Did I just ruin any chance of being accepted?

At the start of my sophomore year of high school, last August, I received 2 D's, 3 C's and 2 B's. my entire freshman year the lowest grades I received were 2 B's and 4 A's while my highest was straight A's my 4th quarter of freshman year. Every since my mistake in the first quarter of this year, I have received A's and B's and I am on track for straight A's this final quarter. So, long story short, could this one mistake ruin my chances of achieving an appointment even if I keep my honors AP and college classes in the A and B ranges?

Thanks,
Tyler

It's rare to get grades in August where we live. Are those 9 week grades or semester grades? Usually only semester grades go on the premanent record.

If you read the "what are my chances" threads you'll no doubt see 3.9 to 4.0+ gpa's that are not offered appointments. Maybe they interviewed poorly or had few extracurriculars or leadership opportunities. From what you've said, your gpa may be as low as 3.0 - 3.3 at the time you'll apply (crude estimate.)

That will make it tough to even get a serious look. More EC's will make up for some deficiency, as could being a minority, or being from an underrepresented area.

Why the glaring drop? What is your class rank? Where are you from? What sports are you playing? What leadership positions do you hold? Much more info is needed, but at first look, I would try to have other options available for college.

Maplerock said:

Why the glaring drop? What is your class rank? Where are you from? What sports are you playing? What leadership positions do you hold?

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The glaring drop? I let my fathers illness get to me. It was quite serious and currently the drugs are now working better.

Live? I live in Aurora, Colorado. I play XC track, and did play soccer.

Class rank was 1 out of 231 last year and now ~20.

GPA? 3.9 because of my weighted college and honors. Last year it was 4.4.

Leadership? For the last two years I have been the VP of Student leadership and am currently President. I do a lot of volunteer work. I am finishing the steps of achieving a job. I know I am doig fairly WEL when it comes to everything, but the main question is that will I be disqualified because of a single quarter slip?

You still have a high GPA, regardless of the significant grade drop. My Freshman and Sophomore year, I simply didn't care about my grades, which brought my GPA far lower than yours is right now.
Plus, you still have the clear motivation to raise your grades, and you have time. Not a lot of time, but time nonetheless. I would say just keep working your butt off, especially with living in such a competitive district. I live in Colorado Springs, so I'm in the same boat as you.

If it's a single quarter, I don't think it will be too bad. You just can't let it happen again.

You are clearly capable of USAFA-level academics, you just have to keep proving that. You got this!

CONative said:

The glaring drop? I let my fathers illness get to me. It was quite serious and currently the drugs are now working better.

Live? I live in Aurora, Colorado. I play XC track, and did play soccer.

Class rank was 1 out of 231 last year and now ~20.

GPA? 3.9 because of my weighted college and honors. Last year it was 4.4.

Leadership? For the last two years I have been the VP of Student leadership and am currently President. I do a lot of volunteer work. I am finishing the steps of achieving a job. I know I am doig fairly WEL when it comes to everything, but the main question is that will I be disqualified because of a single quarter slip?

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I live in Aurora, I have a daughter at Eaglecrest and a son at USAFA. If you have questions, he comes home most weekends. I am sure he would be glad to help and give you guidance with what it takes.

More than GPA, class rank is important. You still look like you are in the top 10% which is important. I would recommend you make sure that your ALO knows about the circumstances surrounding that one quarter. A bad sophomore quarter can be overcome by excelling in AP and higher level classes. You cant change the past but you can excel in the future. So my advice is press on and make yourself stand out in other areas besides academics. Leadership, service, and athletics play a big role. Oh, and don't overlook the standardized tests. They weigh as heavy as grades.

Also don't forget Plan B, plan C, etc.

i hope this helps:

I recieved a straight F on my transcript fall of sophomore year, including a D in chemistry.

Of course I had a laundry list of explanations, but from then on it was a straight upward trend, great grades, ecs, leadership, SAT/ACT scores...

I obviously am a cadet now, and made it here. you can too, you just have to show that board that whatever set you back did not affect you in the long run.

You can do it.

robinhood17 said:

you just have to show that board that whatever set you back did not affect you in the long run.

You can do it.

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DS applied to USNA rather than USAFA, so I'm not familiar with the USAFA application. But perhaps you can use a required essay to explain the temporary setback. There may also be a question asking if you have any unusual circumstances. This may be the place to mention a serious illness in the family that affected your grades. Continue the good work, and good luck!

futuremarinemom said:

DS applied to USNA rather than USAFA, so I'm not familiar with the USAFA application. But perhaps you can use a required essay to explain the temporary setback. There may also be a question asking if you have any unusual circumstances. This may be the place to mention a serious illness in the family that affected your grades. Continue the good work, and good luck!

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Yep, they will give a specific opportunity to explain it! don't worry about it, OP, just do your best.

It sounds like you have definitely put yourself back on track – great job! Take heart – it is not over.

Are you sure quarter grades show on your high school transcripts? I would check - for I believe it is possible that only the final course grades are posted on a transcript. I only suggest this since you mentioned you are a sophomore and may not have seen your official transcript.

In our school district, quarter grades are posted to report cards, but only the final grade for the course is on the high school transcript – along with the gpa (unweighted and weighted), rank, absences, any suspensions, ECs and the grading scale used by the school. For a year-long course – all 4 qtrs or 2 semesters would be averaged along with the final exam which results in a final course grade. Some schools have year-long courses in one semester; therefore, only 2 qtrs would be relevant for a final course grade.

You mentioned your new gpa is 3.9, but it most likely was run after the 1st semester and produced an interim rank and gpa. If these are traditional year-long courses then you may see a bump after the 2nd semester of good grades. Ask your counselor when the ranks/ transcripts are updated. Our school district updates twice a year – at the start of a new school year and after 1st semester…. also in senior year at the end to determine final rank for graduation.

If you haven’t already, I would request a transcript to ensure all the information is correct up to this point and to understand now what it does contain. My son’s transcript was missing some school ECs.

In the end, it is quite possible your one bad quarter may not be reflected directly…and your grades will be balanced out by the other great quarters.

Again, excellent job on finishing the year strong.

Those bad grades won't HELP you, but the good news is, you have some time to work on your GPA. Shoot for all A's. That may mean less hanging out with friends and more studying, but you should be shooting for all A's, not A's and B's.

Honestly though, there are things more important than any of this, and one of those things includes your family. It's good your father is doing better, and I can't blame you for losing focus on school work when your father's condition was probably at the front of your thoughts.

Keep up the good work and improvement. It's not about being perfect, it's about becoming better (that's how it will be at the academy too).

Luckily, quarter grades don't show up on Final Transcripts. Just make sure you get your GPA back up to where it was Junior year, good luck.

usafafam said:

You still have a high GPA, regardless of the significant grade drop. My Freshman and Sophomore year, I simply didn't care about my grades, which brought my GPA far lower than yours is right now.
Plus, you still have the clear motivation to raise your grades, and you have time. Not a lot of time, but time nonetheless. I would say just keep working your butt off, especially with living in such a competitive district. I live in Colorado Springs, so I'm in the same boat as you.

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Yeah. The best thing I have found is that if I do not make it in the first try my school pays for me to go to college and earn my associates degree which gives me the opportunity to show that competiveness.

HeWantsTheBFE said:

If it's a single quarter, I don't think it will be too bad. You just can't let it happen again.

You are clearly capable of USAFA-level academics, you just have to keep proving that. You got this!

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Thank you very much for the support. I can do this. =D

DevilDog said:

I live in Aurora, I have a daughter at Eaglecrest and a son at USAFA. If you have questions, he comes home most weekends. I am sure he would be glad to help and give you guidance with what it takes.

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Thank you! I will take that into consideration! Eagle rest? I go to the new HS Vista Peak.