If you are a borderline candidate at a college but admission officials see that your have a “rising record” (i.e., your senior year is much stronger than previous ones), you might be admitted. But with two years of a C average and then one semester with a B average, you can expect SOME change in your admission chances but not a huge change.
However, there are many colleges that welcome students with high C/low B GPA’s. For instance, check out “The Colleges that Change Lives.” See http://www.ctcl.org/
Some of these schools are fairly selective and some are far less so, but many will accept students with your GPA, and they are all places that give students a lot of individual attention and are known for caring, involved professors.
When you submit your application, you might want to use your college essay (or “the Additional Information” section of your application) to explain why your grades went up in your senior year. Were you an unmotivated student who finally found your focus? Were there problems at home? Did you transfer to a new high school? etc. If you discuss your upward trajectory and why it happened, you may be able to convince the admission folks that it’s going to continue.
