<p>ok so... i want to appeal a college decision... and i need advice.</p>
<p>basically... high school has been really hard for several reasons. one reason i talked about in my essay. recently i finally succumbed and decided to go to therapy. it turns out what i have really known all along... i have moderate ocd and some anxiety/depression issues. these obviously affected what i did in high school and how much i was involved in things. it wasnt on my application originally, because i was in denial to myself about anything being wrong with me. i just wrote it off as weird ways of me coping. now, though, i have sought help and am on medication, which shows how ive grown. ocd... which is hard to explain but in my case involves having to repeat things over and over, has effected my life the most. i cringe as i remember taking the sat and having to continually circle, erase, circle, erase, the same answer even BEFORE bubbling in it on my answer sheet. obviously this kind of thing has negatively effected me in areas that affect college admission. so basically here are my questions and concerns:
1. i know i can tell them that this has negatively affected me, but i cant offer proof that i would have done better without it. if someone sick on SAT day they write in explaining this and send new scores from when they were better... but im not over this yet... and i have no new scores/ grades that i can show of me without it.
2. i dont want them to think they dont want me at their school because i have this. i function completely normally. i take mostly AP's and have great grades in them, while balancing my extra currics. its the internal struggle thats taken the hardest toll. if i didnt get better, i could still succeed in college, but once im over it i can do even BETTER... i want them to realize this.</p>
<p>so... basically i really want to appeal this decision. what are your thoughts/advice regarding my situation?</p>
<p>Appeals rarely work…ever. You can try, but it probably isn’t going to happen. If it’s a public school they’ll just tell you to lower your standards and go elsewhere, and if it’s private they’ve probably aleady built their perfect entering class and won’t want to tamper with it.</p>
<p>I think it’s worth a try. I think that given your success in other areas, there is a legitimate case there. Focus on getting better, though. I really admire you for getting help; I have some of the repeating behavior stuff, but it hasn’t been bad enough for me to want to go to a professional-it does seem scary. Maybe you can apply after a gap year. Best wishes.</p>
<p>I would be aware that the admissions officer can be . . .anybody. It might be a hip 24 year old or a 60 year old former English teacher. For that reason, please use correct grammar and punctuation (your constant use of “i” came across as juvenile to me – but I am not “hip” at all!). </p>
<p>You certainly can sign up now to take SAT in May. That could be a strong point to make – that you are ready to show that you are better and are willing to do so. </p>
<p>Do you have a teacher who can write a supporting letter? Having a teacher communicate that you have the maturity and discipline to succeed at the college level could help. </p>
<p>Please realize that you are about to enter a new way of time keeping. For the last 14 years of your life there was some “shame” associated with the kid who repeated a grade. This is not true at the college level. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a semester or a year at a local college to get your feet on the ground (and the OCD throughly managed in a college setting) and then transferring. People do that all the time. </p>
<p>Think about the ten adults that you admire the most. Do you know (or care!) which of them graduated college at 22? 23? 24? </p>
<p>Now is also the time to decide if you are a worthless worm of a human being if you don’t have a flashy window decal from a Big Name University. Most folks are pretty good folks and we decide that before we even see their vehicle. If you are a decent kid with some real potential, then you will continue to be just that even if you lack the decal in September 2010.</p>
<p>It sounds like you need some more time to show your talents. Sure, try the appeal – but also make a plan for developing those talents if the answer to the appeal is “No.”
Good luck!</p>
<p>There’s nothing lost by appealing, but you may want to lower your expectations or take a gap year and do something productive you’ve really made a 180.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice everyone! I apologize for sounding juvenile- I just don’t really bother to use proper grammar and punctuation on on-line forums, but I’ll try to be better. and I definitely won’t type like that in my letter.
I definitely don’t think I need a gap year or community college. I’ve already gotten into a few good schools but I really wanted one that is the one I want to appeal. my grades and test scores are ABOVE the average for students admitted to that school, but (unfortunately)being from my school makes it really hard to get into certain places. like I said, I function normally, no one could tell, and I would be successful if I stayed the same, but if I wasn’t dealing with it internally I could do a lot better.</p>
<p>anyways, I have another question, if anyone could help me. I’m part Hispanic but I left my race blank on the application. this has obviously helped people get in though. is there any way to mention it in my appeal without sounding really weird? like maybe if i just said i made a “mistake” and left my race blank and then told them?</p>