Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

Hey, so I posted this on the official “What are my chances?” forum but received no responses. I’ve already submitted my RD application, but after reading through the forums on this site I’ve become near-convinced that this is an unrealistic endeavor on my part. The talent (and work ethic) displayed here is astounding, and it leaves me questioning how much worth I can bring to a school like Brown, or any of the other institutions I applied to—at this point I’m expecting rejections from all schools. What I’m looking for is either a confirmation or a challenge to my concerns, and I’d appreciate any assistance you could provide to that end.

Here’s my info:

"Prior to getting into this: I did not graduate high school. I earned a GED this year after a 6-year interruption. This was caused by 1) Parents’ bankruptcy, and 2) Being stuck in the Syrian war for a couple of years.

I’m an Egyptian national, although I haven’t lived in that country since my pre-adolescence. I earned high scores on the GED (averaged at the 97th percentile), but I doubt the universities will be impressed by this. The schools have nonetheless requested high school transcripts of my final and pre-final years (which are composed of 8th and 9th grade British curriculum equivalents). My ACT scores were lower—way lower—as my total composite was 25.

I’ve maintained full-time employment as both a document translator and an assistant film editor for the past two years. My company has recently shut down due to managerial disputes, and so my departure was on good terms (nothing to do with my work ethic etc.)

I’ve applied to four universities—Brown, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Grinnell—and I realize the odds are not in my favor on this. I’ve been extremely concerned w/r/t my ACT composite score, but several people have pointed that my difficult history may actually provide me with an edge, as a means of displaying some competence at managing personal strain/a self-sufficient knack for academic sustenance.

I’ll list all the “stats” below:

-Middle Eastern/International Applicant
-GED earner. Approx. 97th percentile GED score, if that can be used as an adequate replacement to a GPA. No idea what my grades were on my most recently completed year of high school (it’s been over half a decade; I can’t understand how they would be an accurate measure of my ability/lack thereof).
-ACT: 25 C (28E, 19M, 26R, 26S); In my opinion this is the most glaring detriment to my application.
-Essay: Can’t comment on its quality. I detailed an event in Syria that had a formative impact on my young adulthood. I could PM you the essay, if you’d like.
-Well-versed in two languages, English and Arabic.
-Previously employed at a media agency for ~2 years.
-Applying for financial aid, this could be a contributing factor as Brown has no Need-Blind policy towards intl. students.
-Preferred major: Semiotics (Modern Culture and Media at Brown; Interdisciplinary study at other three colleges)."

2

I’m afraid to say that it is going to be very slim chances for any of the schools, especially Brown. With the absence of high school transcript, the only data point that the schools will have is your ACT score, and it is well below their standards. Frankly, I think the schools will worry that you are not prepared well enough to be successful as a student at one of these premier educational institutions. I would advise you to go to a community college or some local college to establish your educational credentials before you apply to a US college. No matter how compelling your life story is, there’s simply not information to go on for one of these schools to take a chance on you.

3

@spayurpets Thanks for the response! They’ve got transcripts from my final year of schooling and Pearson VUE, unless you meant high school. Does having a full-time job not speak to one’s ability to adequately function in an academic institution?

And yeah I’ve got a back-up community college just in case I don’t get accepted. The deadline for submission is May, I believe, and by then I’ll have a response from my primary choices.

Is it totally unheard of that a student like myself would be admitted into any of these schools?

4

Why not apply to realistic schools? There are tons of schools that you could gain entry to. Why choose 4 that are nearly impossible for most people to get into. it is not to late. Do you want a degree and an education or a bumper sticker. if it is an education, there are tons of schools that you could get into but if it is a bumper sticker…well just go buy one.

5

@lostaccount I wasn’t actually aware of how difficult they are to get into (except for Brown). The reason I chose these colleges is because of how self-directed their study programs are, plus they’re fairly renowned for their humanities depts. One could even say my discovery of Brown’s Semiotics department is what convinced me to get my GED and apply to university in the first place (this major is fairly rare).

Chalk it up to a sense of naivete and a helping of ignorance on my part. I actually can’t apply to any other school as of now. Haven’t got the money anymore (to send transcripts + CSS Profile + ACT + Application fees, if any).

6

Work and surviving in the real world is certainly important and admirable but it doesn’t say anything about your educational abilities or attainment. The school wants you to be successful in the classroom, and if you don’t have enough background going in, they are setting you up for failure by throwing you into an environment that you are not prepared for. An ACT of 25 indicates that you are probably not ready for college level work at one of these schools without significant support through tutoring or remedial instruction. It would be unfair of the school to let you in only to have you struggle to catch up.

It’s not unheard of for the schools to take a chance on a student with an unorthodox transcript or large gap in time in their education. I know of one older student at a top LAC who was taken in after a spotty educational history moving from one refugee camp to another. But even he had a couple of years at a US high school to rest on, and teachers who wrote incredible letters of recommendations and went to extraordinary lengths to vouch for his abilities. You are right to look at smaller LACs because they are more likely to take a chance and spend the time to figure out whether they can serve you, but at bottom they are educational institutions, not charities, so they need something to go on to justify giving you admission based on your abilities.

7

@spayurpets Ah, I see. Was the ACT my only way of proving academic competence?

EDIT: Which is to say: is there anything else I can do at this point?

8

See if you can get a fee waiver so your scores and transcript and whatever else you have, can be sent to other colleges. Choose some realistic schools and apply. Where do you reside?

9

@lostaccount United Arab Emirates. Fee waivers aren’t available to me. Intl. student and all.

10

@DefineHuman

No, it wasn’t the only way, but it was one of the ways. The school needs some measure of academic achievement that they compare you to their other applicants. Now that I look back, it seems that your math score was the real weakness; is there some way of showing that your math aptitude is much higher than indicated on the ACT? Perhaps a recommendation or a supplemental class? Can you take the SAT II subject test in math? It may be too late for this year, but you do seem to have time to try again. Take a year. Go to community college or local college; build a transcript that shows you can handle college level work. Retake some standardized tests. Re-apply or apply to transfer to some US colleges that have more reasonable admissions criteria.

11

I don’t know if you know this but Wes is test optional, so I think it may boost your chances to refrain from sending your ACT score there.

12

But in the case, the OP has no recent grades, so not reporting the ACT leaves nothing at all to go on. It’s a problem. (BTW, Wesleyan was the school that I was talking about when I mentioned the refugee applicant; it is a school that may be more open to an application like the OP’s)

13

@Ballerina11 I’m an international student, so I need some method of proving English ability (despite clearly being an Anglophone, I’m guessing the schools won’t just take my word for it). This saves me from taking the TOEFL because that test costs as much as my phone, plus it’s a little insulting that I’d have to prove that I can speak my first language haha.

@spayurpets Alright, got it. Thank you so much for all your help. I’ve spoken to the colleges and they’re willing to extend my test submission date for a month so I can take the SAT Subject Tests (well, two of them have). I’m gonna book the Math test right now, but do you think I should book another subject test? Like Literature or US History?