teachers, counselors, or other students - use the resources available to you. Good luck!

 

[Terpskins99]

Ok so I don't know what to do. Let me first say Im just beggining my junior year of high school. I have a 1.75 GPA. But, I scored 34 on my ACT.

I'm ready to do what ever it take to get into a college I want. But, the colleges I want are Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Is it likely that I can get into them?

I'm not talking yeah if I'm really lucky I'll get chosen, I mean do I have a good chance at all?

A strong ACT score will certainly help you obtain acceptance to your state university. But be realistic. Students getting accepted to schools like Yale, Harvard and Princeton have stellar test scores and stellar grades (as well as exemplary extracurriculars).

For any college to consider you, they need to have some kind of evidence that you will not repeat your high school performance at the next level. So you need to buckle down and start improving in school.

That was the bad news.

Here's the good news. Because you're on this forum, I assume you eventually plan to go to medical school (or dental... etc). Professional schools generally don't care what happened in high school (barring some kind of criminal record), so essentially when you start college (if you start college) you start with a clean slate. And yes, you can eventually gain acceptance to such programs like Harvard or Yale Medical School... high school record be darned.

 

[niblet]

How did you manage a 1.75 GPA with the mind capable of a 34 ACT? Did you just neglect all classwork?

You likely won't be able to get into any top colleges if you don't drastically improve your GPA. If you can manage that, the upward swing in GPA might convince them of your intentions to improve, getting you in.

 

[Narmerguy]

I'm not talking yeah if I'm really lucky I'll get chosen, I mean do I have a good chance at all?

Honestly, no. That doesn't necessarily mean anything because Yale and Harvard aren't the end-all be-all of undergraduate institutions. In fact, many (including myself) would say financial offerings are most important for undergraduate.

 

[URHere]

The first thing you need to do is to go through a heavy reality check - a 1.75 is low, and unless you manage some sort of miraculous improvement (to over a 3.0+) or have a life story worthy of a lifetime original movie, you really don't have much of a shot at Ivy league schools. That being said, your inspiration to improve your GPA should not come from your dream of attending an Ivy - if you keep an Ivy acceptance in mind as your ultimate goal, you will almost certainly end up disappointed. You should work to improve your GPA because you want to do it for yourself and your future.

Now that that's out of the way, let's focus on getting you into college. Most colleges, even those lower ranked than Harvard, Yale, etc. will want something more than a 1.75, so you need to boost that up. First, you need to figure out what caused the low GPA in the first place - have you been taking advanced classes and bombing them? Have you spent time studying or not? Once you have identified the problem, you need to fix it. You may not like the sound of it, but you will most likely need to drop down a level in the courses you are struggling with (from advanced to intermediate, etc). Yes, advanced courses look better to colleges, but only if you are succeeding in them. Also, I would seek the help of a guidance counselor - someone with access to your records will be able to give you better advice than someone on an internet forum.

One more thing to address, is that there is a chance that, if you do not apply intelligently, you may not be accepted to college straightaway. If this happens, you may need to take a term or two at a community college and reapply. Most importantly, no matter what happens, keep your head up and keep improving your GPA. Once you get to college, your slate is clean and it will be much easier to work for that 4.0.

 

[HolyGrail]

I'm going to be brutally honest.

You have no chance whatsoever of getting into an Ivy League school, not a prayer, even if you get a 4.0 for the next 3 semesters.

What you do have a chance for, is going to a Community College, getting a 4.0 there, and transferring to a much better college. I did poorly in high school(Not as badly as a 1.75, and yes, that's terrible, I'm not going to sugar coat it) but I went to a CC, got a 3.8, and transferred to a great school where I'm now doing research and preparing to apply to medical school.

Make realistic goals, not outlandish no-chance goals.

 

[Depakote]

I'm going to be brutally honest.

You have no chance whatsoever of getting into an Ivy League school, not a prayer, even if you get a 4.0 for the next 3 semesters.

What you do have a chance for, is going to a Community College, getting a 4.0 there, and transferring to a much better college. I did poorly in high school(Not as badly as a 1.75, and yes, that's terrible, I'm not going to sugar coat it) but I went to a CC, got a 3.8, and transferred to a great school where I'm now doing research and preparing to apply to medical school.

Make realistic goals, not outlandish no-chance goals.

You don't have to look at this as the two extremes of Ivy and Community College. Yes, your GPA is in the toilet and will prevent you from getting in places, but your ACT score will open some doors for you.

Your State school will probably give you a shot and if you pull your GPA up you'll have a wider pool of private schools that might look at you.

People get into med school from state schools and plenty of schools that aren't ivies.

For now, pull your GPA up as high as you can over the next year or so, then apply to a nice variety of colleges. See where you get in and do well there.

 

[Druggernaut]

What you need to worry about doing now is learning how to study. With a 34 on the ACT, I'd imagine you've got more than enough intelligence to do well. I didn't do quite that well on the ACT, but my high school GPA with almost no study skills whatsoever was around a 3.3, I think. Carrying on that path my first semester of college, I had a 2.2, I think. Your classes will be much less likely than your high school ones to have assignments that kind of force you to keep up, and if you don't have the discipline to study for that test that's weeks away, it may well bury you.

It makes it much more difficult to get an acceptance to medical school once you've started poorly. Ivy league schools aren't really within reach for you anymore, but that just means you aren't going to waste piles of money. You just need to get into school somewhere, and realize that while you may be intelligent, you're going up against people who are also intelligent, and many of those people study religiously. You need to come to grips with that now so that you can successfully compete with them and maximize your odds of getting what you want out of life.

 

[HolyGrail]

You don't have to look at this as the two extremes of Ivy and Community College. Yes, your GPA is in the toilet and will prevent you from getting in places, but your ACT score will open some doors for you.

Your State school will probably give you a shot and if you pull your GPA up you'll have a wider pool of private schools that might look at you.

People get into med school from state schools and plenty of schools that aren't ivies.

For now, pull your GPA up as high as you can over the next year or so, then apply to a nice variety of colleges. See where you get in and do well there.

No offense Depakote, I got a 31 on my ACT and didn't get into my state school with a 3.4 GPA.

I think this guy should learn the lesson of procrastination and poor study habits, and learn that at a CC rather than somewhere that his GPA holds more weight...

I encourage you to start out at a CC, OP, I learned a lot for myself, this is coming from experience.

 

[Depakote]

No offense Depakote, I got a 31 on my ACT and didn't get into my state school with a 3.4 GPA.

I think this guy should learn the lesson of procrastination and poor study habits, and learn that at a CC rather than somewhere that his GPA holds more weight...

I encourage you to start out at a CC, OP, I learned a lot for myself, this is coming from experience.

That's a pretty competitive state school. 😱

Those stats should have gotten you in somewhere. Mine were nearly identical and I got into both state and private schools.

I'd still suggest the OP apply broadly and use the CC route as a backup.

 

[ylrebmik]

Brutally honest.

No. There is no chance of you getting into an IVY school with a 1.75..... even with a good ACT score. A lot of state schools you might not even get into... I know someone who has a 1.8 with a 32 ACT and didn't get into a few state schools. Obviously your situation is different because you have a year to prove your improving and your ACT is good... but yeah you need to kick yourself into shape... fast...

It escapes me why everyone wants to go to an IVY school.... Yeah they are good schools and everything... but I swear.. I'm a senior and I think this is the 4th person here to say they like had to go or reallllly wanted to go to IVY.... in reality... financials, the education, and what the school offers for you is SO much more important. Forget about rankings, forget about "best schools" and pick a school thats BEST for YOU. I think I'm going to throw this keyboard at the next person who is grossly concerned with IVY schools and school rankings more than school fitting.

Either way, you better be an amazing writer because your essay is going to have to be... well breathtaking.
rant over. sorry. 🙂

 

[HSES]

No offense Depakote, I got a 31 on my ACT and didn't get into my state school with a 3.4 GPA.

I think this guy should learn the lesson of procrastination and poor study habits, and learn that at a CC rather than somewhere that his GPA holds more weight...

I encourage you to start out at a CC, OP, I learned a lot for myself, this is coming from experience.

What was the State school that you applied to?

 

[tennisball80]

Ok so I don't know what to do. Let me first say Im just beggining my junior year of high school. I have a 1.75 GPA. But, I scored 34 on my ACT.

I'm ready to do what ever it take to get into a college I want. But, the colleges I want are Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Is it likely that I can get into them?

I'm not talking yeah if I'm really lucky I'll get chosen, I mean do I have a good chance at all?

If you go to a community college or state university for undergrad, you still have a chance to go to Yale, Harvard, or Princeton for medical school. Don't give up.

 

[MilkmanAl]

If you go to a community college or state university for undergrad, you still have a chance to go to Yale, Harvard, or Princeton for medical school. Don't give up.

Or at least you would if Princeton had a med school. 😛 Also, state universities and CC's aren't exactly comparable.

 

[Depakote]

Or at least you would if Princeton had a med school. 😛 Also, state universities and CC's aren't exactly comparable.

Princeton Medical School get's a bad wrap. I hear people saying horrible things about PMS and I just don't get it...

 

[CScull]

Princeton Medical School get's a bad wrap. I hear people saying horrible things about PMS and I just don't get it...

... ahahaha...

Gosh, I'm so childish.

 

[xnfs93hy]

As pointed out before, your GPA is crap, there is not denying it. However, since you scored so well on the ACT that will really help you out. What I don't understand is how can you get a high score like that on the ACT but have a GPA that is so bad. Unless you were like me and just didn't try freshman year and then started pulling it around, in which case is alright. 1.75 is really bad though, but you can get through that.

Honestly, you really don't have to go to a community college. I was just like you when I joined SDN. I have pointed this out in another thread of mine recently. I have come to realize that at least for Undergrad. you really can go just about anywhere. That being said, you can still get into good schools, many of which I am applying to. University of Cincinnati, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky. These schools are pretty inexpensive and have a lot to offer and on top of all that are not very competitive. Another plus is that they all have medical schools which is good if you are a resident of Kentucky or Ohio but you don't have to be and I'm not going to get into the whole OOS vs. IS deal because I do not know too much about it.

My advice? Well, I would say that you should take the SAT I if you haven't already and try to score in the range of what you got on your ACT. Don't take subject tests because not a lot of schools really need them and you will not be able to get into a top 50 with that GPA anyway so don't worry about it. Make sure you get the best grades you possible to bring that GPA up, try and get a 2.5 by the time you graduate. Volunteer a little bit, take a class at your local community college (like I am doing) to boost your GPA in HS.

Lastly, the ivy league situation. It does not matter very much at all really where you go for Undergrad (as pointed out already). YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AT ALL AT ANY IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL, period. I was just like you last year "Oh man, I need to go to Columbia" which is no where near as competitive as Harvard and Princeton which are arguably among the most elite schools on the face of this planet and only take the best of the best.

You are not going to Harvard alright, get over it, if you get a high SAT score and a 2.5-3.0 by the time you graduate you will land a spot in a college that will help you get into medical school. Chill out and buckle up, everything will be alright, trust me.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Brutally honest.

No. There is no chance of you getting into an IVY school with a 1.75..... even with a good ACT score. A lot of state schools you might not even get into... I know someone who has a 1.8 with a 32 ACT and didn't get into a few state schools. Obviously your situation is different because you have a year to prove your improving and your ACT is good... but yeah you need to kick yourself into shape... fast...

It escapes me why everyone wants to go to an IVY school.... Yeah they are good schools and everything... but I swear.. I'm a senior and I think this is the 4th person here to say they like had to go or reallllly wanted to go to IVY.... in reality... financials, the education, and what the school offers for you is SO much more important. Forget about rankings, forget about "best schools" and pick a school thats BEST for YOU. I think I'm going to throw this keyboard at the next person who is grossly concerned with IVY schools and school rankings more than school fitting.

Either way, you better be an amazing writer because your essay is going to have to be... well breathtaking.
rant over. sorry. 🙂

Probably just for the "name brand" piece of paper (degree lol). That is why I wanted to go to one. You should go to the best school you can get into AND that gives you the best fit academically and geographically if that matters to you.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Ivys are overrated. All they do is run up your bill.

I went to JHU (not ivy, but certainly that caliber seeing as how they were invited twice), and it was blah and i have a nice 30k debt to tack on to my growing med school debt.

Dude u don't even need to go to a top level med school either. Look at our crappy economy - debt management will determine quality of life, you can get an excellent education and not have to ***** yourself out to ivys.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Ivys are overrated. All they do is run up your bill.

I went to JHU (not ivy, but certainly that caliber seeing as how they were invited twice), and it was blah and i have a nice 30k debt to tack on to my growing med school debt.

Dude u don't even need to go to a top level med school either. Look at our crappy economy - debt management will determine quality of life, you can get an excellent education and not have to ***** yourself out to ivys.

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