Okay, we know: Those who are applying to college with a low GPA are fighting an uphill battle. Before you throw your hands in the air and curse the skies in defeat, however, we beg you to please read through this article to understand the best course of action to take when you have a low GPA. It’s not easy, we know; but there are plenty of students with low GPAs who were able to get into a good school by taking the right steps. That much, we know. The following items below are some of the most vital considerations which we’ve found to be the most helpful in consulting college applicants. It by no means has every detail required to land you a position in Yale’s Freshman class with a 3.3 GPA, but it has primary focus of what you need to land many of your dream schools with a low GPA.
Remember: if there are items in the article you are unsure of how to implement into your application, you really need to consider having expert consultations to guide you in the right direction. You cannot afford to have any space for uncertainty in your college application success.
Applying to college with a low GPA: What To Do
Additional Comments Section:
As “Captain-Obvious” as this item is in this list, we feel this is one of the most important considerations to take when applying to college with a low GPA, simply because most people get this part wrong. Like, a lot of people. It’s rather terrifying because we’re not even talking about writing the Additional Comments Section well: that’s its own beast. What we’re talking about is the approach to the Additional Comments Section to begin with. It needs to be professional but also intriguing; just because the Additional Comments Section is not part of the actual College Application Essay does not meant that it does not warrant the same amount of seriousness as the College Application Essay itself. Here are some samples of good and bad ones.
Bad example: I have a lower GPA due to my low scores in my AP Chemistry and AP Literature classes. I was unable to study effectively due to my hard work in other responsibilities such as my part time job and my club competitions.
This is an atrocious Additional Comments Section because it does not even begin to show humble grace or strong writing to demonstrate regret. These are all vital to an effective additional comments section because it literally acts as a plea to the admissions officers to “think twice” before making a decision about whether you should be admitted or rejected from their school. It should be careful, but it should be well-written and articulated to be persuasive.
Good Example: “I understand my Grade Point Average is lower than I would love for it to be; I regret that I cannot demonstrate the best side of my academics as an applicant to _______________. I know, however, that I would be able to academically succeed in my weakest classes, AP Chemistry and AP Literature, if I had no had to dedicate my passion into other responsibilities. I could have appeared a better applicant if I had not had to pledge dedication to the _____________ club and compete to represent their image; I could have appeared a better applicant if I had not had to work my part time job as a _________ to support my family, for that I am sorry.”
This works much better than the former because the former does not hold the Additional Comments Section humbly at all. It also does not have the justification of why the applicant had not successfully earned a good and competitive GPA. The first one states why but does not successfully justify it with good prose and meaningful words like the second example does.
Overall, the Additional Comments Section needs to be taken very seriously and written perfectly and with the right tone, especially if you are applying to college with a low GPA.
College Application Essay Section:
The college application essay section is going to be the chunk of your advantage in your success. Though it is not the primary area where you address your low GPA, as that is done in the additional comments section anyway, it is the section that will help you stand out among the rest of the college application pool. You can find a plethora of articles in our blog site talking about the ways college application essays help you stand out…
…but here’s the gist: colleges in this day and age care a lot about the application essay section, some more than the GPA and SAT, and use it as the primary source of differentiating good candidates from “lackluster” or “bland” ones that don’t make their schools look good.
Remember that the additional comments section is where you are going to add your justifications for your lower GPA. It is okay to just only ever so slightly hint and imply of other background influences and external factors that have contributed to your low GPA. However, do not make it very blatant. Leave the additional comments section o do its job; if you don’t and are too upfront about the reasons for your low marks in your main college application essay, not only will it take away from your uniqueness, but it will also bore college admissions officers and give them the impression that you do not feel qualified to be a part of their school.
Keep in mind: You have to give the impression that you know that you are qualified to get accepted into this school. If you are applying to college with a low GPA but do not falter from it and appear confident in your essay due to your other shining aspects, you will increase your chances significantly.
Justification/ Past Trauma Describing Your Low GPA:
This is actually a must. You most probably won’t be able to get away with getting accepted into a good school with a low GPA without a good justification as to why it was low to begin with.
In other words, there has to be a good reason as to why you are applying to colleges with a low GPA. you must think/know that you are qualified to attend the school to begin with.
Fortunately, most people have more than enough of a good reason for having a low GPA that is justified enough for explanation for the UC schools.
The problem is not whether there is a good reason for having a low score; the problem is trying to explain said reason in as articulate and smart way as possible to persuade the college admissions officers that you are capable of handling the workload at their school.
Sadly, there are a few exceptions who do not have a good reason for their low scores and low GPA. If you genuinely feel that you are one of those who have no reasonable justification for their low GPA, (i.e. you had low scores due to procrastination or laziness only) you shouldn’t give up hope. Most of the legwork in applying to college with a low GPA lies in structuring your life story in just the right way that it justifies your low scores. Without a good reason, it is not impossible; we do, however, recommend that you refer to our college application essay services and consulting to have a good foothold on this situation, as it’s definitely not something to take lightly.
Lean VERY Heavily To One Major
This is a sort of secret in the industry that can boost your chances of success when applying to college with a low GPA. When you apply for the college of your choice, you have the choice of raising your application success rate by choosing an to apply with an undeclared major as a freshman to ensure that you at least can get accepted. (this usually only applies for stem majors as applying for stem would raise the competition, but this varies depending on what the most competitive major is for the respective school)
When applying to college with low scores, you will want to avoid being undeclared because it makes the admissions officers think you are even more indecisive than you originally appear by applying with low marks. We highly recommend that you apply to the school and apply with the major of whichever respective classes you performed best in.
For instance, if you succeeded very well in history classes in high school, you can choose to be a history major, demonstrate your passion for the subject in the application, and change your major along the way.
If you were only good at English classes in your school, you should apply as an English major at first, write about your passion for the subject in the application, then switch majors.
This usually works very well with those who’ve already performed well in liberal arts subjects. Those who only performed well in STEM subjects such as math and science may be at a disadvantage if they haven’t succeeded well in other fields, but it is all about making the college application work to your advantage.
Uniqueness, Uniqueness, Uniqueness
Whether you are a first-generation American and are proud of it, survived racial discrimination, nearly had a fanfiction published into a book, or just had any sort or form of special quality that makes you unlike other applicants, your unique attributes are going to be what you have to capitalize on if you do not have the best GPA to improve your college application. Sure: everyone has to capitalize on their unique attributes to stand out among the rest of the application pool. We know this from the many articles in our “Essentials” guide.
What is important, though, is that most applicants who cross their fingers and press that submit button do NOT emphasize unique qualities. Most known applicants rely on their high GPA and SAT/ACT scores to score –pun definitely intended—the best colleges they can get their hands on.
Most applicants forget to show their unique colors. Most applicants don’t know how to. Most college admissions officers know this, that is why there are so many rejected perfect students. There are students with low GPAs who get into good colleges. Capitalize on this. Show the college admissions officers that despite your GPA being lacking, you are still competent.
Applying to college with a low GPA: Conclusion
We’ve provided here a general outline and the vital blueprint of the steps you need to take to increase your chances as much as possible in the application process. Everyone has a chance of getting into a great school, even if they are applying to college with a low GPA. You may be at a disadvantage against other applicants but executing these steps properly will surely boost your chances of getting accepted to your dream school significantly.
Though, if you are still unsure if you will get in, do not know if you are doing every step properly, or simply need help with boosting your chances of acceptance in the college application process, we’re still here to help. Our experts have worked with plenty of students who have GPAs and SATs below that of the average freshman applicant of their target schools; it takes a lot of analysis and a lot of work, but we have and can help.
