I wouldn’t completely give up on those “top 30” schools. I’m sure there is a wide difference in how they analyze applications.
I recommend you email the regional admissions reps, find some important relevant questions to ask them, and tell them your story. They will be your greatest allies in this process.
@PolyglotGal I admire how you’re coping with the unique set of challenges in your life and how you’re putting your best effort in your schooling.
For a teenager to be weighed down with those responsibilities is asking for a lot. True, you’ve probably been acclimated with the day-to-day routines by now, but please take the positive moments that come your way and always build upon it.
Genuinely wishing you the best.
You absolutely have hooks, and I do think some colleges will take into account the extenuating circumstances of having to work basically full time on top of school. The key will be conveying your life situation in an essay. If you haven’t seen these already, read the ones the NYT published that discuss money in various permutations: http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Finteractive%2F2015%2F05%2F20%2Fyour-money%2Fcollege-essays-on-money.html%3F_r%3D0&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEEi_DMAf1kG8FHuseaa3DNK7S4cg
I do think Johns Hopkins is a long shot with your stats, but I do think it’s absolutely worth applying to as your reach school–you never know. If you can pull up your SATs, it might help off-set your GPA. You can study neuroscience at a lot of places, so I would work on putting together a robust match & safety list, while still shooting for those reaches. Also, it’s a bit of a crapshoot (specifically in terms of aid), but consider applying to Boston University, specifically to the College of General Studies. Your URM status/hooks might be compelling enough to get in, and CGS is where BU put students who have weaker high school records/stats but they feel show promise. You do two years in CGS and then two years in your major, and graduate with a bachelors degree… no one later ever has to know you were in CGS if you don’t want them to. CGS is similar to high school in terms of how it approaches core (you complete your liberal arts core requirements with a block of students–you don’t get to chose your classes in those two years; curriculum is set), but with smaller class sizes and a lot of personalized attention from professors. Might be a good transition space for you. Several of my friends were in CGS, who came from backgrounds where they had extenuating circumstances for slightly lower stats in high school.
Everybody back up for a minute: if the OP is working full-time to keep the family from losing their house, where is the money for college going to come from? JHU meets ‘demonstrated need’, but as the OPs father apparently earns enough to gamble it away, the NPC for the OP may well be unrealistic. And JHU includes loans in the mix.
OP, you need to figure out money first and everything else second.
I wondered about that, too, @collegemom3717. How will OP afford college with dad gambling away income? Agreed that JHU will likely not be affordable without significant loans. Further, will your parents even fill out financial information correctly? Lots of tough stuff. I would enlist a teacher or GC to help in this situation.
FYI-I know a young lady with a 1700 SAT, GPA something like 3.8 u/w, 3.9 w. She got into USC and UCLA. She was not low income (middle income), was a URM, did have a hook (outstanding arts supplement), and had a story (lost her house to a fire during high school).
OP, GPA is low, but you’ve got plenty of reasons why it is so. Work with your GC or a teacher I say again; having an advocate is critical.
Where do you live, btw? Are there state schools that might be a good fit and less expensive? (I assume, if you can get the f. aid forms filled out, you’ll be a Pell Grant recipient)
OP, what is your CR + M breakdown? Most admissions and aid are based on that. Yes you need to retake. Right now your scores are low for the super selective schools like JHU. Can you say what it is about JHU? Because they have a famous med school?
Do you mind telling what flavor of URM you are?
I don’t think you should write the schools because that’s what your application is supposed to do, present yourself and your story. If your AGI is low, not just available money after parents spent it, then yes you should apply Questbridge again. It will be valuable for the partner schools because it presents more about you in the QB application than just the common application questions and they will get a copy. Also look closely at the partner schools because they will be looking for students even if they don’t come from QB. That’s why they joined QB–to help them look. Look at the ones that don’t have as many URM, look at the ones with better admit rates.
I think you should take Calc BC if you haven’t and just get a good grade in that.
Also what where your classes and grades last year. Yes Jr year is the most critical but which classes got which scores matter.
I am also a URM like you (but not a first gen college student). I was lazy as a freshman, but my family and I lost our home in the middle of my sophomore year, which caused my grades to slip even further. But I turned it around as an upperclassman, and got a 2000 SAT score on the first try. My test scores and my essay topic helped me get into six schools, and I feel that they especially helped me get into where I will be moving to in two weeks.
So, yes, extenuating circumstances matter indeed. But like others have said, your GPA and test scores are reflective of each other at the moment. Retake the SAT in October, and try to get at least a 1900 to boost your chances.
But first, redo your list. Find some in-state schools (wherever you are) that are safeties, and look far and wide for good matches.
Yes, you sound like a very hard working person with a good attitude. You have a lot going for you. Neuroscience isa terrific major and challenging too.
To meet your goals with a medium GPA and scores (however on the upswing), you have to also set realistic expectations for yourself. That is, find schools that you have a strong possibility of being admitted to, that will also be affordable.
Usually people on CC are good at making suggestions. It is fine to have JHU as your reach but if your stats are not there yet, you should make sure you can go to a school so you can achieve your dreams.
What sort of school environment are you looking for?
Also, the suggestion of reapplying to questbridge (if that is possible) that someone mentioned above, is a great one.
Consult with your guidance counselor for help too.
As written above, you need to sort out the money issue. Right now, there is every chance that you won’t have a cent to pay for college with, but on paper you won’t qualify for any aid.
This means that you need to find the spare time to pull up your SAT score and/or get an excellent ACT score. Even with your current GPA, if you can hit the minimum ACT/SAT scores required, there would be merit money for you at some of the places on this list: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ And merit money is what you need to be pursuing. It will not be affected by either your income or your parents’ income.
Do well as an undergrad bioscience or psychology major, and you can still get into a good grad program for neuroscience.