Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway? Yeah...no.

<p>Hey guys!
This is my first post here on CC and I was looking for some advice.</p>

<p>You know that feeling of not knowing what to do? Well, I don't know what to do.
I finished high-school in 2008 at 16 and started college right after. I ended up leaving for 7 months after mental health issues, 60 hr work weeks, and down right immaturity contributed to my 2.7 GPA. </p>

<p>I transferred to my community college a year ago and have raised my GPA up to a 3.75 whilst on academic probation for dropping too many classes during the 2008-2009 year. I took the ACT a few months ago and my composite score was 34.</p>

<p>I'm looking at the numbers for several schools and, I've achieved what they're looking for, but I'm afraid my past record may hurt me.</p>

<p>How high should I be looking exactly?</p>

<p>Any help would be really appreciated. My parents don't really have experience in any of this and my advisers just tell me that FIU (Florida International University) is the only school that will accept me.</p>

<p>I think some more information would be helpful, sneaks – would you be looking for financial aid? Is there a specific geographic region you’d like to stay in? Are you a US citizen, minority, etc…</p>

<p>Going off of ONLY your community college GPA and ACT scores, I’d say you have no reason – other than application fees-- not to consider any school, and FIU is definitely not the only school that would consider accepting you.</p>

<p>Thanks, ananapp. I do realize now that I gave too little info. </p>

<p>I would be looking for financial aid- I receive a Pell Grant now and I’ve earned a few scholarships for upper division work, but I might still need Stafford Loans.</p>

<p>I’m looking to split the bulk of my applications between Florida and New York. Being near family is important to me. </p>

<p>I’m a US Citizen. I’m Hispanic. Third (Fourth, depending on the definition) generation Cuban-American on my mother’s side and Dominican on my father’s.</p>

<p>I’m a volunteer at 2 local hospitals (ER and admin support) and (as of 10 minutes ago) Starbucks barista. </p>

<p>Application fees wouldn’t be an issue. My mom is the type that won’t let me pay bills unless it’s an absolute necessity, so I’ve been focusing on saving up since I could hold a job.</p>

<p>My mom re-married 6 years ago and I have a 4 year old brother and 1-year old sister. My mom is also attending college with me. </p>

<p>I’d like to major in Biology and Philosophy. Not for medicine, but for law. :)</p>

<p>I think that you have a good chance at some really good schools, especially with that ACT score and because you have raised your GPA. A few schools MAY reject or WL you because of your previous 2.7 GPA, but others schools most definitely will. Due to your financial situation you will need to consider schools that meet full need or offer merit aid. </p>

<p>What do you want to study and what type of school are you looking for? With that info we will be better able to match you with some schools, but you definitely will have some good options!</p>

<p>I recommend:
American (Give Merit)
Emory
University of Southern California
Vanderbilt
UVA
UNC
Cornell
UPenn</p>

<p>3.75 GPA and 34 ACT? I do not see why you wouldn’t be competitive for some top schools.</p>

<p>You could probably get into Boston College and WashU, which meet ~100% of need, and UM Twin Cities, where your Pell Grant would cover 1/3 of the tuition. Vanderbilt would be a good one too.</p>

<p>I don’t think you should count any schools out except for financial reasons. With those stats and a good essay I think you have a good shot at even the top tier schools. A good idea is to look at the US News rankings - you can view the pages on each school and see their financial aid stats, which has been really helpful for me.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the suggestions! I’ll definitely be looking these schools up.</p>

<p>Brickbybrick, my professors always spoke against using US News Rankings back in high school. I never really thought about how important until a few years ago when my parent’s lost their companies and had to use my trust to keep from losing our house. I’ll take note of the numbers. :)</p>