A little bit of a predicament...

Applying to College
1

I put this in the wrong forum, but here it goes:

During my freshman year my parents decided to have a divorce. Not too uncommon, and I was a little upset but nothing too major. However, once my mother got into contact with this man, and later married him, things got difficult. He was an abuser, giving me constant emotional and sometimes violent physical pain. Not only that, but he has sexually harassed my mother in front of me. He tore up my book bag and all its contents one day and threw it on the patio. I was miserable, and to make matters worse, I received a 2.63 uw gpa freshman year . I decided that the man will not be the deciding factor of my academic success. Early sophomore year I worked hard, still under the influence of my stepfather. Later I went to court and the judge was very kind to me, she let me live with my dad so I may prosper. At the end of sophomore year I received a 3.62 uw gpa, and thus totaling my overall gpa up to a 3.2. This demonstrates that I have the capability to excel academically because of the upward trend. I am now in junior year and I am maintaining a 4.0. Now here is the important part: If I am able to express increased maturity and motivation through an upward trend, whilst notifying the admissions office about my family issue, will they accept that? Also if you could recommend me some good schools that don’t check freshman year, or excludes it if given an appropriate reason, that would be great!

As you may have already known, my current gpa (Starting Junior year) is a 3.2uw and a 3.9375 W however, this will improve dramatically after this semester. My current courseload:

[]GPA:
Freshman: 2.62 (Major blow from divorce and abuse)
Sophomore: 3.62 (After first semester I moved out, and rejuvenated my future)
Junior (4.0 So far)

All Unweighted

[]AP’s:
AP German Language and Culture (German 5)
AP English Language and Composition
AP Computer Science
AP Psychology

[]Honors:

1st Semester:
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors US History

2nd Semester:
Honors PLTW Principles of Biomedical Science
Honors Chemistry 1

[]EC’s:

  • Civil Air Patrol
  • HOSA

Possible in the near future:

  • South Meck Pride
  • Key Club
  • National Social Studies Honor Society (NSSHS)
  • National Honors Society
  • South Mecklenburg TV Club
  • National Science Honors Society
  • Possibly JV or V Golf
  • FIA President (Future Investors of America)

Volunteer Work:
Worked on an organic farm all summer (Over 100 hours)
Might be attending a prestigious volunteer program over the summer at my local hospital.

College Choices:

  • Duke University (Trinity) ED
  • UNC: Chapel Hill
  • Wake Forest
  • Davidson
  • NC State University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Vanderbilt

Any Suggestions? Name a mix of reach + mid-range colleges (I know enough safeties)

Thank you so much!

Edit: Next year I will be taking a full AP load

2

You should include your predicament in your application. the majority schools use holistic approach, and will sure take your situation into consideration.

Many people claims that Stanford does not consider freshman grades.

3

A common suggestion on these boards is to have your guidance counselor mention your chaotic home life in their recommendation. If you are the one making “excuses” (even valid ones), it may come off a little whiny.

4

^ My counselor is horrible. She agreed to do that, but she did not even care to listen to my story (She had more “pressing” matters to attend to; like facebook).

5

@bodangles

6

Bleh. That sucks. Would your teacher recs be willing to mention it in a more gracious way?

7

Most definitely. Unfortunately, they are required to seek out my counselor and inform her if I tell them I have any abuse related issues. She just blows them off, and it makes me seem like I am whining. Otherwise, I have a great bond with some of my teachers and I would not mind informing them. I do not think that I will have to worry about that. Oh and, do you have any recommendations for my courses/ec’s? @bodangles

8

The best way to show that your early low grades are an anomaly is to have amazing test scores. And the GC is the best person to communicate that family issues affected your grades freshman year. Your soph grades aren’t so bad. Maybe send her an email reminding her to please mention that in her recommendation when she is close to writing them in fall of senior year.

9

So, what would you consider a good test score is for the schools I have provided? @intparent

10

You would need around a 2250 (preferably a 2300) on the SAT or 34-35 on the ACT to truly show colleges that you are indeed academically prepared for these schools.

11

My current psat is around a 680-720 in all subjects so I will be hitting near a 2100 @rdeng2614

12

Have a talk now with your parents about how/how much they will pay for college. Assuming money is no object and everyone agrees with that, take a look at a few more southern LACs that are more mid-range: Rhodes, Hendrix and Eckard for starters. Bigger? University of Richmond, Elon and College of Charleston. (I’m going for the southeast since you seem to have a geographical preference.)

If money is an a concern, now is the time to find out. Ditto if your parents have specific views about the colleges they want you to apply to or other criteria for selection. Kids with complicated family situations sometimes find that applying to college has layers of complexity others don’t have to deal with starting with complicated financial situations - but not necessarily ending there.

To chance yourself at any school, your best bet is to google the Common Data Set for that school, most recent year, and then scroll down to Section C where you can find the academic profile of the latest admitted class. You want to be at least squarely in the middle (and if you want scholarships, assuming they offer them), you want to be in at the top of the class.

As for your familiar situation in freshman year, ideally you want your GC to mention it so you don’t have to use precious ‘real estate’ in your application explaining a negative, instead of focusing entirely on what you have to offer. If you feel that the GC is blowing you off, you can certainly share it with your teachers in the category of 'challenges I’ve had to overcome."

And finally, a word on ECs: It’s depth not breadth. Do not join lots of clubs just to fill space on the application. It looks like resume padding and detracts from the more important and interesting ECs. Just 3 to at most 5 is plenty. Figure out what you enjoy most and focus your efforts there. It’s more fun, you’ll learn more, you’ll be a more interesting person - and as a side benefit, it might get an admin officer’s attention in a positive way.

13

Sorry, I don’t see myself enjoying any of those schools (Except maybe Richmond). They do not accurately represent my academic ability. Money is not a worry for me. I am maintaining a 4.0 GPA for my junior year (I intend to keep it that way), and I will be able to improve my SAT score to a 720+ for every subject. My UW gpa at the end of this year will be near a 3.5.

14

@N’s Mom

15

I agree with @rdeng2614 about what test score to shoot for. Also, you are about one week into your junior year, right? So claiming you are maintaining a 4.0 is premature. If I had a dollar for every kid who claimed they were going to start getting a 4.0 to raise their overall GPA in junior year, my kids’ tuition would be covered.

Your comment about not seeing yourself “enjoying” any of those other schools rubs me the wrong way. College isn’t one big party for you to enjoy. Your parents aren’t paying essentially the cost of another house in college expenses for your entertainment. You need to go to college where your major is reasonably strong, you have the stats to get accepted, and your parents can afford to send you. Bonus if you like the campus and something like the sports scene, but your first focus should be on those other items.

You also want to talk now with whichever parents you think are going to pay your bills, and make sure they are up for a quarter of a million dollars in college expenses. That is what several of the schools on your list will cost. Some parents say they will pay, but when they see the actual costs they change their minds. It is important to talk about it early.

16

I do not think you should avoid mentioning the freshman year problem. In the additional information section, you can simply say that due to your mother’s remarriage you were in an abusive household and petitioned the court to go live with your father. That left you able to concentrate on your studies in a safe place. This is a major fact of your living situation and is not going to be viewed as an excuse.

I also think near 2100 is a great score and won’t keep you out of any school. However the whole package may. You can’t just concentration on reach schools. You are having a serious bad attitude if you put down colleges that are good and will get you as far as you want to go but are within your reach. You are lacking in maturity and awareness if you think it is more about the school than you. I hate to see such a spoiled attitude, but the reality is it won’t serve you well when you don’t have any acceptances. Find more matches.

17

I apologize for the misunderstanding (It was not my intention to offend). First of all, I have no problems with the schools. They just don’t have what I am looking for financially, and academically. The University of Richmond has a tuition of about 60k. I checked the schools in my list and talked to my father, and they are simply to expensive for me. I am on a pre-med track, so after doing some research I found UNC Chapel Hill (Very Affordable) to be a good choice. @intparent

18

As I stated above, I did not intend to offend anyone. Any advice is welcome… @BrownParent

19

Also, I am in-state for NC.

20

So are you taking Duke, John’s Hopkins, etc off your list?