New teachers combined with difficult classes hit you hard and suddenly you see B’s and even C’s on your report card.
When I was applying to the Ivy League schools, I had to deal with the fact that I had a low GPA. I understand exactly what you are going through, and in this article, I would like to share some of my coping techniques.
Remember these three points:
1. Take some college classes and do the best you can in them.
During the summer, instead of lounging around, enroll in some college classes in courses that really interest you. Your interest will help you do well. If you can also organize it so that your classes fill in a blank in your “bigger story”, it really helps. For example, you would take a Renaissance Philosophy course if you were interested in medieval history.
Clearly, seeing that you really are capable of doing college-level work and doing it well will look good on your application. This is a demonstration of your academic depth.
Your high school GPA is intended to convey your potential to be able to handle college-level work. If you can simply show that you not only can, but have successfully handled college-level work, that will look even better to the admissions committee.
2. During your last semester or two, be sure to take as many AP and Honors courses as possible.
In the final analysis, you will simply have to do well in your classes. Your academic record makes an important statement about your ability to study effectively and your work ethic.
I took seven advanced placement classes during my Common Applications fall semester. It wasn’t easy, but the fact that I had taken all those classes really dressed my academic record! The fact that the ratings were not yet displayed was irrelevant. The important thing was that taking those classes showed that he was serious, academically speaking.
When we have a discussion in the admissions committee, we say a lot about trends.
What I mean by this is that taking these AP courses shows that the student has potential and is actively working to improve themselves. So even if your grades aren’t great, you can show that you have what it takes to consistently improve them over a period of time. It is far better to have lower grades as a freshman and show that you have improved them as a third year than the other way around. Remember it.
3. Say a lot about your extracurricular accomplishments and your summer activities.
If you have a low GPA, you will want to distract the admissions consultants! You can do this by taking advantage of much of your extracurricular and summer activities. Be sure to discuss them in detail in your essays.
By doing this, it will give the impression that you were simply overwhelmed by your enthusiastic participation in positive community activities. That will give you a good reason to have a less than perfect GPA.
One thing you should know is that it doesn’t matter if you are the best student. If you have not been a member of a varsity sports team or president of a club, you will not be able to enter Harvard.
Click here to find out why high school admissions counselors waste your money.