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

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Atypical applicant - pristine record, then horrible grades 1yr, but with great recs.
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 at these colleges, listed from 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>

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<p>woops, double post-- sorry</p>

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<p>McGill, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Columbia, Brown, Boston College, and the rest are pretty much the same level easiness. The schools I listed are in order from most difficult for you to least. McGill is entirely, and really I mean entirely, focused on academic grades/standardized tests. UC Berkeley is focused on grades as well tremendously, but may excuse you. </p>

<p>With the comments that your teachers have shared about you, you probably have some sort of special gift that may make a difference in the future. Remember, a lot of people who did were not excellent students when it comes to grades. The love of learning and ability to grow intellectually is what matters most and I think if this is shown through recs, which count a lot, then you have a great chance of getting in. I see you are trying to work on you perfectionism as well. This may slightly bring you down in other matters of college. (Also, you don't have to be a grade grubber to be an A student :-)). Get your counselor to mention what you just mentioned here.</p>

<p>I think you stand a great chance. Show your abilities through ECs. What ECs are you involved with? What about standardized tests?</p>

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<p>Disagree with ^^^. Brown admitted 13.5% of students last year, and Columbia less than 11%, making them a lot more difficult to get into than McGill, Chicago, and BC. IDK about Berkeley in state.</p>

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<p>Although Brown and Columbia admitted less students, they look for a whole person rather than grades. McGill looks solely upon grades and couldn't care less about anything else. Those who got rejected from Brown or Columbia may have had the marks but nothing special (excepting the whole "crapshoot" thing).</p>

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<p>No offense, but a quick read of your post suggests that you would have difficulty with college at this point in your life. Not intellectually. Perhaps you should consider the idea that you have a personality disorder, Perhaps OCD, and you should discuss getting help . I can't imagine your parents haven't been concerned. Lots of luck.</p>

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<p>"Although Brown and Columbia admitted less students, they look for a whole person rather than grades."</p>

<p>That's a common theme on these boards, and it's highly debatable, but Brown isn't going to overlook Ds and Fs to "look at the whole person."</p>