Different Circumstances

Applying to College
1

This post will be quite lengthy but I don’t know where else I could turn to so please bear with me and I will appreciate it.

I’m 23 years old and thinking about attending a university.

I graduated high school in 2010 doing the bare minimum. My “goal” at the time was to attend a 2-year college and then transfer to a 4-year college. My intended major was International Affairs. I started working in politics at 17 and thought that was what I wanted to do.

Well, I struggled at community college because I am very, very terrible at math and I couldn’t get pass the math course requirement to transfer. I began to get more involved in work (at this time I worked in real estate along with politics) and a few years after graduating high school I stopped attending college altogether.

I also realized that I have a problem. I tended to hold Professors to a high standard (myself too, it is higher education after all) and when they fell below that standard, I would lose all motivation and respect for that class. I know this sounds terrible but I can’t help it.

Another reason I didn’t take college seriously was that I felt (always deep down) it was out of reach; I couldn’t afford to attend a 4-year university and I still can’t. I’m an only child with divorced parents in their late 60s; a disabled veteran father on a (low) fixed income and a mother who barely earns enough to support herself and her bills. If I take on college now, it would solely be on my shoulders which is a scary prospect in itself.

I’ve gone back and forth between my lack of qualifications and the cost of school.

But I’m at a point where I feel like it’s now or never. I don’t have any obligations nor responsibilities. My interests have evolved and I now know what I truly want to do and that is to study history and archaeology. I thought I could get by without obtaining a degree because of my work experience and connections but history is my passion and I’m afraid I will wake up 30 years from now regretting not having pursued it.

In all the courses I’ve taken in community college I’ve excelled in every history and anthropology class but got average grades or even failed others which makes for a less than stellar track record. In other words, I’d actually be embarrassed to submit my transcripts.

There’s also another hitch.

I don’t want to attend just any university for the sake of attending and getting a degree. If I’m going to spend the money and time it takes to go to school, I would like it to be at a school of my choosing (I’m not looking at Harvard, I only mean a school where I would enjoy spending the next few years of my life) and at a school that ranks generally well for the subjects I want to study. Now of course because of my love for history, the universities that I want to attend and that inspire me are those with the older architecture. The only schools that fit the aforementioned are mostly in New England or across the pond in England or Scotland (ideally I would absolutely love to study in England). I live on the West Coast.

So simply put - I don’t want to settle, but I am aware of my lackluster background, but I also know I’m intelligent enough to handle a university environment.

I’m not worried so much anymore about the cost - that shouldn’t stop me from pursuing a college education (right?).

My focus now is the state of my application. I’ve done quite a bit of research. You can apply as a transfer student, adult student, etc.

I’m just not sure where to start and the clock is ticking. I suppose I wanted to post this to see if anyone has been in a similar situation or knows someone in a similar situation. I don’t want to spend a couple more years at a community college trying to get better grades or a better GPA. I will if I have to but if there’s an alternative I’d like to know about that too. I’ve also thought about contacting schools individually and pleading my case (good idea? bad idea?).

I still feel that I won’t get into a nice university no matter what so why bother.

I will be grateful for any advice offered. Thank you for reading.

2

What exactly are you asking? In a nutshell, if your transcript is such that you are embarrassed to submit it then you are not a viable transfer candidate for any top school (top 100 say). Calling and pleading your case will do nothing for you, otherwise, the phone lines at colleges would be flooded with calls from people who want to try to talk their way in. Good luck!

3

I moved this to College Admissions, since this isn’t about graduate school.

The only somewhat comparable experience I have is my husband’s. He did not do well in his first attempt at college (which was at a four-year college) - his GPA was a sub-3.0, I think in the low 2.0 range. He left college and joined the military where he served for four years and did extremely well - got promoted quickly, supervised people, won awards. He also tests well, so he took the SATs and scored highly. The combination of his distinguished military stint, his high SAT scores, and a well-written essay helped him get into the School of General Studies at Columbia.

My advice to you is that you need to look for schools that are friendly to returning adults who may have some interim experience, and who will value that experience almost as a substitute for - if not, then a supplement to - information from previous college experiences. GS is one of those; it caters to non-traditional students and is much more willing to give people a “chance” than its traditional undergrad divisions. I agree that calling and pleading won’t get you the desired results - you need to specifically target schools that are looking for your demographic.

Respectfully, I also think that you’re going to need to adjust your mindset. I completely understand what you mean about older architecture - it’s beautiful! But you might need to find other ways to get inspired besides just the university’s architecture, because a lot of the schools that are very friendly to non-traditional students with variable backgrounds aren’t super-rich universities with Gothic architecture (and honestly, even some of the best schools don’t have that. Columbia’s architecture isn’t that old-school Gothic style partly because it moved from its original site a long time ago). Similarly, the professor can’t have such a large effect on your motivations. You can indeed help it - it will take some self-training and practice, but you can foster intrinsic motivation, particularly if you really love something. If you’re passionate about history, you’ll tune in even if the professor isn’t your favorite.

Catholic University of America is an example of a less-selective school with gorgeous architecture.