<p>I accidentally posted this in the wrong place. How embarrassing. </p>
<p>In a nutshell...</p>
<p>For me, high school wasnt exactly a...cake walk. At the beginning of freshman year, my mother got leukemia. I spent the majority of my time taking care of my brothers and mom. As a result, I didnt have time to study during the day, so I stayed up each night until 3 a.m doing homework. My life was miserable; I juggled academics, family matters and extracurriculars on four hours of sleep. </p>
<p>Soon, I would add litigation to my load. During my sophomore year, my dad obsessively sued my mother for custody; she continually became sicker. She spent all of her time in court, not in a hospital. She couldn't work either; therefore, she was left destitute. My grades spiraled downward no matter how hard I worked, Id always feel stressed out. It wasn't until the end of my junior year that things improved: my mom figured out a way to make money (selling small businesses to larger ones) so she was able to easily afford medicine and more legal fees. </p>
<p>My grades skyrocketed. Now, as a senior, I am earning a 4.3 weighted GPA (valedictorian has a 4.48), 3.8 UW. My marks didnt go up because of a lack of stressmy mom works all the time, so I still have to take care of my brothers, and of course, my dad still attempts to get custody. Ive just gotten better at handling anxiety; the only thing that has changed is me.</p>
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<p>This is an explanation essay. I sent this to colleges. All of it is true and backed up by my counselor, except he went into more detail--my dad was abusive, a monster. (I am the second-worse case scenario he's seen in all his years here). </p>
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<p>My GPA is now a 3.8W, which is slightly above average at my school. It doesn't rank, but it is exceedingly difficult (for safety issues, I won't say which school, but we're in the Top 10 in USA, Top 5 for college preparation). I have great test scores (a 32 ACT [35 English 34 Reading 32 Science 26 Math] [I've never gotten below a 4 on an AP exam], which seems to be the average here--CC is very overachieving!), fantastic extracurriculars </p>
<p> I chose three things that I was very passionate about--a very well-reputed newspaper which I am a copy editor and design editor for, I've won several awards. I founded a charity outreach program my sophomore year for a women's shelter, it's very successful, I create drives that raise hundreds of donations, etc. I am also a web editor for a foreign language magazine </p>
<p>I am a part of American Mensa and three honor societies, but personally, I don't think any of those indicate intelligence. </p>
<p>I have worked three years at a financial company as a summer intern, I opened my own business as a private French teacher for young children, I tutor peers for the ACT. Additionally, I studied abroad last summer; here, I became fluent in French.</p>
<p>I always take the hardest classes FOR ME. I know that that might not be a smart move, but I only take courses that I think will be difficult. I didn't take AP French because all it is is translationshow are you supposed to learn a language without speaking it? I dropped an AP math class because it was a blow-off, I took pre-cal regular instead (even though it's regular, it's one of the hardest math classes at my school. It is my only B this year). I don't care what colleges think of this, high school is for learning. I need to know information to be prepared for college, it does me no good to have a high GPA and little knowledge. </p>
<p>I am a wonderful writerthis is not to be boastful, but all of my essays are incredibly strong. I know that they will stand out. I've seen my recommendations (accidentally), they are wonderful. I am sending threeone for my French teacher, English teacher, and guidance counselor. </p>
<p>I feel that I am a high-achieving student. I work hard, harder than you would know--I don't go to bed most nights until 3 a.m., I stay at the school until 8 p.m. most nights designing pages for newspaper, running my outreach program, etc.</p>
<p>I'm not putting what colleges I'm applying for, I feel like people would cut me down because I'm not in the top ten people. I know I can't get into Ivy League schools, I don't plan to--I just want to see where you think I am on the college spectrum.</p>
<p>xoxo </p>
<p>ADDED (ethnicity, personal life, and future plans): I am a pale female, brunette, with excellent taste in footwear. I am fluent in sarcasm, parseltongue and French, however my English isn't always up to par. I wish to double major in enigmatology and procrastination. </p>
<p>Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go study. Good night.</p>
I wouldn’t worry so much about them, you sound like a great choice.</p>