The OP is a US citizen - (born here according to the original post).
OP, read the threads in post #7.
OP, I am really sorry for the racism you are encountering. It must be particularly upsetting given that you have tried to counter those stereotypes.
I agree with the advice that you need to look at your education from what is financially viable, particularly given that you say you are supporting your family. Very few students are able to be enrolled in college full-time and support a family.
Don’t get fixated on the Ivys or other top tier schools. Graduating from any college should be your goal. That said there is no reason after exploring more realistic options you shouldn’t try applying to a few selective schools.
Finally, it sounds like you are in a part of this country where there is a lot of intolerance. If at all possible I hope you can move to a more diverse and open-minded area. You deserve to be around people who appreciate you for who you are not judge you based on their limited understanding of your background.
“my school is a top 100 public school and is extremely competitive” You’re very fortunate because they must have a fantastic counselors office. Why don’t you make an appt with them to see what others of similar background/achievement level have been able to attain from your HS?
Internet fora are fine --but these people have rich experience with many kids much like you
Thank you all of your advice and tips, I now see that I do indeed have another options rather than being in the Ivy League bubble. T26E4, That is exactly what I am going to do next, thanks for that as well.
Since you’ve had a bad time w racism against muslims, why not look at schools in regions w higher proportion of muslims. Michigan has a sizable Arab/muslim population.
FYI
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/most-and-least-muslim-states_n_1626144.html
If you are interested in political science George Washington or American University would be good possibilities. AU will probably give you some merit money based on your test scores.
If your GPA used to be 3.5, then there was a mistake made when they put it as 3.1 on your transcript. This needs to be addressed and corrected first.
In some countries, a 50% is a pretty good grade and a 70% places you in the top 20% nationally. In other countries, those scores are pretty dismal. Numbers mean different things. Each school has its scale. If your old school considered that 80%= A (as is done in some Canadian provinces), then your new school should respect the scale.
Second, racism is not okay. Certainly, many students encounter racism, but it is meaningful to the individual who experiences it and difficult to live with - you should NOT HAVE TO. Is here an eucumenical group for (say) non-Christians at school? A Multicultural group? If not, would you be allowed to found one?
Would your principal do something to stop the bigoted harassment?
Do you live in the countryside?
MYOS1634, My school is not on the country side, I believe I am allowed to establish any club or group I wish to, which I will do thanks to you. I am taking action thanks to everybody on this thread and I will try and take down the bigots. My school is in Texas, I don’t want to specify as it might alert some, it is an excellent quality school, and everybody there is almost white, very little population of other ethnicity, nevertheless, I almost exactly look like them, they did not know my religion until somebody spied on my FB and got a hint that I am, so I proudly said I am, and now, I have composed a list of all the offenders, have spoken to the student council lead, and we will file a formal complaint as this is a public, Government-funded high school.
In terms of University, my in-state options are UT Austin and Texas A&M at the moment, not very attracted to them, but they would be my worst case scenario options, I am planning to apply to Emory’s Oxford College as I might have a good chance to be accepted there. what do you think of these choices?
With a 3.1-3.3 or Oxford College of Emory seems to be out of reach. The lower quartile of the range is a 3.55 (only going to increase) + a 2270 score while solid isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
But I would expect some exceptions from them as I am not traditional normal-situation student, and my ECs are great
“as I am not traditional normal-situation student, and my ECs are great”
Even if you are a atypical student that doesn’t mean your GPA would mean any less. Quite honestly it seems like you just want to get into these top 20 institutions for the sake of the name/prestige. Do you even know what Oxford College offers? What differentiate that instituions from the thousands of others?
Also, EC’s “are great” is all relative. While I do give props to your hard endeavor there are kids who have been in way harder positions than yourself that have achieved more. You aren’t entitled to anything because of your circumstances. In the end you are going to college for a education and in an academic sense you are lacking (3.1-3.3 UW).
I’m not saying you shouldn’t apply to these top colleges. Go ahead! However you need to have realistic expectations and need to fix your view point on colleges.
UT-Austin may not be attractive to you, but honestly you probably won’t get in anyway. It doesn’t sound like you are top 7%, and it is fiercely competitive outside that group. You need to work more on finding matches and safeties.
I know what Oxford offers, it offers a small, Liberal arts education that I yearn for, I do love small education environments and quite frankly I find Oxford as a great match, but also, we need to consider that 0.2-0.3 GPA difference would not completely rule me out of being competitive as I am taking 6 AP classes this year, 4 As and 2Bs and I expect 4s and 5s in all of them, Maybe good AP scores would improve my weak GPA picture thus giving me a better opportunity, and universities will not view me as a GPA only, I have strong SAT score, Harvard level SAT, and 3 A* in British A-Levels, and many debate and politics prizes that show what great of a leader I am and I have the record to prove that, many of you here, NOT ALL, just like to rip students up, criticize them, encouraging them not to apply when many low profile students got into top colleges, some of you say here ’ all have been in harder situations’ I bloody bet not, when your family does not have bread to break, when your family has an almost completely paralyzed son that you have to take care of all by yourself because your father is screwed up in the brain and your mother is too busy to raise her children, when you work until 1 A.M to provide for your family and work at a rate of three bucks an hour, when you can’t buy any new shoes for years because you know that with the money of that shoe you can feed your family, when the winter comes and the water drips on your head due to having no money to insulate the roof, when you can’t pay for heating resources and sleep with your body cold. When you experience all of this, come and speak!
I thankfully thank for the positive tips of many of you, and I have spoken to my counselor and I indeed have a plan and a truly realistic one. And for many of the pessimistic creatures on this thread, Get a life! disgusting people!
@wsaus1 I think you underestimate the importance of grades. In order for an admissions officer to actual look at your specific circumstances and excellent ECs your have to pass an academic threshold. My son and I toured a top school in CA and at the info session the adcom said that what she does is first look at the academic record, if the student seems to be able to do the work she moves on to the rest of the application. If not, the student won’t be considered.
There has to be a threshold, unless you are an incredable athlete, have super generous donor parents, or something like a famous last name then you probably won’t get past the academic threshold of most schools.
Might there be an exception? It could happen, but it is unlikely, and you should plan accordingly. Think about applying to schools that make sense for your academic qualifications and then maybe apply to a few outliers just to see, but don’t count on any of them to come through.
You are in a “top” school that is “very competitive.” You, by your own admission, do not have a high GPA, so you would not rank in the top 7% of your graduating class. How in the world do you think you would be able to get into UT? Depending on your class rank, you might not even get into Texas A & M.
My apologies. This should have read, you wont get past the academic threshold for TOP schools. There are plenty of schools where you could go and do well.
@wsaus1 I am sorry to hear about what you’ve been through, but the cold, hard truth is that getting into an elite college will be an uphill battle with your GPA. You obviously seem motivated and intelligent (judging by great SAT score) so I would recommend going to a community college or lower-tiered school, excelling and then transferring to one of your dream schools. Good luck!
? What do you mean, “at home”?
Let’s hope no one misconstrues this kind of statement at your school!
You are your family’s sole support? Where did/do you work? Are you being paid under the table? Is your mother contributing no income at all?
Are you under age 18? Doesn’t this work schedule violate child labor laws?
How much can your family contribute towards your education? Do you expect a college/university to give you a full ride, so that you don’t have to contribute anything?
@wsaus1: please pay attention to experienced posters.
You’re a resilient, resourceful, driven youth, and if that shines through in your essays it’ll take you far.
BUT
yes, 0.3 or 0.2 is a HUGE deal in competitive college admissions.
As such, you may not get to the point where your essays are read. So, you must get to the point your essays are read.
The FIRST thing you need to do is ask your counselor - politely but until you have an answer - why your 3.5 GPA turned into 3.1 when you transferred schools. This is not normal.
Let us know what your GC says happened and experienced posters will help.
Second, ask how you can go about creating a eucumenical club. That means a club for all religions to talk to each other - students from Sufî, Shi’a, and Sunni traditions of Islam, students of Orthodox, Reform, Liberal traditions in Judaism, students in Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and Christian traditions such as Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic (Mexican, Italian, Irish versions), Protestants, Copts, Wiccans. It could start with just that simple question “what holiday is it the season of in your religion, how would you celebrate, and what does it stand for?” You’ll have to be careful to make clear that it will NOT be about praying or teaching doctrine, but about philosophy and cultural traditions. For instance, the club will convene to discuss and present such questions as: how do you build your shrines and churches/temples, and what are important architectural examples in the world? Or, what are 2-3 important people in your religion and why? Or, how does one go from child to youth/adult in your religion? How does your religion envision death/the afterlife?
It’s like a Gay Straight Alliance … promoting dialogue and tolerance, but for religions. You’ll likely be surprised that there are many non Christians at your school.
Third, Texas goes by class rank. Not test scores.
If you’re not top 8% (and you’re not, due to your GPA), you will not have a shot at UT (if you’re top 10% you may have a shot if you’re applying for a less-popular major. Are you by any chance a heritage speaker of Urdu, Hindu, or Arabic? Then apply to the Critical Language Flagship. regardless of how you feel about UT, it’s a really good school and the Flagship allows you to major in whatever you want alongside your language studies, and it’s heavily recruited. You do need to be a permanent resident or citizen.)
I wouldn’t advocate TAMU for a Muslim student.
Look into UT-Dallas MCDermott program, Trinity (not Christian), St Edward’s (Catholic but not close-minded).
Look outside of Texas: Hendrix, Centre (special scholarships for first generation students who have encountered hardships)… and then further afield.
Do you already have A-Levels? Or do you have GCSE’s/O’Levels?
Do you know Questbridge? Posse? AVID/TRIO?