Atypical applicant - pristine record, then horrible grades 1yr, but with great recs.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I had all A's in my first 2 years of high school at an independent study school, including 2 A's in college courses, and took so many classes I was about to graduate as a 16 year old. On a 4.0 scale, I had above a 4.0 due to the college classes.</p>

<p>But I decided to go to the top prep school in the country (Andover/Exeter.. not saying which to protect anonymity, just in case) because I wanted a challenge (and because going to college at age 16 is a hassle w/ laws and restrictions, etc.)</p>

<p>Due to numerous reasons, ability (or effort) not being one of them, my grades for my junior year were very crappy. Fall term: b+, c+, c-, b, b... winter: b-, f, d-, c-, b. Spring: b+, c, c-, b-, c-. I still managed to have a great year intellectually and socially (very much)... I don't regret it; I learned a bunch, even if my grades don't show that.</p>

<p>My teachers were confused, because they found me to be very smart.. My English teacher said I was the smartest student he has ever had in 40 years at the school, teaching the future leaders of America. He also said I was one of the most frustrating (due to my disorganization). My other English teacher said, in numerous different ways and at numerous different instances, that I have a bright future in English, and noted that a visiting poet scholar was "smitten" with my "literary mind" after just talking with me. </p>

<p>My art teacher and I have a weird relationship... she thinks I'm talented in art, especially with the intellectual aspect of it, but grew very frustrated with me because I was a perfectionist with my work and refused to hand stuff in that would have gotten me a perfectly fine grade, just because I wasn't personally satisfied with it. In fact, this is the case with most of my classes... be it with science labs, English papers, math hand-ins, etc.. I have a personal/intellectual issue with handing work in which isn't representative of my ability, and I end up with 0's and A's.. and hence C's, etc., for the final grade. I am not a grade grubber, and am concerned with more intellectual pursuits than grubbing... Logically, I would have handed stuff in and ended up with final grades maybe 25-50% higher than I got... but this wasn't an option for me, even if the final grades are grossly misrepresentative, I'm not morally OK with handing in crappy work. I'm a perfectionist and am very rebellious at heart and am not OK with doing something just because I should do it.. so, math homework seemed like a trivial pursuit next to studying existentialism.. I was never slacking intellectually, just academically a bit.</p>

<p>Anyway, I am getting better with my perfectionism and with doing things just because in the end it's the best, but that was my junior year and I can't change it now. Now comes college.. my dream college, Brown, isn't happening. I understand that, I accept it, I'm OK with it, even though it truly is perfect for me. So I'm looking into substitutes... and with my situation, it’s hard to tell which is a reach and what’s not. Everyone who knows me knows that those grades are not representative of my ability or effort. I’m very independent and stubborn, don’t do things if they conflict with my beliefs, and I like that about myself.. it just wasn’t the ideal mindset for succeeding at a top, cutthroat school. My independence and intellectual idealism is an asset. It just hindered my efficiency this past year, and I’m now learning to coexist with the practicality and demands of my school. Hopefully senior year fall and winter grades will be better and show that I have improved and am fully capable of succeeding at this school.</p>

<p>So straight a’s for 2 years while going to college part time as a 15 yr old, crappy grades with good recs and comments from the teachers for one year at the toughest school in the country after I moved across the country and dropped everything I knew to be there, yet succeeded socially and intellectually.. just not academically. Good test scores (haven’t taken them yet, but I ace standardized tests), arts editor of one of our magazines, active member in clubs like GSA and ethnic group clubs, good artist and writer, interesting life story and unusual background, community service, very introspective and creative (maybe shown in essays or recs, and def in interviews --- I’m so good at interviews). And lets say all a’s and b’s for senior fall and winter (b’s are very hard to get here… a b- Is like an a+ at other schools, and colleges know this).</p>

<p>So.. where am I standing?</p>

2

<p>Where are you shooting for?</p>

3

<p>Sounds like you need to be morally OK with handing in work that will get the job done. Teachers don't like perfectionists - depends how far you go with it.
Exeter is a tough school, huh? A friend of mine left after 8 grade year and went to Exeter.</p>

4

<p>This is my list, least likely to most likely:</p>

<p>Brown
Columbia</p>

<p>NYU
U Chicago
McGill
Boston College
Boston University
Northeastern University
Emerson College
UC Berkeley*</p>

<p>Eugene Lang
U Toronto
University of San Francisco (USF)*
San Francisco State University*</p>

<p>St. John’s
Shimer
Naropa University</p>

<p>*And I'm a California resident.</p>

5

<p>I'm not uptight -- most of my friends would laugh if I told them I was a perfectionist. But at my old school I was able to go really in depth and be very scholarly and thorough with my work, an at my new school, it is so hectic and demanding that as soon as you go in depth in one subject, you're behind in your 4 others, and then the courses go by so quick that you're catching up from when you put your attention elsewhere and then finals come and well... yeah.</p>

<p>Also -- my passion is yoga. I've been doing it since I was 7, I WILL become a part time yoga teacher, and it is a huge part of me. And I intend to major in philosophy.</p>

6

<p>You realize you are going to have to change your ways. It's really poor time management skills to not finish things on time. Your boss at work is going to come into your office and ask for the report for the presentation and if you don't have it you're finished. </p>

<p>I remember you started this thread a while ago and the best advice was to talk to your GC because no one is going to be able to realistically give you an accurate chance of where you stand but c's, d's, and f's are going to hurt no matter what school. Best of luck, doing well on the SATs will help.</p>

7

<p>I could have sworn that I read this same exact post a while back...</p>

8

<p>Yeah, I forgot I went through with posting it. Sorry.</p>

<p>Anyway, school's out for the summer, and I would just like CC's opinion of my chances...</p>

9

<p>maybe you have ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder). that could explain the extreme fixation on perfection to the point of failure.</p>

10

<p>There's really no way I have OCD. The total truth is that I was going through a bit of an existentialist dilemma, mixed in with tons of things which were going on at home (like for one, one of my best friends from home hung herself the week before finals week, and I couldn't go to the funeral... I also had extreme sleep problems, and there was not a school night in the whole year that I got more than 4 hours, which messed me up after a few months of getting an average of 3hours sleep) which were so big that school (not learning or intellectuality) seemed to trivial and unimportant at times. The environment is also very competitive and a huge majority of the kids are fixated on the driest measures of success... going to harvard and getting straight a's and becoming an investment banker and leading a safe, secure life, and I'm not like that. I have a great group of friends who are more artsy and less concerned with that, but the culture still took a toll on me because it was almost 100% the opposite of what I was, yet it was me who wanted to go there in the first place, and I held such high hopes that were in such stark contrast to my resulting situation.</p>

<p>But I never slacked intellectually.. I dare say I went way beyond the level of intellectuality at my school, while disregarding the academic aspect of learning as futile and as somewhat naive (because that's how the pursuit of success in the context of existentialism appeared to me). When I was supposed to be memorizing vocab or something, I was reading Being And Nothingness for the 13th time. The pursuit of success just seemed so futile to me.... and it still does, but I plan to suck it up at least part of the time so that eventually I will be able to study philosophy full time.</p>

<p>But whatever my problem was, it wasn't OCD... perfectionism with essays at times, yes, because of my ideals, but no psychiatrist would diagnose me with OCD. And it wasn't a lack of ability. It was complicated, which is why I hate to sum it up as an existential crisis.</p>

11

<p>Write about it in your essays, and how far you've come since then.</p>

<p>Also, Shimer has NO problem with atypical applicants!</p>

12

<p>To be honest, you're in the worst position you can possibly be in. Colleges can cut you some slack for freshman/sophomore year mistakes, but bombing junior year is pretty much detrimental because that's the most important year for an applicant. However, if you write AMAZING essays explaining what happened, you might have a chance. Also, have you taken the SAT yet? Getting a near perfect score on it would help back up your claim and make your application stronger.</p>

13

<p>You are clearly a remarkably intelligent and intellectual person who strives to succeed. However, you are in terribly hard situation with colleges. Your only real savior is that you have the opportunity to write amazing essays explaining your situation well to Adcoms. Take advantage of this, and with compassion and some luck you may be able to achieve your dream schools after all. Let everyone else hear about your situation, the way you have opened up on the CC Community. </p>

<p>Best of luck =]</p>