I am hoping to apply to top schools, however, my transcript isn’t as flawless or sublime as my peers or as the vast majority of applicants at those schools. I have had some difficult family circumstances to grapple with throughout my high school career which imposed a lot of stress on me and took a toll on my grades. I was able to fix it during my junior year, and I am going into my senior year of high school. I plan on addressing my family circumstances, but is it enough? Do these admissions officers actually care about how badly my home life impacted by grades, or do they just want the best applicants with the highest GPAs?
As long as family circumstances difficulty is not related to divorce. I read that you should never put that on application/essays as upwards of 50% of all applicants have that as a circumstance. Death of a parent, or abuse, etc. would be looked at closely and given high consideration by admissions counselors. Good luck.
Yes, they have a heart. But they also have a job which is to take qualified students who they feel can thrive at the college. So (and this is my advice for everyone) take an honest look at your record and apply to a wide range of schools including reach, match and safety school that appear affordable (run the net price calculators) and that you would be happy to attend.
with the understanding that we don’t have all of the details…
A lot of students on CC are obsessed with top 20 universities. A very strong student can do very well at a top 100 university, or even a top 200 university. This is particularly true for undergrad. It is quite common for strong students to go to their local state university for undergrad then a top 20 university for grad school.
The top 10 schools can pretty much expect to get “perfect” students to fill up their classes. A very strong “top 100” university is going to need to bring in some students who are not perfect. A strong junior and senior year will be particularly attractive to any of the “top 100 but not top 20” schools.
By the way, there are a few pretty strong schools that don’t consider freshman year grades. The U. of California campuses (such as UC Berkeley and UCLA) and Canadian universities (such as McGill) are two groups of schools that come to mind. However, with a rough first year or two of high school and a strong junior and senior year of high school you might do just as well at your flagship state school for undergrad.
Let your guidance counselor mention your family difficulties in their letter…it’s better coming from them.
Probably best not to mention it in your essay unless it is integral to a really compelling story. You don’t want to come off as whining or making excuses. Your essay should focus on something special about you, not your circumstances.
FWIW, Carnegie Mellon also overlooks freshman grades, I believe.
This is not to diminish the troubles you have encountered, but you have to understand that nearly everyone has some kind of issue to deal with. In reality, there probably aren’t that many kids who have perfect lives and no personal issues. My kids have great lives, but my son has learning disabilities which make if hard for him to maintain good grades. He will not expect any college to feel sorry for him.
Kids come on this forum who have all kinds of issues: family, mental, physical, abuse, poverty, you name it. The tippy top colleges will get applications from many many thousands of kids. Some of the kids they want the most are the ones who manage to succeed despite having some kind of issue. I have seen stories of kids who have nothing and have the worst living situations imaginable, yet they manage to get high grades, and volunteer, or work to support their family, or whatever. The colleges don’t want to admit people becasue they feel sorry for them. In a way, it’s Darwinism at work: selection of the fittest.
If your family issues are severe, you should talk with your counselor at school. If the issue is raised, it’s best done by the counselor. And please think hard befroe deciding to write about this for your essay. Many people do, but is this what you want a college to know about who you are? Remember, they admit people because they are interesting and they like them. They admit people who will add something to the college.
I agree with @Lindagaf
While you may have a terrible situation, saying something like “Do college admissions officers truly have a heart?” is completely misleading.
If they take into account your situation and deny another kid (who may have a similar or worse situation), wouldn’t that kid be a victim also? You have to realize there are thousands of kids out there with similar or even worse situations. College admissions will cut you some slack, but there is a limit to even that.
@RMNiMiTz I apologize for the misleading title. I didn’t mean to imply that they are cruel insensitive monsters. I was thinking more along the lines of if they will consider things that are “soft factors” to the extent that they affect “hard factors”. I have matured in response to the situation, so my junior year has been better for me (all As in honors/AP classes with a strong extracurricular load), and I have been incredibly involved in my community since freshman year. I am not completely unqualified, just looking to get in based on pity.
@pickpocket I agree. I want to get in based on my intellect and personality, which I feel could be better discussed through essay topics. Would it be wise to include it in the additional information section, along with my counselor mentioning it? Or should I not raise the issue at all myself?
@Lindagaf I agree that everyone faces different struggles, but I think that there are huge variants in severity, context, and impact of issues. A serious learning disability is different than a volatile family situation; not because one is worse than the other, but just the different impacts each have on an adolescent’s life. It definitely must have impacted him greatly, and I am glad you have raised your son to not expect anything special. I don’t expect special treatment, I don’t want pity- I just want understanding, because like it or not, although I really tried, I could not change my home situation, and it did take its toll.
^ Yes, adcoms will consider “soft factors”. But that will only be one part of the entire application review. In general, adcoms want to know that you can handle the work; grades, test scores. curricular rigor, outside achievements awards, and recommendations all paint a part of that picture. A low GPA can be a red flag that you can’t handle the work, but it needs to be evaluated in context. Freshman/sophomore issues may not reflect current ability, there may have been extenuating circumstances, and there may have been a bump or two when applicants push and challenge themselves (which adcoms generally like). All of this has to be assessed, to the best of the adcom’s ability. Addressing extenuating circumstances (without self-pity, and with the understanding that lots of people have obstacles to overcome) may help them in this process.
Beyond all that, adcoms want applicants who can contribute to their school. A few rough edges - especially if they have rational explanations, and are a thing of the past - may be overlooked if an applicant has other strengths and assets that they bring.
The whole process is “holistic”, and there are tens of thousands of generally qualified applicants to top schools. So there is no guarantee that explaining your issues will be enough (not getting in to a school doesn’t mean that your issues weren’t considered, or that the adcom wasn’t favorably impressed; but there are only so many spots). But extenuating circumstances will certainly be considered, if presented properly.
I think that there’s a problem with looking for “heart.”
Every single kid who applies is hoping that that “heart” will apply to THEM, even if it’s at the expense of all the other applicants. Realistically, they can’t accept everyone, nor would they want to. So they’re going to have to reject some applicants. It’s not about “heart” – it’s their job to choose those applicants that they feel will best succeed, will best fit in, will contribute and grow in the college community.
But know this fundamental principal of the college admission process: There’s a lid for every pot. There’s a perfect school for you out there somewhere, a school where you’ll get admitted, succeed, and be happy.
The trick is finding that school, defining your priorities and casting wide enough a net that the school you need to attend shows up on your radar. And giving it a shot, whether or not it’s on the radar of your friends or your guidance counselor or anyone else you know.
^Excellent post. My daughter ended up at a small school that’s not on most people’s radar, but it’s perfect for her. And she did write about the difficult circumstances in our family (severe mental illness and suicide) in her essay. I really think the way she addressed it was why she got a good bit of financial aid, since her high school grades weren’t stellar. And when I asked the FA people for more money (in writing), they gave it to her. I believe that the people at her school have heart, for sure!
Some circumstances are all-encompassing and impacted who you are, how you think, what you want to do. Those are a good first part in an essay that deals with who you are now and how those circumstances bring something to the college.
Adcoms don’t want to read a 'weepie ', they don’t want to feel sorry for you. They want to feel proud if you and your achievements, and defend them before committee. They like to see grit and resilience, especially when those come from having a less advantaged background. You must show your circumstances made you who you are but aren’t how you define yourself. It’s very difficult. If you can pull it off, it’ll make a great essay.