Wait. How did you manage to “like” your own reply?
I… have no idea. Didn’t mean to do that if I did.
Do the mods know your other account has been suspended?
Yes, since I was the one that did it.
Flex😀
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An odd flex is still a flex, I guess.
Yeah, I only ask because this is turning into another Chances thread, the OP’s second or third depending on how you count his other screenname. And, the narrative is strikingly similar: The OP is less worried about getting into a solid four-year college than he (and, his parents, apparently) are in getting into a “T20”.
But, no matter how much I try, I keep returning to the threshold question which must be, “How is it that a New York City private school graduate is worried about his lack of course rigor?” Because if that’s the case, I can’t imagine any LoR making up for it.
OP has decent ECs. He has no choice but to play to his strength which is as a writer with a droll style and hope his essay doesn’t raise more questions with the adcom than it can answer.
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OP is less worried about getting into a solid four-year college than he (and, his parents, apparently) are in getting into a “T20”.
Why worry about something which is not a factor? In all likelihood, I will get into a solid four-year college. I’d even be content attending a less selective state school, and I have several picked out. For instance, I recently visited four SUNY schools that were very much to my liking, and other private schools that I’d also be pleased to attend.
There’s no need to gibe my parents. They’re the ones who have asked that I explore every option available to me, and have gone out of their way to show me more schools. If you read more of this thread, you’d see that I made known early on that I’m not concerned about targets and safeties. That work is done–I’ve already created a comprehensive list of those that my family and I are comfortable with. I’m now just looking to expand my other options, and attempting to maximize my possibilities.
But, no matter how much I try, I keep returning to the threshold question which must be, “How is it that a New York City private school graduate is worried about his lack of course rigor?” Because if that’s the case, I can’t imagine any LoR making up for it.
That question was answered both in the post itself and in several replies. I am fretting about course rigor for two reasons:
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My school uses a track system, meaning the administration places students in various tracks of their choosing. Depending on a student’s performance in their tracks, said student can ascend to a higher one, or descend to a lower one. Because I came from a special needs school without a mainstream curriculum, I was in my school’s lowest track. Coupled with my poor performance freshman year, it is very clear the track system presented a two year hindrance for me, at minimum. Even still, I managed to surmount this by being offered and immediately accepting two honors courses in my junior year. Next year, I will finally be on track for AP courses by taking AP Literature, and potentially AP Physics.
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My school doesn’t offer AP’s until junior and senior year. All advanced class offerings before then are honors courses, and even when they do offer AP courses in grades 11 and 12, they only offer two per grade (4 in total). AP courses are exceptionally scant at my school, and likewise difficult to enter if placed in a low track as I was.
OP has decent ECs. He has no choice but to play to his strength which is as a writer with a droll style and hope his essay doesn’t raise more questions with the adcom than it can answer.
I hold the answers to every imaginable question they can ask regarding my app. Everything about it is explicable, and I will be completely honest with AO’s.
I do appreciate this advice nevertheless.
Read “The Gatekeepers”. That isn’t how the admissions process works. The adcom is not going to pick up the phone and ask you to explain every doubt or red flag your folder raises. I certainly hope you do not make your school’s tracking system the subject of an essay.
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There are many private schools that don’t offer a lot (or any) APs or limit the number you can take per year, as these schools consider all their courses rigorous. The way to look at it is what rigor box will your counselor check? I believe there are 4 or 5 categories. I don’t know the exact wording but it starts with most rigorous and goes down from there. I would venture to say that the Ivies and other top top schools, Wes included, accept an extremely high percentage from that most rigorous box. Given an absence of test scores, and less rigor than you would like, your 1st semester grades are going to be key. Most schools will ask for those. At a lot of privates, AP physics is a killer. Make sure that is the right choice for you and that you have a strong enough math background to be successful.
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I would never do that. That’s what teacher LOR’s are for.
But if it comes down to it and I’m queried about some specific part of my app, I wouldn’t hesitate to describe the systems of my school.
You don’t ‘lose’ because you don’t go to a T20 school. MOST college students don’t go to T20 schools just because of pure numbers. Thousands of students at big flagships, small LAC, directional schools, engineering schools aren’t losers.
I think you are worrying too much about numbers - the school rank, your rank, your gpa. Focus more on your interests, the type of school, size, majors offered, region of the country.
We don’t know if you have a chance at the top schools, but there will be a school that wants you and where you’ll thrive.
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The potential of attending a more selective college, or even college in general, is lost if I take a gap year at a high school, as that user suggested.
I agree with you, though—which is why I’ve compiled a list of schools I’d be more than happy to attend. To me, the application process right now is more about maximizing possibilities of attending T20’s than it is being dejected if I’m, well, rejected. There are plenty of lesser known schools I’d love to go to and that will very likely admit me, which I’ve already established. Though that isn’t quite the focus of the post.
You are doing all you can do to get your transcript into the best shape. Taking APs that are available, getting strong LOR, showing interest in the schools you apply to. That’s all you can do. You can’t change the past.
Is Smith or Brown going to accept you rather than the person with 10 APs and a 4.0? We don’t know.
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You’ll do very well at Hamilton.
You have asked and answered your own question repeatedly and concluded (in spite of various members statements to the contrary) that strong LOR can offset a lack of course rigor. This is clearly and understandably your desired reality but runs contrary to most responders experience, advice or expectations.
I will be direct. Having someone write a LOR who provided you with academic support contemporaneous to your improved academics (from a very rough starting point) will likely raise more concerns then anything else.
T20 AOs are looking for a proven history of independent academic excellence that will serve to predict the capacity to thrive at their institutions before you even get considered based upon all the other “soft” aspects of your application. An “explanatory” LOR would only serve to “offset” a lack of rigor if it didn’t raise the question of can this student handle a greater degree of rigor without support.
“At my school, I have a teacher who works to assist me each week. This is an accommodation for a documented learning disability.”
Based upon your description of this teacher’s experience with you they could not be truthful and mitigate those concerns.
You are in fact a compelling writer and clearly very smart. You will be successful regardless of the school you attend and it’s ranking. People have appropriately tried to reassure you of this reality but you seem to want to push back in the hope of persuading others.
I think your balanced approach of having safety and match schools is well advised and of course take a shot for a few reaches. With that said I will join the list of those who don’t believe you can explain away a lack of rigor or results via a LOR as you describe to gain admission to a T20.
I hope I am wrong!!
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Just a reminder that college applications are viewed by AOs for an incredibly short period of time (particularly relative to the amount of time a student spends preparing it) because of the sheer volume received.
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This is fair. The main reason I’m somewhat resistant here is because I have been told such conflicting things. On other college platforms and in other discussions, people often tell me that I am a competitive applicant for a T20. Here, it is quite the opposite.
I don’t expect to get into Princeton, which would be the only T20 I’d even consider applying to ED. Nor do I expect to get into any other T20.
All I expect of myself is the proper completion of my app in a way that would allow my circumstances to be explained. On paper, I am not a competitive applicant. With context, I think the case could be made, but it is still a long shot. I believe that a strong letter of recommendation, whether from my aide or college counselor, is one way to contextualize my application, if a T20 chooses to entertain it in the first place.
It should also be noted that I will no longer meet with my aide this year. My school withdrew them because of my continued spike in grades. If I were to perform well in the first semester of my senior year without my aide, and with at least one AP course and 2-3 honors courses, I don’t know that a contextual letter of recommendation from them would do more harm then good. My transcript would prove that I could achieve in their absence, and their letter would prove that my initial lack of course rigor and lower class rank are both things for which I was not at fault, but have now surmounted.
I could very well be wrong, but as the title of this post asks, could someone explain this to me?
I do think that it is a very interesting question about how will an LOR from this situation actually read. There is also the question of the other teacher and GC LOR’s. Will the paint a consistent picture of the student? If yes, what is that picture? Since none of us will ever see the LOR’s, we will never know.
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All I can do is politely try to motivate my GC and aide into writing about my circumstances. All else is in their control.