Will ivy league colleges reject me since...?

Question

I had a job during my freshman & sophomore years in high school as a bagger at Safeway because I wanted to take piano & art lessons (my family was in a tight financial situation). As a result, my GPA wasn't so great...but in junior year I quit my job since my family earned more money...& I got straight A's with 5 AP classes & i raised my cumulative GPA to a 3.64 (4.43 weighted).

so... will it look bad that I kind of sacrificed my grades for painting & piano classes (which I enjoy & am good at)

Answer 1

It's unfortunate but you get about 750 words on most college applications to talk about yourself. And even if you could use them to tell a sob story, it would probably make no difference. There are so many kids with near perfect grades who've endured all kinds of hardships and the ivies simply don't have room for all. GPA is the number one factor in admission and a 3.6 just won't cut it. You'll be showing only one strong year when you apply, and that should help at lots of colleges, just not the very top ones. You can always transfer.

Answer 2

Well unless you are now giving piano concerts that are broadcast live on international TV, you are not getting into an Ivy.

Try Brown and Dartmouth though. Their standards have dipped in recent years.

Also... 3.64 is pretty solid. If you have a good SAT (1450 would be great) then you have a chance at getting into some great second-tier colleges (NYU, Northwestern, CMU, Emory, Johns Hopkins etc.) Plus they will give you money too.

Answer 3

I'm afraid it will probably keep you out of Ivy League schools.  Many people do work, in addition to their schoolwork, and still manage to get great grades.  Keep in mind that these are some of the most competitive schools in the country, and a tiny percentage of people get in there.  You can still go to a good school, but probably not the best ones.

Answer 4

I say give it a shot. They would see the transformation in the grades on your high school transcript and might get curious about you. They might think "hmm this person started out okay and then they got serious grades and took AP courses."

In addition to grades, do you think you could send teacher or guidance counselor or employer recommendations? You could list your activities in piano and painting. List anything that you did that might make you look more interesting.

You could also write an essay explaining your grades, what you learned from your transition, write about what you are passionate about and how the Ivy league college might help you out in reaching any goals that you might have.

Really the essay is all about sucking up to the college that you want to go to but still sounding real enough that you don't come across as if you're sucking up.

Don't write yourself off just yet. Give yourself a chance with your essay, recommendations and activities. Who knows? You never know until you try.

Answer 5

I'm afraid I have to give the same answer as the ones above me...I don't think an Ivy school is going to take your job into account when they see the grades on your transcript.

There are still tons of really good universities that you could get into, and many of them will probably be more flexible on your first 2 years' lower GPA. But as far as any of the Harvard-esque universities...I seriously doubt they would be willing to make an allowance for you. The vast majority of all applicants have straight A's through all four years of high school (along with a long list of extra curriculars and volunteer work) and not even all of those students will be accepted.