at St. Johns MD

<p>I have been out of high school for a year to save money and help out my mother who has alot of health problems. In high school...
GPA-3.2 I got an
SATs-1110...
three AP classes (euro history, english, us history) I got an A's in all three.
honors Algebra I, II and geometry. My grades were B's in the Algebras and a C in geometry. I could have gotten A's in easier classes but i was looking for a challenge, is this going to be held against me?
limited extracurriculars, I moved around to five different schools I did however work a fulltime job for my senior year and a part time job for the other three years
The website says they place most emphasis on the essays, and i have spent the past week or so working them out. They are definetly my best writing. But I have seen the kids that go there seem to have stellar high school grades, SAT scores and all such stuff. The curriculum at the school is what I'm looking for more than anything else. It's my dream school. But do I really stand a chance, with my much less than stellar academics?</p>

<p>i think youd definately have a chance, although its probably a reach. someone i know got in, and his SATs are better, but GPA is lower.</p>

<p>thanks for replying. i had figured my chances were pretty slim but i wanted to at least get another opinion. in any case...even if i am rejected now i will probably spend a year at a different school getting my grades up and reapply lol it's pretty much the only school that i have wanted to go to for awhile now.</p>

<p>I think you should let the school know about your family situation (i.e. mother's health) and also that you have been up-rooted so many times...things that can contribute to lower SAT scores and GPA's. St. John's is a wonderful school and far from run-of-the-mill. If you write a stellar essay and include some background information, it might prove beneficial.</p>

<p>hey...yea that is a really good idea..but i'm not sure how to write something like that. i'm worried if i don't mention that i moved so much it wont explain the patterns in my grades (always during the semester we were moving they dropped at least 10pts) and the fact that i took some classes two or three times. i wont get in because i look lazy. but i also worry about seeming like i want some sort of sympathy vote...do you think i would be better off taking all that info and putting it in a separate essay (they do have the option for that) or working it into the other three?</p>

<p>just wanted to clarify something lol i didnt take classes two or three times because i failed...i would leave a school before taking a final, and not get credit for it...that happened a bunch of times.</p>

<p>the adm. folk at st. john are delightful. if they see a clause for acceptance, they will not give you the benefit of the doubt because they admit those who they have no doubt in intellectually. </p>

<p>they do not rely on the traditional grading scale. if they see that you have the spark of intellectualism and classic academic liberalism that their students all possess, they will admit you.</p>

<p>mention your case with the uprooting and the maternal dilemmas. it will effect their choice on you.</p>

<p>Just print out this thread and send it to them!! It sounds pretty convincing...</p>