A Situation: Advice Welcome

Applying to College
1

<p>First, want to say thank you for helping me out. I appreciate your advice. I had started a thread previously, but that was a quick post and didn't cover all of the information that I would like to convey. I have quite a few questions regarding a situation that presented itself during my high school carreer. Thanks again.</p>

<p>As a freshman, I took Honors Physics and Honors Geometry. I go a C and a B, respectively. I kept all of my other grades in the B range. I was involved in an after-school science club, and volunteered at my local YMCA quite a bit. I was suspended 2 times during my freshmen year, both times being the cause of 'disorderly conduct'. </p>

<p>During the summer preceding my sophomore year, a conflict within the family steadily escalated to the point that I had to move out and live with my grandparents, who were located in a different school district. I did well acedemically, earning As and two Bs. The living arrangements restricted my ability to participate in any extracurricular activities, however. Mid-year, I was involving myself with some people that I sholdn't have been trying to associate with. I made some horrible mistakes and, as a result, ended up in the hospital for the latter half of my sophomore year. I ended up moving back into my parents' household, where I have been doing well since. </p>

<p>I was not sure of my acedemic ability, as I was basically taken out of society for over 5 months. I was out of school for longer than normal, and doubted my ability to do well. I decided that taking 1 Honors class would be enough. I took Honors Pre-Calulus and earned a B. In all of my other classes, I earned As. I participated in Chess Club, Tech Club, and Movie Club on a weekly basis. I also volunteered (and still am) at my church weekly. I earned an 1880 on my SAT (1260, math+verbal). I have kept a steady job for as long as I have been home. </p>

<p>As an upcoming senior, I am going to be taking AP Calculus and AP History, as well as several honors classes, one of which being Chemistry. I plan on participating in much more extracurricular activity, and will continue volunteering at my church. I also plan on taking the SAT again. I am not familiar enough with any subject to be able to take a subject test, although I wish I was. </p>

<p>I have done a lot of research on colleges and plan on applying to WPI, Champlain College, and UMass Amherst. I want to major in CompSci, maybe Information Security. I am currently working 2 jobs; one being my normal job, and one being a summer school district techie job. I have several questions regarding the application process.</p>

<p>I realize that I need my tax returns; I filed them last year but do not physically have the statement. Is that okay? </p>

<p>I am completely in the clouds with this whole recommendations process. I was not able to establish many close relationships with faculty at my HS because of the situation descibed previously. As a result, I am limited in the number of possible recommensders that I have to choose from. Some of them are brand new teachers, right out of college. Should I worry about whether or not these teachers are capeable of writing an acceptable recommendation? I am also unsure of how to obtain the froms that the teachers need to complete the recommendations. Do I get them individually from the colleges that I'm interested in? </p>

<p>As for the interview, I plan on going to the 3 colleges previously mentioned. I have several others picked out, just in case I don't get accepted into my top 3 under early action. Should I bring my parents? </p>

<p>Also, what information should be on my resume that I submit with the recommendations forms to the teachers? </p>

<p>I am really worried about this upcoming year. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you so much for your time. You guys are great!</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your time.</p>

2

<p>My suggestion is that you read the advice that you read one of the widely available college guides such as the annual ones put out by Time and U.S. News. They provide step by step info in how to handle the college process.</p>

<p>Then, take the time to thoroughly review CC, including the archives.</p>

<p>After you do those things, come back and ask any remaining questions. I make these suggestions because it seems you need lots of help with the college application process, but to get that help, you have to start out by getting the general info for yourself because no one is going to have the time to lead you by the hand through the process. Your post was extremely long and had lots of basic questions. It's unlikely that people on a message board will have the time to do that kind of work to help you. You have to do the basic work for yourself.</p>

3

<p>First, most colleges on their applications have some sort of "supplementary statement" or something like that where you can explain any special circumstances relevant to your application. This was made just for people in situations like yours, and you should make use of it. Say at least as much as you did here, if not more. They'll probably want you to elaborate on some things that you understandably haven't specified.</p>

<p>As for recommendations, I wouldn't worry too much about teachers not knowing you. Find classes in which you did particularly well and ask those teachers. And if someone who knows your situation well can write a supplementary recommendation (for schools that allow it), that wouldn't be a bad idea.</p>

<p>I would not recommend bringing your parents to any interviews. Sure, have them travel to the college with you, but don't bring them into the interview itself.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Be aware that your suspensions most likely will make it difficult for you to gain admission to private colleges that normally would be match schools. On the GC recommendations that most colleges require, there usually is a question about whether a student has had disciplinary problems. Check the CC archives for other situations similar to yours.</p>

<p>Public universities with strong honor codes (U Va. comes to mind) also will look askance at students with histories of disciplinary problems.</p>

<p>As is the case for most people who apply to college in this country, due to the wide variety of colleges that are available, you probably can get into some 4-year college. However, keep in mind that what would be match schools for you based on your stats may end up being reach schools, and what normally would have been safeties may end up being your match schools.</p>

5

<p>Are you a Massachusetts resident? If so, how did you do on your MCAS in 10th grade? If you did well enough, you may be eligible for one of the scholarships at U Mass.</p>

6

<p>You can learn a lot about the application process just by registering at the common application website and by trying to fill the form. It will take time, but make an attempt to fill the form. A lot of your basic questions will be answered (e.g, where to get the recommendation forms). Then you just need to fill a short supplementaty form for each of the specific schools.<br>
The website is <a href="http://www.commonapp.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.commonapp.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

7

<p>Thank you all very much for your time. I understand that I have asked quite a few questions here, and I apologize. I have don a lot of research, including reading "College Planning for Dummies" and the whole collegeboard.com websit. Nowhere does it say anything about some of the things I asked about, including info on where to get the forms for recommendations. I certainly don't want my 'hand held' through the process; I found this forum and simply regarded it as a place to ask questions. I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you with my intro!</p>

<p>Do you think that the suspensions will have a huge effect on my standing as an applicant? I am basically a completely different person now, and have not gotten into any trouble since freshman year. </p>

<p>Another question (im sorry...); the situation that caused my admittance to the hospial involved something illegal (up there under the federal offense umbrella). The PD and other people with authority decided to leave my record clean after the occurance. I am, on paper, as clean as can be with the law. Should I disclose this info, or would it be lying if I didn't? So my life is basically screwed right? I'm going to have a hard time getting into a state school because of my freshman mistakes? People don't see a person who went through all of this and still kept grades up as someone that deserves consideration? omg i'm so screwed. I just want to go to Champlain! </p>

<p>Thank you again for all of your time ...</p>

8

<p>"Do you think that the suspensions will have a huge effect on my standing as an applicant? "</p>

<p>Yes. After all, you will be competing against many students who have not been suspended.</p>

<p>" I'm going to have a hard time getting into a state school because of my freshman mistakes? People don't see a person who went through all of this and still kept grades up as someone that deserves consideration? "</p>

<p>As I said before, where you apply will matter. Most state schools admit strictly by using one's stats and whether one is in-state or out of state. Your suspensions, however, will probably hurt you at some highly competitive state schools that also have very strict honor codes. U Va. is one example.</p>

<p>Private colleges tend to admit based on more factors than the stats, and consequently, your suspensions may be especially harmful to your applications at private colleges.</p>

<p>"Another question (im sorry...); the situation that caused my admittance to the hospial involved something illegal (up there under the federal offense umbrella). The PD and other people with authority decided to leave my record clean after the occurance. I am, on paper, as clean as can be with the law"</p>

<p>If your GC or teachers know about it, they may refer to it in the recommendations that they fill out, which typically ask about a student's character and ethics. Due to fear of lawsuits, they also could decide to reveal this information through a phone call. Their own integrity is on the line if they attest to the character of a student whom they know has had major disciplinary problems in school and out of school.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for your time. </p>

<p>Do you think I could get into Champlain College?</p>

10

<p>I'm not familiar with Champlain college, so can't comment on that. You should, however, look up its admissions stats to see how yours compare.</p>

<p>Noticing that you're working 2 jobs, I'm wondering if finances are a concern. If so, it will be very important to check out the financial aid policies at the colleges you are considering. </p>

<p>Relatively few colleges are able to promise to meet 100% of all accepted students' documented financial need (keep in mind that "financial need" means what the school thinks you can pay, not what your family thinks they can pay). I am not aware of any public schools that make such promises. With public schools in particular, the more desired a student is, the more likely that student may be to get a generous aid package. Some private colleges are like that, too. In general, the more select the colleges are, the more generous they are with their aid (because they have more money in general), so colleges like Harvard and Princeton are among the country's most generous.</p>

<p>Whether or not money is a concern, you might want to consider taking a gap year and doing something productive such as Americorps, which is a volunteer program which pays a monthly stipend of close to $800 plus will give you about $4,700 toward your college costs. It's an excellent program, which also could give you more of a chance to prove to colleges that you've put the problemed behavior behind you. It also is a wonderful way of developing responsibility, independence and learning about your own talents and interests. My own son will be doing Americorps this year after deciding not to apply to college because in part, he wasn't sure what he wanted to major in.</p>

<p>By participating in something like this, you would strengthen your application, increase your chances of getting merit aid (because some colleges have scholarships for students with strong records of volunteering), develop more of a sense about what you want to study in college and pursue afterward, and also earn some money that could help with your college expenses.
Here are some links to some programs:</p>

<p>This is a link to City Year, which is one of the best Americorps programs and actually inspired Americorps: <a href="http://www.cityyear.org/about/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cityyear.org/about/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Link to Americorps main website: <a href="http://www.americorps.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.americorps.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Having had legal or other problems will NOT prevent your getting into Americorps if you submit a strong application. (THey don't ask about grades, but do have some brief essay questions asking about why you're applying and what you believe you have to offer.)</p>

11

<p>Americorps does do a legal background check, so I am not sure how much your legal problems would affect your application. I don't think, however, that having had some legal problems automatically leads to rejection.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
The PD and other people with authority decided to leave my record clean after the occurance. I am, on paper, as clean as can be with the law"

[/quote]
Your legal check may be clear, if they expunged your record, but you should check with a lawyer about whether you need to disclose anything. If money is a problem or if you do not want your hs transcript to follow you, you might consider going to a community college to get your prerequisite and basic classes taken care of (Cc's will admit most any walking bodies), then transfer to a 4-year college. They won't care about your HS transcript if you have a decent cc transcript.</p>

13

<p>Thank you all very much for your time. I will look into americorps; do you think that if I apply to UMass and Champlain, and get rejected from both, that it will then be a good idea to participate in a program such as americorps? I have some medical conditions (asthma + a skin disorder) that prevent me from being able to join the army/navy etc. I just don't want to fall behind in life, you know? I think, from what I gather, that the best route to take would be to go to Quinsigamond CC for 2 years, right out of HS, and then go to a private school for four additional years. Does this sound right? Thank you all very very much.</p>