<p>Hello fellow CCers,
I'm what would be considered a special case. Throughout my educational career, my success has been not obstructed- but hindered by the commitments I've made to my twin brother with an intellectual disability. The most surprising thing is back when initially diagnosed, our family made the decision to keep him on a "normal education track," which would ensure his development through the years at a normal public high school. As the years have gone by, i have served as my brother's tutor, mentor and caretaker as we have survived through probably the hardest years of high school, and countless hours every day have gone into the challenges high school has brought my brother. Now, as I familiarize myself with the college admissions process, I have come to the realization that I'm stuck in a hole I gladly dug myself into. Everything on my application is somewhat favorable (32 ACT, great extra-curricular activities, a plethora of leadership roles, and the full IB diploma) however, the issue is my GPA. A 3.2 UW/3.9W. I understand that it isn't a crippling GPA, however, i feel like much of my academic potential grade-wise hasn't been fully reached. So far my senior year, I have been able to shift commitments to myself and my grades without commitments to my brother: (posting 4.0's in the first trimester and on track for another set of perfect grades). Sadly, I have a feeling this may not be enough to give me a chance at a more prestigious university. It's frustrating to know you have the potential to go somewhere you just can't go. My dream schools include Vandy, UNC-CH, and other top public and private schools, but i feel like I'm aiming too high and setting myself up for disappointment. I just got rejected by Northeastern EA and i have slim hope for the other prestigious schools on my list. I wrote a fantastic essay about my experience with my twin brother and a motivation to succeed at a great university, but Just this week has me feeling a little down. I'm probably overreacting in this state, but i just wanted some opinion or insight on extenuating circumstances like mine. And maybe schools that could look past the numbers and look into the potential behind the person
Any comment would be greatly appreciated... has anyone had a special circumstance that hindered their potential? A success story would be great now </p>
<p><em>bump</em> i would really appreciate any feedback</p>
<p>goto community college </p>
<p>What schools did you apply to? What are your career goals at this point? Do you need FA?</p>
<p>Life happens to almost everyone. You feel yours b/c you are living it. But, lots of kids are dealing with their own familial/personal struggles.</p>
<p>Your life is not defined by where you go to college. You go to college and while there, you do your best, shine, and define your life. College is what you make of it. It isn’t what makes you you.</p>
<p>You’ll find your place and you will look back and a few yrs and realize that all of your decisions, especially supporting your brother, were the right ones.</p>
<p>Best wishes in landing in the place you belong.</p>
<p>@sdgal2 I have applied to UNC-CH, U Tulsa, University of Texas at Dallas, SMU, Baylor and I plan on adding NYU, Vanderbilt, Umich, Colgate, U chicago, Boston U,<br>
All are reaches or high reaches but I have added a few safeties in the mix. I’m having trouble finding match schools for my subpar GPA.
I’m planning to go the Pre-Law track with a Legal Studies or Classics major and my experience in mock trial (nationals qualifying team) and my success in Model UN should help there
Yes, I am looking for Financial Aid, and schools that claim to meet 100% of need have aided my decision making </p>
<p>@mom2aphysicsgeek I appreciate your honesty and optimism. Thank you. </p>
<p>I can share our Ds’s story, but I am not sure it will make you feel any better about your own situation. Our ds took his first alg class when he was 10. He fell in love with physics in 8th grade. He is a college freshman this yr and will be taking 400 level physics classes in the spring. I share that bc you mentioned potential and he does have it.</p>
<p>He is also #4 of 8 children. #2 is a disabled adult who is completely dependent on us. His youngest sibling isn’t even in kindergarten. His oldest sibling is already a father of 3. As you can see, our kids are spread out over a wide age span. His father will be retirement age by the time our youngest graduates from high school. Obviously we can’t afford $25,000+yr/child at a 4 yr university. </p>
<p>Our oldest is a successful chemE. He went to a small instate tech university. It didn’t hurt his career at all. Our physics geek is going to Alabama on scholarship. He loves Bama and wouldn’t opt to go elsewhere. He is shining there and making his own way. I am confident that he will succeed bc of his experiences there…not inspite of them. Bama is helping him fulfill his potential by many of the experiences they offer top students. </p>
<p>So, no I don’t think his potential has been hindered. I think it is simply a different path. The idea that potential can only be fulfilled via a handful of colleges is a fallacy. As I said in my previous post, college is what you make of it. It does not define you.</p>
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Hoo boy. In your preliminary list you have ONE school that meets need. Your adds do meet need for the most part but are highly competitive (and UMich only meets need for in-state students). Are you in-state for TX? What are your safeties and what can your family afford?</p>
<p>Why is NYU on your list if you need aid? You need to be realistic about your college list before it is too late. I have little sympathy for kids that complain and use the word prestige.</p>
<p>Yes, you will be hampered by your GPA at top schools. They want those who have challenges and STILL could get the grades and test scores. Your ACT is not showing that you are way up there either, so it’s not as though your grades are the only sticking point. Had you been able to get top grades and test scores, your situation would have been one that might have given you a boost for college admissions. But you gotta have the numbers and you do not.</p>
<p>Also , Erin’s Dad and BrownParent are right about your pick of schools. Your college list is not realistic if you are looking for schools that will meet 100% of need. You need to run some NPCs and see what schools are realistic for you. BU, UMich< NYU, SMU, Baylor are not likely to meet your need. If you are a TX resident, your state schools might be affordable due to their lower sticker prices. You need to rethink your list.</p>
<p>Some people manage to get great grades and scores in spite of hard circumstances, others don’t. Circumstances are different for everybody and grades shouldn’t be indicative of whether a student worked hard enough to overcome their hardships.</p>
<p>OP, don’t let that determine your self-worth. Only you can truly asses your own potential and ability to succeed. If you are able to convey your situation and give a reasonable explanation to why your grades aren’t very high, then you definitely have a chance. </p>
<p>My story might not be very relatable, but I’ll write it just in case.
I come from a country where everything can be bought, including grades. Throughout my school years, there were always people with higher grades who were just paying their way through school. Sometimes, I chose to be vocal about it and that impacted my grades in harsh ways. I would get asked hard questions on purpose, have grades pop out of nowhere. I still managed to have a relatively good GPA, but of course it wouldn’t compare to those of the students going to private schools where teachers are aware that they apply to colleges abroad and give them perfect grades. On the final history test, I got a terrible grade, when I asked to see my test, they refused to show it and told me that I can’t contest the result.</p>
<p>I am the student who doesn’t have the highest GPA in my class, yet I am the one everyone turns to during a test. What I’m trying to say is that sometimes you just have to let go and not let these kind of things consume you. Life isn’t always fair, what matters is that you are aware of your own potential and have done everything you could to improve your situation. </p>
<p>I sympathize with the challenges of your situation but also agree with others that your list is poorly considered.</p>
<p>If I were you I would look at LACs that offer merit–there are dozens of them. They’re not the big-name prestige schools you seem to gravitate toward, but you don’t need a diploma from one of those to get into law school. There are many LACs that are strong in classics, IR, or other majors related to your interests. But to get merit aid, you need to focus on schools in the top 100 or so–there are many great options. Take a look at Beloit, Lawrence, Wooster, Centre, Rhodes, Hendrix, Knox or possibly one of the many Catholic colleges with good regional reputations.</p>
<p>I apologize for not emphasizing that the schools I mentioned on my “list” are most of my dream schools and aren’t my final complete list of schools. I have a number of safeties/matches that guarantee some sort of merit aid or are in-state. However, everyone is completely right, I need to start looking towards more realistic options.</p>
<p>This post was limited to my chances at the reaches/high reaches on my list because of an extenuating circumstance. Thank you all for the meaningful advice, I really appreciate it. </p>
<p>@brownparent I should’ve specified the NYU Abu Dhabi campus. They give significantly more aid than students enrolled at the New York campus. </p>
<p>@sally305 I will start looking at LAC’s. They seem like a great option. Rhodes is also included in my mix of safeties. Thank you!</p>
<p>@collegedreams11 I definitely understand your point. Colleges look for people who have persevered AND maintain success in unique circumstances. I can relate to some parts of your story. Thank you for the help! </p>
<p>It it makes any difference to you, I have the “higher ACT, lower GPA” status as well. I have a 32 and a 3.4 UW. In all honesty, you’re wasting your time and money applying to so many reach schools. Pick the 2 or 3 that you really, really love and apply there. Applying to a whole bunch of reach schools doesn’t really raise your chances of getting in very much.</p>
<p>So far, I have been accepted by my 2 safeties, my state school (Michigan State; didn’t apply to Michigan), and one of my two reach schools, Case Western. It is worth mentioning that my major is Economics, since major impacts your acceptance at many schools. What I’m trying to convey is that there is hope for people with your academic profile, but you have to be willing to show interest and be prepared for heart-wrenching rejection. Remember, you don’t want to go to a school that doesn’t want you!</p>
<p>@minohi
If you care about academic rigor I would highly suggest going to Michigan Econ v MSU. My friend is doing Econ @ MSU and honestly the material did not impress me. It looked easier than CC to be honest. </p>
<p>MSU is good for the parties but with such as high ACT you probably won’t enjoy the academics if you actually try your best. BTW my friends brothers are doing Econ at Michigan and he is totally jealous. </p>
<p>@bomerr
Thank you for the suggestion, but I was just offering a word of advice to the OP. I don’t really have plans to attend MSU since I’ve been admitted to Case and still have yet to hear from my other top 3 choices.</p>