High School to College with Bad Grades

frosty7

I'm currently a junior in highschool. I started taking physics this year and it is my favorite out of any class I've ever taken in my life. I really like it; my favorite classes before taking physics were just the ones that I hated the least.
Right now my GPA is really bad (like 2.8-2.9), but I plan on getting that up. My low GPA was not a result of a lack of talent/intelligence, but instead was a result of a lack of work/motivation. I have been in the highest level of math offered (2 grade levels above normal) since 6th grade.
I really like physics and seem to be good at it (I'm aware that there is a significant difference between high school physics and college level physics, but I am far and away one of the best in my class). I would really like to pursue either a degree in engineering or a degree physics( the most appealing choice of major for me would be aerospace[more specifically aeronautical]), but I am worried that my low GPA will kill me. I just took the SATs and have not seen my results, but I really feel as though i performed extremely well on the math section.

Does anyone have any advice to help me get into a good college?

fss

Depends on what you mean by "good." A GPA < 3.0 eliminates you from the Ivies and probably the next level as well; but there are plenty of good physics programs at state universities and smaller, less well-known schools as well.

Phyisab****

Sorry but I got a kick out of you saying it "eliminates you from the Ivies." Understatement of the century. I didn't get into any top 25 schools with a 3.7 and a couple awards for physics related things.

OP, I'm sure you can get in somewhere. Just apply to a bunch of places. You can still do things without a degree from a well known school. But be realistic, you might not even get into a physics program anywhere you would call "good."

eri

You can definitely get in somewhere, but engineering programs have higher standards than the university itself - so getting in isn't your biggest worry, getting into engineering will be. So you need to start pulling up your GPA as high as you can.

frosty7

Thank you for the information. I knew i wouldn't be getting into an Ivy so it's not like that's new news. I was thinking I would try to get into a state school (ex. Michigan, Maryland, Penn State, Iowa, or Illinois). While I'm there I'll work up to my full potential and hopefully be able to transfer into a better school. Are my grades good enough to get into one of those schools with a 2000+ SAT combined? Is it any harder to transfer if your major is in engineering as opposed to anything else.

General_Sax

Easier said than done. Start doing your best now.

leright

Honestly, unless you have some pretty outstanding extra curriculars, those schools are probably out of reach with a 2.8 gpa. Michigan, for instance, is among the best universities in the country. Just because it's a state school doesn't mean it's sub-par. Some state schools are on par with the ivies. Maybe you could consider going to community college for a couple years and then transferring into one of those schools. You'll save some money too by doing this.

Phyisab****

You gave solid advice, but I have to say this is ridiculous. On par as far as the quality of their academic programs, maybe. But as far as their admission standards? The one exception I can think of is UC Berkeley.

Null_

I'm at a state school with a stellar engineering program, and I had a 3.9 high school gpa and 2000+ SATs. I think though that if you can focus on school these last two years you'll have a decent shot at getting into good state schools. There's nothing wrong with these for undergrad, as they're a lot less $$! Really try to show your passion for physics through not just your school work. Get a paying job tutoring it or just go to the middle school and tutor science there. Try to really make yourself stand out. Perhaps in your admissions essay explain how you finally found your passion and how it has changed your life. That would explain the low GPA and, if what you write correlates to your performance, I think you have a decent shot.


At my school, if you transfer into engineering (the hardest program to get into), you're almost a year behind, even if you transfer second semester of freshman year. Most people transfer out of it, not into it.

Phyisab****

The bottom line is, you are asking this question soon enough, if you really turn yourself around at this point, then it will not be affecting you by the time you are 30. Of course, that is much easier said than done, as stated above.

pm1010

Try going to a smaller, less known school that is easier to get into and then transfer out.

I also had a poor GPA in high school which was not much higher than yours; I also got a few Ds on my transcript (three of them were in math!) I spent three semesters at a community college instead of going to a traditional college. Now, I am at an Ivy League school. I am not saying that this is the norm; but, if you want it bad enough, you can turn stuff around.

(Note: I had a 4.0 GPA at community college, 2260 SAT score, and stellar recommendations from my math and physics professors.)

story645

Enough people are choosing to go to school that even the public unis are raising the bar. My undergrad basically had open admissions for the past 30 years (though the engineering school has always been somewhat tougher to get into) and has been steadily switching to more restrictive admissions as they've been trying to get shinier faculty and students to attract better funding. They've also been restricting admissions 'cause more people have been choosing public school's cause of tuition costs so they can't handle all the students they'd have to take under an open admissions plan.

That being said, with a 2.8 you may very well be able to get into a public uni, and if you don't get into their engineering school you may be able to transfer into it if your grades improve. (Or transfer out to an entirely different school.) I'll second the community college idea.

This is true of just about all engineering schools.

frosty7

Thank you all for the information/advice. I don't want to go to a community college. Mostly because, where I'm from, very few people who get in are able to get out, and almost everyone goes to the community college in my area has the intention of transfering into a more reputable school. Does any one know what schools I could feasibly get into?

Also, to pm1010, did you do anything in addition to getting good grades and high sat scores.

pm1010

frosty7, I talked to the chair of the physics department (at that time I wanted to major in physics and minor in math) the semester before applying. I visited the school a few times and went to a departmental meeting and talked to other professors in the department.

bleedblue1234

Well, I'm a senior right smack-dab in the middle of the process, so I might be able to help a bit. First, check out this site: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com . Secondly, decide what type of school do you want. Urban? Rural? Large? Liberal Arts? etc. Narrow down your choices and visit some schools to get a feel for them. Thirdly, once you have done this (for realistic schools, you won't be going to MIT or anything), find which schools have programs you enjoy (physics it seems at this point). Once you have done all of that, you will probably have a handful of schools (maybe 4-5).

For admissions, you probably should shoot for applying to 8-9 schools (3 safeties/shoe-ins, 3 matches, 2 reaches, and 1 no-chance-in-hell just for kicks). Make sure these schools offer the program you want and you have gone through the above process with them. Then, do your research, and once you get accepted start e-mailing/contact the department if you wish to visit again etc.

As for schools, it is hard to say. I would try UIUC, but being a state school they are very numbers oriented and a < 3.0 will basically bar you for most of the "good" state schools (certainly Michigan, UVA, most of the UCs, etc.). I would look at RIT, U of Arizona, and other schools.

frosty7

thank you bleedblue, that was extremely helpful, and for the record when I said Michigan, I meant Michigan State (I'm well aware Michigan State would be a reach as well.)

Jack21222

Can you elaborate on this? I don't know what you mean. Do you mean that no 4 year university accepts transfer students in your area?