Do I have a shot?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Beloit College
1

<p>Okay, so to fill in the background. I graduated high school with… I actually don’t know my GPA, but I think I can safely say it was sub 3.0 and likely somewhere in the bowels of the 2.0. So, clearly, bad decisions on my part.</p>

<p>And now I want to go to college. Through wandering through the collegeboard website, I stumbled upon Beloit. It’s pretty much my first choice. I’ve been taking classes at the local community college and have, right now, a GPA of 3.33 (due to a nasty C I need to retake). I’m good in English, History, etc. and absolutely horrible in math. I’ve yet to get a math course in due to scheduling issues, but I’m definitely taking one this summer, even if it forces me to clone myself to manage it. Once I get that math course, and, subsequently, better acquainted with it again, I’m going to take the SAT. I don’t anticipate too many difficulties in the verbal areas (of course, I’m still going to study, so I don’t just shoot myself in the foot), but again math concerns me.</p>

<p>I also write some, so I was wondering if creatives samples, specifically a couple of teleplays (a couple can be read [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.ryan786i.blogspot.com%5Dhere%5B/url”&gt;www.ryan786i.blogspot.com]here[/url</a>], if you like) might help bolster some of my other shortcomings.</p>

<p>So, to sum up, do I have any kind of shot at getting into Beloit? If I don’t (or even if I do), what can I do to improve my chances? Any assistance is really greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>PS: If any high school student lurkers read this, you seriously should do your homework. That was my big mess up.</p>

2

<p>In my opinion, Beloit is going to be a reach for you, given your gpa. I think that you should go ahead and apply, but if I were you, I would locate some safeties.</p>

<p>If you are attracted to Beloit, you may want to consider Guilford College (similar to Beloit and Earlham), Warren Wilson College (well known for their writing program), Coe College, Antioch College, Monmouth College, and Illinois College. Antioch and Warren Wilson are probably a bit more liberal than Beloit, Guilford probably pretty similar to Beloit, while the others are more conservative, generally speaking. </p>

<p>What can you do at this point to improve your chances of admission? If I were you I would seriously prep for the SAT (preferably by taking a course) and get your score as high as possible; be honest about your grades in your application and explain how you have turned it around; submit really good grades from Community College as evidence of your new found study habits and skills.</p>

<p>In short, if Beloit is your first choice, then have it in your mind that this is your reach school. Then, get a good list of matches and safeties on your list that may share some of Beloit's characteristics.</p>

3

<p>I'm definitely aware it's a reach. I figured that. But I did want to know whether it was, you know, realistic reach or Forrest Gump applies to Harvard reach. You seem to believe it's at least moderately reasonable to apply, so long as I remember that it is a reach.</p>

<p>When it does come time to apply (not just yet, I want to get some more college work to attempt to balance the dismal high school grades), I plan to be honest about my grades. It's not as though I can lie and say that I didn't get a C or D. All I can do is tell them why and use the community college grades and, hopefully, some teacher recommendations to persuade them that I've been doing my best to make up for it.</p>

<p>Thanks for giving the honest opinion of my shots. I'm not sure why I chose Beloit, I just fell more and more in love with the school as I browsed their site and knew I wanted to go there or at least somewhere similar. It's completely possible I may have screwed over any chance I had at going. But, if there's a chance I can get in, I'm going to do my best to use it. If I don't, I'll always be wondering "What if...", and I'm tired of doing that.</p>

4

<p>Beloit is a wonderful place (though admittedly, I am biased because I went there). I received a wonderful education and I made lifetime friends with some of the smartest people I have ever met (and I have been out of college for close to twenty years). </p>

<p>When I said be honest about your grades, I just mean don't come up with some lame excuse for your bad grades. I think that you can take responsibility and still explain the reason(s) for these grades. </p>

<p>In some ways, you remind me of my roommate at Beloit. He was (and still is) a gifted writer and poet, but had little use for math or the sciences. In fact, he dropped out of high school, got his G.E.D. and took classes at Illinois College as a guest student. He did well enough in his classes at Illinois College and his circumstances were unique enough (his father was a minister and moved quite frequently) that Admissions were willing to overlook his spotty high school academic record. Granted, that was twenty years ago. However, one of the things that makes Beloit unique is that Admissions seems to do a wonderful job at bringing in people who enrich the community with unique talents, skills, or backgrounds. </p>

<p>If you really want to go to Beloit, then you should apply, emphasizing how you would enrich the environment at Beloit and why Beloit is a good fit for you. Then, I would start looking at a set of matches and safeties where you think that you can thrive. That is where CC can be particularly helpful (particularly the parents forum section).</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Of course, I realized you didn't mean to make up bogus excuses (I'd like to think if I made them up, they wouldn't be lame, just incredible), I suppose I was just expressing my belief that there was no real way to hide from the grades, and that the best and only way to deal with them would be head on.</p>

<p>Your roommate actually does seem to have had similar circumstances. I like to think I'm a pretty good writer and, while I actually want to get math and science, I have trouble. Additionally, my dad moved a lot, too (though his job was in hotel accounting), which does seem to have major impact upon grades (a correlation discovered far too late). Of course, on top of that I just generally had no interest in getting really good grades, I guess because college wasn't really mentioned (even though it was expected). I would guess the general lack of motivation that likely would have existed regardless of geography, coupled with the thought that "Hey, I'll probably be moving soon, who cares about homework?" (admittedly a horribly flawed piece of reasoning) are the biggest factors in my horrible high school grades and present problems. And that sucks.</p>

<p>But I won't dwell. The grades happened, and since I'm bad at math and science, I certainly can't hack my school's network and change them (joke, obviously), so I simply have to accept they happened and be upfront. And, if it turns out, after I apply, that my SAT score (which I hope will be very decent), admissions essay, and college coursework don't cut it, then I'll have to treat it like the grades. Oh, well, took my best shot, I've applied to other schools that I like, no biggie.</p>

<p>I'm trying very much to stop with the "what if"-ing. I find I've been too involved with those thoughts, and they do no good. So I'll do my best to get in, but if I don't at least I know I did my best. If it didn't happen to be enough to gain admittance, then that's just the way it is. But again, I won't have to wonder "what if...?" about it.</p>

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<p>I'd add to Icemaker's advice that you absolutely MUST interview at Beloit if you are to have any chance at all. And, I would urge you to apply during the early action I round, when they have a slightly higher admit rate.</p>

<p>Icemaker made some excellent suggestions for other schools that have a very similar feel to Beloit. I'll add one more: Goucher College in Maryland. They sometimes take chances on C+ students, even though their admit rate looks lower than Beloit's. Another possibility would be Washington College in Maryland, which has a very nice creative writing program if that is of interest to you. You might also want to do a google search for "Colleges that change lives" - there's a book by the same name - for other schools that are willing to take chances on students with potential.</p>

<p>Do you only have one year of math TOTAL? Or is that just what you've taken at the CC? If you only have one year total, that is going to be a real problem --- most schools require at least two years, nearly all prefer at least three. You might want to consider doing some online math classes for credit OR concentrating on math in those CC classes in order to have more than a single year. Consider hiring a tutor if necessary to get through those math classes with good grades and get a decent score on the SATs (you could also try the ACT). For Beloit, you will need a math SAT score at least in the mid-500's in order to overcome both your lack of math classes and other so-so grades. And, keep in mind that the SATs expect that students will have taken math through Algebra II with some trigonometry, so plan accordingly.</p>

<p>By the way, an extra tidbit of advice: College admissions officers HATE to hear people just brush away weaknesses in their transcript by saying things like "I'm just bad at...." It is much better to show that you have made a solid effort, and struggled through, then say you didn't take something because you're bad at it or don't like it.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the other school suggestions.</p>

<p>On math, I actually have "three" years of math, but they're all Algebra I. I only failed once, but for some reason got shunted into it again after passing it. I know math is my major weakpoint and I'm planning, after this semester (couldn't get into the math course I need this one), to focus majorly on it, since it is my weak spot. I don't want to have the "I'm really bad at..." thought, because I want, when I apply, to be basically competent at math (and everything else, but my math grades are the only really shockingly bad ones). I may not be brilliant at it, but I want to be able to do it.</p>

<p>I know my chances aren't all that good, but I figure trying doesn't hurt and, if I don't get in (though not trying to think negative, just realistic), at least the courses I'll have taken are aimed at that goal, which should at least give me chances at more than just the state schools that basically have to take me. I messed up high school (yeah, there were reasons, but not very good ones), so I've decided that, as far as education goes, that'll be the last thing I mess up. I'll learn the math I need, get some more foreign language, get good grades, take the SAT, do well (knock on wood), and apply and hope for the best. At least I'll know I've done my best regardless of the outcome (though, you know, obviously hoping for a positive one).</p>

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<p>There is NEVER any harm in trying. It's like the lottery: you have to be in it to win it. But, just be sure you have other options as well. There are no "sure things" in college admissions, so NO ONE - no matter how good their grades and test scores are - should fall totally in love with one school to the exclusion of all others. Be sure to shop around. Icemaker and I both recommended some schools above that are very "Beloit-like" -- so keep Beloit on your list, but expand your possibilities as well. Best of luck!
(PS I would talk to your guidance counselor about explaining those three years of Algebra I in the school's letter of recommendation. If you truly were just shuttled into an extra year after you passed the class, that needs to be explained by the school for all your college applications.)</p>

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<p>Absolutely no harm in trying, yes. I'm not putting all my hopes on one school (since that would be really dumb), but I thus far in my research, I think Beloit's my first choice (and also my biggest reach, probably). But who knows, I may find something I like better. Definitely not excluding other possibilities.</p>

<p>As for the guidance thing, I'm not exactly sure who I'd talk to. Which school, that is. I passed Algebra I at one school, and then moved and that's where I got tossed into it again. The reasoning behind doing it again was that the class I was in at the other school, their prealgebra teacher had been... crap and so I guess they had to do a lot of remedial things in that course. So the new school I was at decided to put me in Algebra I, since they weren't sure how much I knew (and evidently didn't think to test me). As it turned out, the course was more or less identical, and I ended up being more a teacher's aide than anything else. Though, this did have the benefit of having me help other students who couldn't figure it out, which helped me understand better and made me think that I might want to consider teaching.</p>

<p>I suppose it'd be both, to get the whole thing pieced together entirely. Still, while most of it was bad, it did make me think about what I wanted to do (not sure on teaching completely; been thinking maybe law school. Aim high, right?). I think, if I'd been in one school the whole time, I'd have been a lot better off. But, alas, I wasn't, and I have to play catch up. Oh, well, I'll get there, just a little bit behind most of my peers.</p>

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<p>Since you've moved around a lot, it's even MORE important for you to go in and get to know whichever guidance counselor you're assigned to at your CURRENT school. Talk over your transcript, your hopes of going to college, ask for advice on how to improve your chances, and remind them of your move and the subsequent issues with math. Yes, they have a lot of other kids to help, and you may have to be pushy to get in there, but it will pay off in the long run if they at least have met you and talked to you from time to time before they have to sit down and right a recommendation for you. It is well worth the effort on many levels.</p>