Another pitiful chance thread ;)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Non-traditional community college student. 3 years removed from graduating hs 06. I did nothing for 3 years- HEAVY depression/obesity. Rarely ever left my room. I completely shut myself from the rest of the world. At one point I didn't go outside for a stretch of 5 months- Crazy but true. Majority of my time was spent home on the internet, watching tv, overthinking my past mistakes, wasted potential etc, etc.. Anyway I ended up gettin my ish together. This past new year I decided I didn't want to live like this anymore. Since then, i've dropped 185 pounds in 6 months and have developed a new lease on life. I don't have the most spectacular story ever. Just a hard worker. Do you guys think I should lie about what I've done the past 3 years or just stick to the truth? I'm afraid colleges won't look to kindly on me not doing anything for 3 years. Should I write about my weightloss/depression and how much it has impacted me or does it seem too bland/mundane/cliche?</p>

<p>Anyway here are some stats( the good and the bad!)
2.8 hs gpa 1440/2400 SAT </p>

<p>14 credits this past summer achieved 4.0 GPA. I'll be taking 18 credits in the fall- 6 credits winter -18 credits in the spring- 56 credits overall. I'm VERY confident in my abilty to keep my 4.0. I'll probably have 38 credits completed by the time I apply. </p>

<p>I''ve been invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. I'll take full advantage of being apart of the honor society. I'm shooting to become President/Vice-pesident of my cc's chapter. I plan on joining the pyschology club(my future major) and tutoring underpriveleged students(peer mentoring club). I also plan on joining my local cc's theatre group/stage crew. I've always been interested in theatre. Maybe I'll minor or double major in theatre, we'll see. </p>

<p>PS- I'm a URM.... if that helps</p>

<p>Here are some schools I'm looking at. Be honest if you think if I'm in over my head with some of these choices. I don't want to waste a couple hundred dollars in application fees on schools I have no shot in hell at. Also recommend me other schools you think I should look at.</p>

<p>NYU
USC
Pepperdine
Emory
Vanderbilt
Johns Hopkins
UPitt
Stanford
Yale (yes... yes I know!)
U Chicago
Brown
Cornell
Columbia GS
Syracuse
SUNY Binghamton, Geneseo- instate so it'll be easier to be accepted.
GWU
UMiami
Swarthmore
Boston College
UVA
UNC
Notre Dame
Ithaca</p>

2

<p>Do you plan to retake the SAT? What state are you from? Do you have a financial safety?</p>

<p>I think colleges will be impressed by your turnaround. The top colleges will be tough without higher scores though. You need to create a balanced list that includes schools you can definitely get into and afford.</p>

3

<p>Not sure if I should retake. NY state. Unfortunately I have no financial safety.</p>

4

<p>So you need to add a SUNY you can definitely get into.</p>

5

<p>Do you think if I retake the SAT and score 2100+ it’ll make that much of a difference?</p>

6

<p>It would make a huge difference. Then I’d say with 2 years at a CC with a 4.0 or close, you would be able to transfer to some very good schools that will meet financial need. USC, GW and schools on that level become much more likely.</p>

7

<p>NYU USC GWU UNC Syracuse Jhu Umiami Brown Cornell Swarthmore don’t require SAT scores if you obtain a certain amount of credits. I may take 22 credits in the spring, instead of 18, so I can reach junior status of 60 credits by the time I transfer to my new school.</p>

8

<p>If you just want to apply to those schools you’re fine. Note Brown does not guarantee aid to transfers, it will be hard to get much from from NYU and Syracuse and I don’t know how the others are with aid to transfers.</p>

<p>Also keep in mind that high scores help A LOT for CC transfers at top schools, even those not requiring it. The fact is there are a lot of CC’s where it’s not hard to get a 4.0, and they need to know you’ll be competitive.</p>

9

<p>I see. You’re right. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking the SAT again. What magic number should I be shooting for?</p>

10

<p>Shoot for a perfect 2400 so you try to answer everything right, but to transfer to the top schools that you are looking at 2200 would be a great score. Looking at your record you’ve gotten smarter. Try a practice test from say princeton review from the library and see where you stand. Find what you need to work on and get the scores up so you’ll be ready later. Make sure that you have some safety colleges in the mix. A good score that improved as much as your grades will say a lot to the college.</p>

11

<p>2000 would put you in the running at many good schools.</p>