<p>generally schools consider parents education status since they are the ones who raise you, not grandparents ( in most instances).
They also generally consider attending a community college but not receiving a certificate much different than receiving a degree from a 4 yr school.
YMMV</p>
<p>Ok looking at the kids on this site I feel my chances just decreased drastically, how the hell am I supposed to compete with these kids? what other school in the country could you have a 3.5 and still not be top 25%?</p>
<p>“Ok looking at the kids on this site I feel my chances just decreased drastically, how the hell am I supposed to compete with these kids?”</p>
<p>applegiant – make sure, as the others have suggested, that you have safeties, for admissions and for financial contribution. That means make sure you have a school on your list that you are highly likely to get into and that will provide you the financial support to go. </p>
<p>After that, don’t aim too low (especially if you have fee waivers). Many of the kids (and the parents) posting here are a highly selective bunch. Your qualifications should be measured against your opportunities (and many schools do try to do that). That doesn’t give you an easy in anywhere, but it gives you a shot. </p>
<p>Many of us are in the category of “for those who have given much, much will be expected.” And, a lot of the kids deliver. They deserve respect for what they’ve accomplished. But, don’t eliminate yourself by comparing yourself against them.</p>
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<p>Remember, the adcons do not compare you with kids in other high schools. They look at your record and degree of rigor in your school. As long as you are taking the hardest courses in your HS, you will get credit for that. Some schools offer over a dozen AP’s and some IB programs. Others may only offer a couple of AP’s or just Honors classes. Each school and applicant is viewed in their own context. The SAT and ACT tests are more of a level means of evaluation across schools, geography, etc. Also, a rising grade trend is also an important indicator of your effort.</p>
<p>Use your essays and your GC to discuss your effort and adversity. As stated by another poster, your GC should be your advocate and needs to know as much as possible. Good luck.</p>
<p>Applegiant: Do NOT do NOT do NOT compare yourself with kids on this site and think that these are average kids! </p>
<p>Kids on this site are highly motivated. That’s why they’re here instead of on Facebook. And College Confidential used to advertise itself as a site for people looking for admission to “elite” colleges… not sure if they still advertise that way, but that’s who they attract.</p>
<p>Since this site is anonymous, the temptation to… exaggerate… one’s qualifications is high. I don’t necessarily believe everything I read here.</p>
<p>Also, a 3.5 is not a 3.5 everywhere. On an unweighted scale, it’s halfway between an A and a B. But MANY schools weight their GPAs and many kids are quoting weighted GPAs. In Massachusetts, public schools and colleges give a +.5 boost for honors classes (so an A = 4.5) and a 1.0 boost for AP’s (A = 5.0) - so the kid taking mostly honors and AP’s could have a GPA of 4.1, for example. In the South, many schools give +1.0 for honors (so an A is worth 5.0) and +2.0 for APs, so an A in an AP class is worth 6.0! My daughter’s college uses the 6.0 scale. They advertise an “average” GPA for the incoming freshman class of 4.0 - and yet it is known as a school for B+ kids. My D was 2nd decile, with an unweighted GPA of 3.2, but a weighted GPA of 4.0 from a slightly-better-than-average suburban public hs when she applied and was accepted.</p>
<p>So a 3.5 may not be terribly impressive, if the person is using a 6.0 scale. Of course they usually leave that little detail out of their “chance me” description…</p>