College application season can easily sneak up on you and before you know it, you’re expected to start choosing a school. If you’re a junior and your GPA isn’t where you hoped it would be, then you may be panicking about college admissions and wondering whether you can bring it up to scratch. While a big overhaul may be out of reach, there are ways you can bring your score up and give yourself a better choice of colleges. Here are some tips to help you out.
- Focus on School
High school students often have a lot of conflicting priorities, from sports to their social life. One in four high school students work part-time and there can be all sorts of distractions that mean you don’t have the energy or drive to focus on grades. If you need to pull your GPA up fast, you may want to take a long, hard look at your schedule and decide what your priorities are right now.
2. Get Tutored
Tutoring is worth considering if you’re looking to improve your GPA.
- A tutor can give you one-to-one support in areas you are struggling
- The learning experience is tailored to you
- It can boost your confidence
- You learn better study habits and it can help students who are feeling unmotivated
Even a couple of hours of tutoring a week could make a difference to your GPA and put you in a better position when it comes to college applications.
3. Set Yourself a Realistic Goal
It’s important to set realistic goals when it comes to your GPA. It’s worth looking at colleges you’re interested in and find out what they’re looking for. For example, it’s easy to find the American University GPA requirements on CampusReel, so you have something to aim towards. While huge changes in your GPA aren’t likely, even a small boost could help.
4. Study Hard for Standardized Tests
If you’re already in your senior year and in the college application process, then you have missed the window of opportunity to raise your GPA. However, that doesn’t mean that hard work won’t pay off. The SATs are also important to college admissions, as they measure your academic potential for college. If you have a poor GPA but can ace these tests, then you still have a chance of getting into good schools.
Some college admission experts believe that SATs can be a better indicator of a student’s success. This is because these are standardized tests, so every student who takes the SAT has the same questions.
5. Take on Some Extra Credit Assignments
Those without much time to raise their GPA may want to see if their teachers offer any opportunities for extra credit. Fitting in extra credit work can be tough and most assignments are hard work. But it can raise your GPA quickly and put you in good graces with the teacher, which is important if they’ll be writing your letter of recommendation.