<p>I'm just tossing this out there in case anyone has any personal experience or knows of someone who was in a similar situation to my own.</p>
<p>The short version: had an illness since 7th grade, missed all of that and high school. Finished only 6 of the 24 required high school credits needed to graduate via homeschooling (3yrs of both English and Math). No ECs completed, since I was mostly confined to the house during that entire time. Yet, scored a 34 on the ACT, 4.0GPA on the few courses I did take, and in the 99% percentile on the GED (equivalent of a high school diploma).</p>
<p>Now i'm left in an uncertain situation about how colleges will view this. I've contacted my "hopefulls", which include a few Ivys, but have received only vague responses so far about how they will consider me in the admissions process.</p>
<p>What i'm wondering about is if anyone else here has been in a similar situation, unlikely as it is, who also had certain unavoidable lacking highschool credentials as I do. What was your experience with admissions into colleges, particularly upper tier colleges such as the Ivys? Would they see it as being disadvantaged but overcoming the odds, such as in the case of minorities?</p>
<p>Well, you are obviously brilliant. If I worked in the addy office of any Ivie, I would tell you to come on down.</p>
<p>In my modest opinion, I would keep on trucking for sure with regards to applying to schools. However, you might desire to sit back and think if maybe you would desire to spend a good year studying at Community College or by taking online courses at a nice place like BYU and then transferring. You are apparently a very highly intellegent person and so you could call your own shots to a fair extent, but sometimes you just have to think things through. </p>
<p>When I was a young lady, I had a horrible attendance issue all throughout highschool for a sad reason I would rather not speak of. I would just waltz in and take a test and earn a C- or D- just by going on what I liked to read at my local public library. So, when I was able to leave that sad situation, I immediately went to Community College before going to University and wound up doing well. My University, nor any Graduate School program I have looked into (I am at the point where I am making a list of grad schools) has given a darn that I did a little time at Community College. </p>
<p>P.M. me if you would like to speak further and I will be your new friend:)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Finished only 6 of the 24 required high school credits needed to graduate via homeschooling (3yrs of both English and Math).
[/quote]
Are these state requirements? I don't see why you couldn't just apply as a homeschooler, given your high test scores. Also, I'm wondering if you're selling yourself short when it comes to EC's. Colleges care less about the opportunities you've had, and more about what you've done with the ones you did have. If you couldn't leave the house what did you do? You obviously weren't sleeping the whole time. </p>
<p>Also, when contacting the admissions offices at colleges, be sure to ask to speak with someone who is involved in reviewing homeschool admissions. The person who answers the phone might not be the right person to get information from.</p>
<p>The credits are not state requirements, but i've received a strong impression that colleges put a -lot- of weight on a student's high school curriculum. Even a local college that I would consider an extreme safety, based on the few scores that I do have (such as the ACT), sounded hesitant about that aspect of my education whenever I talked to someone from their admissions staff.</p>
<p>As far as ECs, there honestly isn't much that i've done. I spent a large part of my time reading up on the internet about various topics, since I enjoy learning, as well as a few textbooks (although very few). Part of the illness involved reading problems. I've read, or rather listened to, probably 300 "entertainment" novels on tape, but I doubt colleges care about that. I can't say i've really done anything unique or amazing with the time, at least compared to other students.</p>
<p>That's my main problem at the moment: not knowing which schools i'm even in the league for. A traditional high school student can come up with a list of safeties, matches, and reaches based on their stats, but mine are so unusual that i'm not sure where to begin without simply applying to a million colleges across the board and spending a fortune in application fees in order to find out.</p>
<p>I am afraid it might be difficult to get into any Ivies with your record. Even though it obviously isn't your fault that you were ill, and you are obviously intelligent, the Ivies look for more than that. They want evidence of leadership and community involvement, success in many demanding classes, the ability to work with others, and some outstanding passion that you have pursued. Unfortunately, you have little evidence of those. That doesn't mean you aren't socially skilled or couldn't do great in those situations, just that you don't have evidence that they can see.</p>
<p>It might be best, in your case, to apply to state universities and some smaller liberal arts college, perhaps ones known for being more open to students from unusual circumstances. (Sorry, I don't know which those would be, but you might find out by posting on other boards in this forum.) Then, if you do really well there, you might be able to apply as a transfer to a more academically demanding and selective college. However, it couldn't hurt (except for the time and money) to try a couple top colleges, if you are able to write outstanding essays. If you write an essay that explains your circumstances and how you have grown through them, it might help. I would definitely send in all applications with a cover letter explaining why your application looks so different from the usual.</p>