Hi, I am a 2nd community college student in California who is currently applying to colleges now. Just to give you a little background, I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkins Lymphoma) in the 2018 and now am in remission. Though I do not like really bringing this up, it really hindered my college career as I was in chemotherapy more than I was in the classroom (I relied on a-lot of online classes for courses like my English, arts and humanities, but still tried to make it to classes because I didn’t want to feel like I was giving up on myself)
Now I have hit the time where it is time for me to transfer and I am on the fence. I feel like I am ready, this is my first full semester without having any chemo treatment and I feel/am doing great in school. My GPA is hovering around a 2.8-3.0 which should go up after this semester (which ends in mid May, I have all A’s right), but I am not quite sure if the schools will understand my situation or if I need to call them to explain. I have applied to the University of Arizona as undeclared, Syracuse as undeclared, The University of Southern California as a gerontology major (which is a relatively obscure field that not many schools have/not many students go into) and am still looking for more options.
Can anyone help me out? Anyone have any things I can do to help out my case? Any other cancer students with similar experinces?
Also note, African American Female, First Gen student, did some extracurricular activities/community service in high school that I added to my app.
One of my collegekids was in a similar situation. Best thing is for somebody writing an LoR for you to mention it (& ideally note how well you coped).There will also be a place in the app to note any special circumstances, which a good place to summarize your situation(as you did here). Make it clear that you are done with treatment and that there is no expectation that you will need further care. I wish medical issues for college students were rare enough that you would need to call, but sadly admissions offices have all seen similar before.
IF your grades were high except for the semesters you were in treatment, and have now gone back to what they were, you would have reason to be optimistic. If your GPA was under 3.0 before you were sick, IMO USC will be a reach.
Congrats on getting through what I know was a very challenging time- & go hug your mom/the adults in your life who were scared for you. Y’all have been through a lot together!
Not your question, but full on mom-mode here: have you sorted your options so that you have some reach/match/safety options, including affordable?