Chance me? Unique situation

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

<p>Hello all, I'm a high school senior at one of the largest school districts in the country. I have begun applying to colleges with the hope that they are understanding of something tragic that happened to me in the summer of 2011; my father died in a horrible and violent accident, this naturally had a tremendous effect on me as a person and on my academics. My junior year grades suffered for it, but I have great ambitions and goals to reach in life. I want to attend medical school and become a neurosurgeon, nothing will stop me from that goal. </p>

<p>I am applying early action to Georgetown, UVA, and George Mason, and I'm applying regular decision to VCU (Honors College, and maybe the B.S./MD program), and George Washington(Honors College and 7 year B.S./MD program). My stats follow:</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>Intended major: Biology</p>

<p>Freshman Year Classes:
PreAP English 9- B+
PreAP World History- A-
Geometry HN- B+
Biology 1 HN- A-
Spanish 2- B
Personal Finance- A
Health & PE- A
Years GPA: 3.857 (weighted)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
English 10 HN- B
AP World History- A-
Algebra 2 HN- C
Computer Science- A
Chemistry 1 HN- B+
Spanish 3- C+
Health & PE 10- A-
Years GPA: 3.5 (weighted)</p>

<p>Junior Year: (worst year of my life, as the grades will now show)
AP English Lang- B+
AP US History- C
PreCal w/Trig HN- B-
Human Anatomy- B-
AP Chemistry- C-
Physics 1 HN- B
Spanish 4- B-
Years GPA: 3.157 (weighted, oh boy...)</p>

<p>Senior Year Courses:
AP US Government/Comparative Government (2 AP classes in one)
AP Biology
AP Statistics
AP English Literature
AP Seminar
Astronomy
Gourmet/ Intl. Foods</p>

<p>AP Scores:
AP World- 4
AP Lang- 5</p>

<p>SAT Scores:</p>

<p>05/01/2010 (Took it freshman year)
CR: 670 M: 590 W:640 Total: 1900</p>

<p>03/10/2012
CR: 690 M:640 W: 620 Total: 1950</p>

<p>Superscore: 1970</p>

<p>ACT: Not taking it</p>

<p>Subject Tests: Will be taking Biology, Math 1, Literature on October 6</p>

<p>Subjective:
Recommendations: EXCELLENT ones from AP World and AP Lang teachers, equally strong one from counselor (knows my situation very well, she said she would speak on it to the best of her ability).</p>

<p>ECs/ Honors:
Volunteer Work with a large NGO (I will not specify for privacy reasons): 10 hours/week almost year round since 8th grade. WELL over 1200 or so hours. Cannot give a more specific number because I have not been keeping track.</p>

<p>Attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine
Member of the Science Honor Society
Member of the Model UN at my school (newly founded in my junior year)
Varsity Indoor track (10th grade only)
Tutored 7th grade math students (<50 hours)
Member of the National Society of High School Scholars
Varsity Letters for Academics
Honor Roll (freshman year only)
National Merit Qualified
Unspecified honor with above listed NGO
>100 hours of work at my father's old private practice (before he died)</p>

<p>Essays: I like to think that my essay writing skills are fairly good, not sure how I will do on these but I know one essay will be about my dad, and the other will be about my extreme passion for medicine.</p>

<p>Georgetown Interview: Went fairly well, interviewer seemed impressed when I described some leadership positions I had to take part in, all in all I felt like I might've hit it out of the park.</p>

<p>Georgetown is my top pick right now, one of the main reasons being that it is close to home (so I can support my mother) and I absolutely LOVE the area and politically inclined climate of the school. I also plan to volunteer at their hospital as much as I can.</p>

<p>Please chance me?</p>

2

<p>Georgetown, UVA, and GW are reaches, with GU and UVA being especially unlikely. VCU and GM are matches, but you will need to raise your SAT score to get into VCU’s honors college. VCU has a solid pre-med program, sends many students to med school each year, and has a very good med school of its own. If I were you this would be my target. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>So is GU basically impossible for me at this point? Or is it a low match considering what happened regarding my dad and my ECs? And is GWU more likely than GU?</p>

4

<p>There are simply too many B’s on your record for GU or a 7-year med school program, even before junior year, and your SAT scores are very low. Is there something else you haven’t mentioned, such as you are “first generation to college” or you’re a disadvantaged minority? What do you mean when you say that you want to “support” your mother? If you are applying for financial aid, expensive DC schools might not be the best choice for you.</p>

5

<p>kachhan, I would not listen to anyone giving you advice on here about YOUR specific situation. No one has a chrystal ball, and if colleges do not have empathy for students like you (and my daughter, who is in a similar situation and had some horrific things going on in junior yr as well), then they are not the colleges for you or anyone else who has gone through these kind of circumstances. Who would not want students who go through adversity and STILL continue on? What better type of person is out there than someone who can go through a firepit and come out standing? Don’t listen to the naysayers and go ahead and apply. If they can take athletes (and many have no brains whatsoever) or kids who might not be superstars but play an instrument, then you have just as much a shot. Put the blindfolds on, do not chance anyone anymore, and keep yourself focused on where you want to go. No one can predict who the colleges will accept, and the SATs are just plain foolish! Many kids who desperately need accommodations do not receive them because the CB does not have qualified reviewers or do not understand rare medical conditions, so students are at a disadvantage going in. The SATs are a small part of the app. Remember there are kids with perfect sat scores that don’t get in colleges even with 4.0 gpas. It’s the whole package, and you seem to have weathered an incredibly difficult time in your life and prevailed. Colleges should feel honored to get students like you, my daughter and anyone else who have had terrible things thrown at them and showed courage. Good luck and bless you! Your mother is very lucky to have you!</p>

6

<p>Wow, your kind words have really given me hope. I acknowledge that my chances are slim, but I am going to try anyway. Thank you very much! And I wish your daughter luck as well.</p>

7

<p>it is ridiculous how much emphasis they place on SAT… why not apply, who knows</p>

8

<p>kachhan, go for it. And I tell that to every student who thinks that perfect SATS and GPAs are it. The colleges need to take strong students - those who have seen and lived adversity. Those students will make the best students and future leaders! How strong will the students be who are just numbers when something adverse is thrown their way? Good luck all!</p>

9

<p>Given the values of Georgetown University (Jesuit), my guess is that this school would take into consideration your hardship. With what you have endured, you should be proud of your successful record as a student. Good luck to you.</p>