Current High school student....worried about getting into top colleges..?

Question

I'm currently a 10th grader in a public high school.In 9th grade i got a C for first semester in Bio H and two Bs for second semester(rest are As).....which is a 3.6 unweighted....I heard if I have a C that i barely have a chance at ivy leagues or any top schools like Berkeley, or Stanford. Right now i'm struggling with a C+ in my trig h class...everything else I have a A in...i have three honors and one AP, I'm also in NHS and other top clubs, along with community service...Can someone tell me the extent of the damage to my chances at a top school IF i happen to get a C in 10th grade? I'm also taking CM Piano level 8 examination, SAT II Chemistry and SAT II World History this year, and have trained summer for SATs....my diagonstic SAT I is around 1900s. I had sport last year but my mom forced me out.

Answer 1

Know that there is life beyond the Ivies. I know several people who thought they wanted to go to elite schools, but didn't get in, and now that they are in other places, they are glad that they went where they did. Being at an Ivy, or Stanford, is great if you are at least one of their average students, but if you had a choice to barely get into one of the elite schools or be a star at a very good school, the latter might give you a better start.

Certainly if you had nothing but As and one C in high school, you might still get in to a school like that, but given that you already have one C and two Bs, and are getting a C+ in another course, you can still aim high, but be okay with going somewhere else. The 1900 SAT I is more evidence of that. I don't know how the diagnostic SAT I works. If this was just an early version of the test, your score might be explained by the fact that you haven't yet had all of your sophomore and junior level classes, but if it is a projection of how you might actually do next year, it isn't in the realm sought by elite schools.

Answer 2

In my experience, diagnostic SAT's are usually harder than the actually SAT's, meaning your score is a bit lower that it would be on the real test. You've actually done really well! don't worry about your past grades too much, just try as hard as you can in the future. And don't let your GPA get the best of you. It's more important to be involved in something important to you, or an extracurricular activity you care about passionately. I can't see any top schools wanting to admit someone only interested in academics and their GPA. They really want students who "bring something to the table", students who care, or students who can show they have a soul and aren't controlled by their GPA's.

Overall, I would say it's too early to tell how you'd do at top colleges. Perhaps you should visit, and see how you fit in, and do in the classes (some colleges, MIT for instance, let you visit pretty early, but others only allow seniors to visit overnight). I think you have a lot of potential, but don't use up all that passion and energy worrying about .2 points of your GPA.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

Bring that GPA up to at least 3.7 unweighted; ideally 3.9 or above by the end of your junior year.
Score 2200+ on SAT or 33 on ACT; make good scores on subject II tests.
Rack up some good extra curricular activities; be nice to teachers who could write you letters of recommendations.

Don't worry; you have a whole year ahead.

Answer 4

Yeah. it is going to look reliable which you went to a reliable college, yet you are able to not in user-friendly terms place self belief in that. you have even have been given to have very reliable grades, like today A's! Or ninety 5 and above. i bypass to a magnet college, and my purpose is ninety 5 and above so i'm going to have a a hundred whilst the 5 factors are further to my Pre-AP training.