Will colleges accept me with such a bad GPA?

Dear Brendan,

There are several steps you can take:

1. It is best for you to speak with your Guidance/School Counselor about the possibilities to improve your GPA. At this point, you are halfway through your junior year and should have an idea of how you have improved so far and your potential to improve even more.

2. Having earned a 2.1 GPA WILL NOT exclude you from being accepted to and attending college. Work with your School Counselor to identify the best colleges and universities to apply to with consideration of your GPA, extracurricular activities, special talents, etc.

3. Increasing diversity on college campuses is an important goal for many universities. However, I do not suggest you think that will be your primary way into a university. Colleges look at a variety of factors to make admissions decisions and while GPA is not the only factor, it is an important one. Why? Oftentimes, college admissions professionals view the GPA as a testament to your academic abilities and academic motivation and try to determine if you will be successful at their college. If there was a unique circumstance that contributed to your GPA, then you should discuss it in your personal statement. If the college offers interviews, then you can discuss then as well. Do you have a chance to attend college? ABSOLUTELY! If your goal is to earn a college degree, then you should certainly pursue it with tenacity.

However, at this point, you must be proactive and begin to work with key professionals, such as a School Guidance Counselor, teacher, coach, etc., to help you along the way. You can do it!

Most colleges will accept a 2.0. Be sure to check with admissions what GPA you will need. I know at at some university they require a 3.0 at least
Hope that helps

Your GPA is only one of the factors that detemine your college acceptance. Other factors include other extracurricula activities you have been involved with, your interview, your story or essay, and yes, at times minority numbers are considered. Don't lose hope! Do the best you can now, try to improve what you can and keep all these factors in mind. Without it sounding like an excuse, if there are reasons you did not do so well academically, also be prepared to explain this should you be called in or interviewed.

Even if you can qualify for minority enrollment, try to not make it the major reason for getting into a college. It is best to have the major reason for your selection to be your fine character qualities, your good test scores, your earnest desire to do your best to get a degree, and your desire to succeed in a career field.

Throughout life your membership in a minority status should be the last thing that people consider. Your best character traits should be the major decision making factor.

Yes. Some colleges will accept students with a 2.16 GPA. What I recommend is that you attend a two year college, study hard, and get a good solid GPA then transfer to a four year college. In Georgia, if you complete a two year degree when you transfer to a four year college you will be a junior because that college will accept all your credits.

Hi Brendan!

A good first step would be to go to your school counselor, who can sit down with you to see why you are having trouble maintaining a higher grade point average. Many times there are factors that can be acted upon.

Questions to pursue:
- Do you have some problems in your personal life that are interfering with school work?
- Is there strife at home?
- Is there a condition such as dyslexia, which has previously not been diagnosed that could be interfering with your studying?
- Do you need coaching in proper study skills?
- Could an interest and aptitude test reveal that you are engaging in studies for which you are not suited? Take one and find out.

This would be the first step. School systems normally have supportive measures in place to assist students like you to increase grade point average, which are underused, as many students are hesitant to use them or are not aware that they exist. Help that you receive now may very well assist you in college.

Another step could be to investigate going to a community college. Many community colleges take special care in working with students like you, as they have special supportive programs to assist in the transition from high school to college, even if you have grades that are lower. Talk to the admissions and counseling departments of you local community college to see how you might be able to make the transition. Also, arrange to take interest and aptitude tests to determine which of their programs would be best for you and talk to the alumni relations person about talking to graduates of those programs to see how you might fit and feel about them.

Best of luck!

Send thank you notes to those who help you.

Keep me posted, as I would like to help further if I can.

Good morning. I want to start off by saying do not lose hope. You still have enough time to increase your G.P.A. I believe if you will follow the advice from the respondents on your post you will meet your goal. But it starts with you. Community College is always a good start and if you come to the conclusion that college isn't for you then look into trade schools. But with the advice that you received and your motivating I believe you will do just fine. Until next and continue to stay hungry.

A 2.16 GPA is definitely not the worst nor is it too bad. This leaves you around the B/C range which is not terrible, don't worry too much. However, I would suggest getting involved in as many exta-curriculars as possible and scoring as high as you can on the ACTs or SATs. This will make you a better candidate. You can also apply to a few safety schools as well as community colleges - get your GPA up there and then tranfer to a more desirable school. Also, Collegeboard.org is a great resource for this! I poured through the pages of universities all over the U.S. when I was a senior in high school. Collegeboard was my go-to site! They put all of the information in one place and it is very easy to use. They even have various filters you can apply to see only colleges that have programs you are interested. To determine academic rigor, look at the admissions requirements, G.P.A. of past admitted applicants, SAT/ACT scores, class rank etc. This will give you an idea of what scores and grades you need to be accepted. However, don't be discouraged your application will be reviewed based on the full picture! College-board will help you get an idea of what is most important to the specific school you are applying to.