Bad family situation...am I stuck?? HELP!

<p>I'm stuck in a really bad family situation that I need to get out of. So, I'm graduating HS a year early. My GC said I have a good list but I came here and realized that I don't think I can get in anywhere on my list. I know I've posted before but I'm really scared I'll be stuck at home PLEASE group the schools I'm applying to as reach/match/ safety(if any)!</p>

<p>3.3 GPA (competitive HS)
720writing
730reading
720math
[[2170]] total
[[1450]] m&cr</p>

<p>800 SatII LIT
620 French w/listening</p>

<p>7 colleges classes (all As)
Good ECs (not great)
good essay
great recs
home schooled untill january of 9th grade</p>

<p>-Wellesley
-Bowdoin
-Trinity
-Colby
-Vanderbilt
-Rhodes
-Centre
-New College of Florida
-Davidson
-Juniata
-Carleton
-Bucknell
-William & Mary
-Colgate
-Connecticut
-Haverford
-Grinnell</p>

<p>You have a great list. And an 800 lit!?! HOLY ****!!!</p>

<p>I'm wicked bad at grouping schools, but your list looks great.</p>

<p>Thanks for the positive words...but many of those schools have x<30 acceptance rates. Can anyone give me a fair idea of from which schools I should definetly start bracing for rejection letters?</p>

<p>hmm, well colgate may be tough, but i think u may be able to pull it off</p>

<p>really good list, u should have a number of acceptances come april</p>

<p>let them know of ur circumstances</p>

<p>Thanks- If anyone could group these as
match
safety
reach
I would be ETERNALLY INDEBTED to him or her!</p>

<p>Please...anyone....help me out</p>

<p>Wellesley-i dunno
-Bowdoin-reachy match
-Trinity-match
-Colby- match
-Vanderbilt-reach
-Rhodes-safety
-Centre-safety
-New College of Florida-safe
-Davidson-match/reach
-Juniata-match
-Carleton-match/reach
-Bucknell-match
-William & Mary-reach
-Colgate-reach
-Connecticut-match
-Haverford-reach
-Grinnell -safety</p>

<p>Don't let the people on this site get you down. If you didn't mention the bad family situation, people would be dumping all over your 3.3 but obviously it IS a competitive high school. Like some one said in another post, the SAT is meant to compare kids from competitive high schools to kids in "Farmtown, USA" as he put it. 3.3 for a competitive high school is fine. If you could get your counselor to compare your GPA to your school senior class GPA that might help as well.</p>

<p>All that being said, I think you have a pretty good list. Vanderbilt, William & Mary, Haverford, and Bowdoin are the closest to "reach" but your SAT scores are in the top half for all of those colleges even, so none of these are ridiculous. I have no idea how graduating a year early due to family problems will help you or hurt you, but I imagine at least a few admissions people will see some one who has a problem and is actively trying to remedy that situation.</p>

<p>I think you have a good list, keep your head up, and best of luck</p>

<p>Juniata = safety. With your scores, you are in for at least $10k in merit aid (with a 3.5 and a 1480, I got 14).</p>

<p>If you have any questions about the school, please feel free to PM me. I may be transferring out, but I should be able to answer any questions :)</p>

<p>You scored higher than 75% of the students at William and Mary.</p>

<p>thanks for the encouragement</p>

<p>Something doesn't add up.....................how does his GPA compute to a 3.3 with all A's in college courses. I'm assuming AP/IB. Unless he has adequate, convincing explanation for his bad family situation/graduating early, I DO think the 3.3 is going to hurt him big time. With SAT's that high, and a GPA that low.............something needs to make him stand out. GPA is one of the biggest indicators for predicting college success. At William and Mary, his class ranking will be heavily looked at regardless of how early he is graduating. I don't think he will get into William and Mary. Just a wild a** guess, but I'm going to say no.</p>

<p>College courses are not factored into high school GPA, they only count towards graduation requirements.</p>

<p>Yea...I actually have a 3.5 ...went and talked with my GC today about that. My school does not rank.</p>

<p>You will get into a number of those schools. Some high schools give a lot of As, some only give a few each class. The colleges will get a class profile that says how your GPA compares with others in your grade, and hopefully it will compare well. Plus, your scores are good. Also, while you are applying to fine schools, you are not applying to HYP, so you won't be expected to have HYP type of grades. It also depends on the courses you took - a girl in our school had a very high average but hadn't taken many "hard" sciences and was on the"easy" math track, and while she got into fine schools, she did not do as well as some with lower GPAs.</p>

<p>Thanks. When I write a letter explaining why I'm graduating early do you think I should talk about the family situation or just about how I've learned to think and am excited about moving on to college?</p>

<p>It depends on the specific situation, but in almost every circumstance you should mention it. Colleges need a reason why you're applying early, and if your family problems are the reason, then you should disclose them.</p>

<p>Thanks, you've been helpful. WELLESLEY is my number one choice is it more of a match or a reach?</p>

<p>I would definitely find a way to explain how your family situation relates to your grades and your desire to graduate early. You have to find a way to explain that GPA, especially in light of the high SAT's. Great about the 3.5! Good Luck!</p>