<p>You have to realize that the effects of financial instability shouldn’t be hidden - I am sure that your parents feel terrible about that but that and surviving problems is something that adcoms want to know because they want to know if you have character and grit. Your counselor won’t care what happened to your parents however it’ll change things for you. The eviction and how you managed to overcome its effect are way more important than being a miracle baby (which explain some things and present challenges, but derive from something out of your control and in the past, whereas “overcoming terrible financial circumstances” tells something about who you are, now.)</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 you’re definitely correct. I just really hope that my parents would enable me to mention it; how many people can say that they ever went through an eviction in their lives, compared with the loss of a family member? I also could just choose to not show my essay to my parents. Mentioning the eviction in just a couple of sentences would be the X-Factor between admittance and rejection.</p>
<p>Keep your essay to yourself…or write two and show them the other one 
</p>
<p>@Twinmom2014 great idea. I’ll definitely make two essays on the Common App (if that’s possible). </p>
<p>What would you say my chances are at each school? Also including Scranton and SUNY New Paltz</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with your schools, but GPA-wise I wouldn’t worry about it because you have a legitimate reason and you can totally get your GPA up! Just work on your test scores and stay involved in extracurriculars and you should be good :)</p>
<p>@ocflav thank you! :)</p>
<p>158 on the PSAT shows great potential? What?</p>
<p>@bodangles the point is that my Prospected SAT score is a 1790</p>
<ul>
<li>Monmouth University low reach/match</li>
<li>Quinnipiac low reach/match</li>
<li>Hofstra match</li>
<li>Pace low reach/match</li>
<li>Bentley University reach </li>
<li>Gannon University low reach/match</li>
</ul>
<p>Definitely take SAT prep classes – my score went from 1750 to 2270, it seriously can happen you just have to do ALL the work they give you. Huge pain in the butt but you can definitely succeed :)</p>
<p>@ssswims how long were your SAT Prep classes? Mine are three hours each, from 6:30 to 9:30. Since most people are saying that a 1700+ would guarantee me admission into these schools, I’d be perfectly fine if I went from a 1580 to a 1700. Thanks for chancing me :)</p>
<p>Your situation is definitely unique, but if you explain yourself and your SAT scores show that you can handle it, you should expect admissions offers from most of those schools.</p>
<p>Can you get your SAT score up to a 1900? Then you would be an instant in at most of these schools.</p>
<p>@intentando yes, I can definitely get it up to a 1900, which would mean a LOT of backbreaking work outside of those prep courses. But I am very eager to start, so bring it on!</p>
<p>I think if you wrote a good essay, or outstanding essay you are likely to get into 5 on the list. What about recommendations? If your teachers\write good rec.s I think you will be happy with the decisions. Best of Luck!!!</p>
<p>lbad: a 1700 will be fine at these schools. Also, use number2.com to practice (it’s free). Raising your grades and getting that 1700 will be enough to get in. After that, anything else you do can make a financial difference, since they schools do not meet need, they only meet need for the applicants that rank highest among those admitted.</p>
<p>@Eljui7 you bet that I’ll write an outstanding essay, but when should I inquire about letters of recommendation? How many people should I ask? How many would the schools on my list require?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I agree with raising my SAT score to a 1700, but what should I raise my grades to? If it makes a difference, I got a 3.0 last marking period.</p>
<p>Try to stay above the 3.0 line from now on, with as many B’s and A’s as you can (for these schools, if you have one C, it’s okay, but you really want to get A’s and B’s in everything else).</p>
<p>You should ask 3 teachers, or 2 teachers and a supervisor at your job/religious leader (etc) roughly at the end of September to mid October for the end of November-before the winter holiday. This way, if you want to apply to any competitive scholarships, the recommendations will be ready early. You need to prepare a thank you note for each of them for that time period, too.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 getting a 3.0+ in each marking period is very doable and realistic. My only C in the last marking period was a 74 average in Spanish, and everything else was an 80 or above. I’m prepared to do very well in the new marking period.</p>
<p>The end of September seems good, although one site I was on said that I should have a preliminary list of who to ask by this Spring. Also, would one teacher, my guidance counselor and my school principal work well?</p>
<p>Your guidance counselor MUST write the school profile and counselor recommendation. So you would need to ask at least 2 teachers (not guidance counselor) who have known you in one specific subject. Typically at least one of them should be from a “core” subject, ie., English, Math, Foreign language, History, Science. The “supplementary” recommendation isn’t mandatory, but if an adult knows you outside of class (job, church/temple/mosque, volunteer group, sports…) it can be good to add it. You can absolutely approach your teachers about it around April this year.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 alright then. I was considering getting recs from my English teacher this year and my Spanish teacher of the past two years. The second one is especially crucial, considering she knows me better than any teacher in my school has. And I was thinking that the supplemental rec could be written by the supervisor of my prep courses?</p>
<p>Also, would I have to write the essay for both the Common App and the school-specific app?</p>
<p>No, the supplemental cannot be written by the supervisor of your prep courses (since it’s poor form to admit you took prep classes, although virtually all upper middle class kids do). If you don’t have a coach or priest/pastor/rabbi/imam who can write one, it’s no big deal. English and Spanish are two core subjects so if your teachers accept you’ll be good to go!</p>