By now, you know it's important to make a good first impression on your college applications. But what if there are problems with important parts of your applications-like your GPA, test scores or student record? We asked four admissions counselors how to improve the weak parts of your application.

Let's say you've worked hard and earned good grades-during your junior and senior years. Unfortunately, you didn't work as hard during your freshman and sophomore years, and your GPA shows it. Now that you're applying to colleges, you wish you could do the first part of high school over. What now?

First, realize you're probably not the only applicant with this problem. Matthew Yoder, an admissions counselor at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, says it's not unusual for many students to take a year or two to "warm-up" to high school and figure out that their grades will have a long-term effect.

Matthew says the most important issue is the pattern of grades over time. "Ultimately, we're looking for a positive trajectory," he explains. "Let's say a student's GPA is lower than what we require. If we can tell that low grades in the first couple years of high school caused this low GPA, we will take that into consideration. In that case, the senior year is what's going to show us the student's academic ability."

Matthew is currently considering Daniel's* application. Daniel didn't take much of anything seriously early on in high school. He turned away from God, hung out with the wrong crowd and blew off his classes. Late in his junior year, Daniel got plugged into a youth group and dedicated his life to Christ. He started getting As and Bs in school instead of his usual Cs and Ds. But it was already too late. His cumulative GPA was really low.

Here's how he handled his weak grades: In his personal testimony, which is required as part of the application, Daniel admitted to messing up. But he didn't stop there. He went on to explain that when he got serious about his faith, everything started falling into place for him-including his grades.

Daniel also made his application stand out by getting extra recommendation letters from his pastor and teachers.

"All of his references are giving us a positive impression of him," Matthew says. "His recommendations address the problems we saw in his application." Despite his low GPA, Matthew says Daniel's chances of getting into Trinity are good.

Most Christian colleges ask for personal testimonies and recommendations so the admissions counselors can better understand you and get a sense of your character. So what happens if you have a disciplinary problem on your record? "Although you've probably got some explaining to do, you won't necessarily be rejected," says Luke Cureton, an admissions counselor from Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas.

Luke recently received an application from Jason, who had a suspension on his school record. Jason explained that he'd gotten into a loud, confrontational argument with a teacher and was suspended for his inappropriate behavior. He accepted the consequences and learned a lesson. Most importantly, Jason admitted that he'd been wrong. That was the first time he'd had a disciplinary problem at school, and he hasn't since.

Luke encourages anyone who's had disciplinary problems to talk about them with their admissions counselor. "I just like to find out what the incident was about and if the student learned his lesson," Luke says. "I want to give them a chance."

If you've had some discipline issues in the past, don't let that prevent you from applying to the schools you're interested in. But be sure to anticipate an admissions counselor's concerns, and address them through your recommendations and essays. In Jason's case, his pastors and teachers wrote letters explaining that his suspension did not reflect his true character. And essays sharing your testimony also help-especially when you can explain that Christ's power has changed you and helped you change your behavior.

With Jason's careful explanation, Luke says, he's confident that the suspension on Jason's record won't hinder him from being accepted into Sterling College.

You weren't the president of three clubs, the editor of the school paper and yearbook, or the captain of the basketball team. So what do you put in that spot for extracurricular activities? According to Dorie Azzarito from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, a lot of students believe that all extracurricular involvement has to be school-related. Not true.

If you spent most of your time outside of class at an after-school job, put that on your application. In your essays or interview, share what you learned about hard work and leadership. Dorie says some students list things from hobbies (like reading) to being extra involved in youth group and church activities.

Every student can list some extracurricular activities-anything from a hobby, youth group or a prayer group. Just remember the activities don't necessarily have to involve a school sport or a club.

Standardized test scores are another common source of application stress. If you're applying to college with a low SAT or ACT score, it's natural to feel a little jittery. After all, these scores play an important role in the admissions process. First off, they are a good indication of whether or not a student is ready for college-level work. Secondly, standardized scores help the admissions board determine which classes a student should take.

Still, there are cases where standardized tests just don't paint an accurate picture of a student's abilities. That's what happened to Jessica, who's applied to Alabama's University of Mobile. She's a hard-working student with impressive grades, great recommendations and outstanding essays. Jessica had a strong application, except for her low ACT score.

Jessica tried three times to crack the University of Mobile's minimum requirement score of 19. But she just couldn't do it. Brian Boyle, the admissions counselor who's reading Jessica's application, says Jessica did the right thing by taking the ACT three times. After all, a simple thing like a bad day or even being stressed out about an upcoming paper could affect her score. But Jessica's case seemed different. By looking at her three scores, Brian realized that she just doesn't perform well on standardized tests. He'll take that into account as he decides whether or not to admit her. "I don't want to penalize her because she struggled with that one test," Brian says.

Whatever the score, Brian says, be honest about it. He recently received an application from Donna, who said she had a 21 on her ACT. Donna fit all of the admissions criteria and Brian thought she would have no problem getting accepted. But when Brian finally received Donna's official transcripts he was shocked to see that her official ACT score was below 21.

Donna was not accepted into the University of Mobile. It wasn't just her low ACT score that hurt her. "Her lie hurt her even more than her score," Brian explains. "Don't be afraid to be honest even if your scores are low."

You missed the application deadline. Should you give up on going to the school you're interested in? Maybe not, according to Dorie. Although it's highly recommended that you get your application in on time, don't give up if you've missed the deadline.

After the application deadline had passed, Dorie received a phone call from Kim. Kim explained that she always thought she wanted to go to a large secular school and wasn't even thinking about a Christian college. At the last minute, she changed her mind and knew she belonged at a Christian school and Point Loma University was the place for her.

When Kim asked if she could still apply, Dorie was hesitant. She knew most of the spots for freshmen had been filled. Still, she asked Kim to send her application.

Kim sent her application back to Dorie within a week. The speedy turnaround impressed Dorie. It indicated that Kim was serious about attending Point Loma. Dorie was also impressed by the neatness and care Kim obviously put into completing the application. Another big help: Kim had an impressive GPA (a 4.3 on a 4.0 scale) and a high SAT score (a 1300).

Kim was suddenly at the top of Point Loma's "standby" list. She moved from standby to for-real student when an accepted freshman chose another school. Kim got into the college of her dreams, but a late application doesn't always have such a great result. The bottom line? If at all possible, apply on time.

Since nobody's perfect, it's likely that most students have at least one or two areas on their applications that could be stronger. But if you're willing to communicate with the admissions staffs at the colleges you're interested in, you can help them get a better sense of who you are and why you'd be a good fit at their school. After all, admissions counselors want to know the real you. "Interact with the admissions staff," Dorie says. "You have the opportunity to tell your whole story. We try hard to make the process as personal as possible so we can figure out who the students are and not what they look like on paper."

*Student names have been changed.

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