<p>I'm not sure what I expect from this thread but I need to air it all out. I hate my life and everything in it. I'm so sad right now. I live in an underprivileged area where most kids drop out of high school or graduate and don't attend college afterwards.
I feel stupid and neglected. I'm a senior and I don't feel prepared for college at all. I'm a first generation student and I'm so afraid of going to college and completely failing at everything.</p>
<p>My (ex) English teacher, who was just certified over the summer to become our first AP teacher, quit ten days before school started to teach at a suburban school with more pay. This isn't the first time it's happened. We always lose teachers and it takes months for them to be replaced. Currently, we have an online English class: Reading Comprehension. My college essays are due on November first and I feel like I have absolutely no one to help. I don't even have anyone to talk to. </p>
<p>I keep thinking about my favorite teacher who worked with teach for america and she always told me to stop complaining and work on improvement, but I find it easy for her to say that. I do try hard to better myself, but I feel stuck.</p>
<p>Can you self study?
You stand a good chance of going to good state school if your GPA is up to speed. Look into UC Davis and U Michigan.
Also, if you’re a strong Christian, BYU sounds appealing.</p>
<p>Don’t do the “starving children in Africa” thing. The worst possible problem isn’t the only problem worth being concerned with. </p>
<p>On another thread you said:</p>
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<p>So it looks like you’ll be able to get into a decent college. Colleges have plenty of academic resources to help you succeed…they know you might not necessarily be as well-prepared as people who went to better schools. But a college won’t accept you if they don’t think you can do the work.</p>
<p>@SaraCo My parents are not an option! I must ask my other teachers, but they don’t have very strong writing backgrounds. I created a thread asking for people to read it on here, so hopefully someone trustworthy will reply. </p>
<p>@littlelearner I took those college courses on Coursera.com for a while, but I don’t have a computer anymore. It’s not that I believe I will fail, but it’s the fact that I’ve only been in one learning environment my entire life (a pretty crappy one), and I don’t know how I’ll preform in giant lecture halls or even smaller discussion driven classes. I guess we fear the unknown.
I will be applying to UMich. I’m in-state. I know if I’m accepted my dad is forcing me to go there. I’m a pretty average student, but some people tell me I have a better chance than others because of the race card and my geographical area. I’m thinking of applying to a few more prestigious institutions (if my test scores improve), but if accepted, I’d be near the bottom of my class and I don’t know how well I would do.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather Wow. I’m not sure how this makes me sound, but I actually forgot about tutoring services for myself because I’m a head tutor at my school. Maybe I’ve been spending too much time on this site. Everyone seems so competitive I forgot that there were actually people there to help.</p>
<p>detpeace, I hope you don’t mind me responding on a high school life thread–I am a parent.</p>
<p>Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I went to a high school in a working-class neighborhood. I went to a highly rated state u. and right away I could see that many/most of my fellow students had way stronger educations from high school than I did. Yes, I struggled, but I pulled through.</p>
<p>Your college will have several different mechanisms for you to seek help–writing centers, research centers in the library, peer tutors and more. Find out about this available help and use it whenever you need to, and you will catch up to your peers. You are already a good narrative writer, and the rest will come. Colleges admit students that they believe can succeed and help them to do so. </p>
<p>Find the bucks to buy an ACT book (the red one) and do timed tests. I bet you can raise your score just by familiarizing yourself better with the test and going over the answers. (Not that a 28 is a bad score–it is not–but the higher the score, the more doors open for you.) My daughter has done this for the past couple of weeks and her score is already 3 or 4 points higher than when she took the test in the spring.</p>
<p>Tell your story in your essay, clearly and concisely. Surely you can find someone somewhere (here or in your school or in your town) who can read your essay to make sure it tells your story in your words, correctly arranged.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your college search, and once you get there, don’t be afraid to ask for help.</p>
<p>@oldmom4896
I thank you for your insight! I was just freaking out. I suppose I forgot that institutions have these resources.
As for testing, I took a prep class at a local college and in a year I raised my diagnostic score from 21 to 28. In the spring, on the real test, I got 28 in English, 27 in math, 20 and 20 in reading and science. Believe it or not, I had a breakdown (similar to this) during the reading portion so I gave up.
I’ve rented prep books from the library and I’m retaking the test twice. Hopefully, I will receive my 28 or higher!</p>
<p>@SaraCo It’s fine and your reply was nowhere near judgmental! I’m all for “make changes instead of complaints” and make the best out of what you have… It’s my first day as well and I’m also grumpy. I think I deserve an English teacher just as you deserve three hours less of homework </p>
<p>But remember, there are kids who would kill to be in your shoes.</p>
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