Yep I was admitted to a hospital’s pain clinic. I received treatment from a whole team of pain medicine doctors, pain psychologists (I did hypnosis ha), and physical therapists. It took months to get off the waitlist and receive treatment.
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UNC is hard to get into even for North Carolinians. Knocking that SAT outta the park will definitely help. I don’t know about ECs at UNC, certainly wouldn’t hurt, but North Carolina kids with great stats regularly get turned down, so keep it in mind as a reach.
How long did you stay as an in-patient ? I ask because I am confused due to your wording and you have made your medical condition a primary focus in this discussion.
I am not trying to invade your privacy so no need to respond if it makes you uncomfortable.
My curiosity is related to an assessment of your college admission odds as affected by your condition.
UNC-CH cares a lot about diversity of districts for in-state residents. That’s why I’ve heard that for many in state residents it’s a blood bath in certain places. I totally understand that’s it a reach. TBH my parents really want me to go if I get in, but I don’t believe it’s a great fit for me.
Ok brief timeline here:
November sophomore year: Whole thing starts when I got sick
March-May sophomore year: admitted into pain clinic and started treatment. I don’t remember exactly when I started but it was after lockdowns and the covid craze began in my area.
June junior year: Officially graduated from the pain clinic!
Costochondritis/chronic pain are luckily a problem I no longer face or experience. It took a long time to heal and the progress was slow. I’m in a happy place now regarding my health. 
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UNC would definitely be a great fit for your studies, but not sure about for you personally. It is a very friendly school for a big school. I am an alum and live in Chapel Hill so happy to answer any questions that you have about the vibe, etc, but couldn’t tell you much about specific professors or anything.
Again, how many days were you an inpatient ?
Being admitted to into a pain clinic program is not the same as being an inpatient.
I am asking for a reason raised by you in this thread.
My reading is that you were never an inpatient, but that you were a patient in a pain clinic program.
Earlier you said “outpatient” now you’re saying in patient. I visited the hospital for appointments and many appointments were taken via tele-health.
I was never an inpatient.
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Thank you for sharing that you were never an inpatient.
My suggestion: Do not encourage your teachers to write about your medical condition. It will diminish your chances for admission.
I can be blunt, but will not. Please consider my advice & forget about using pain clinic treatments as an excuse for less than stellar performance or as a way to differentiate your candidacy for admission. It won’t work.
Overall, I do not understand why you would be a competitive candidate for any of your reach schools.
P.S. Not sure, but I thought that I read recently that the University of Washington was going to be test optional on a permanent basis.
You may be a competitive candidate for admission to the University of Washington,Case Western Reserve, Wake Forest, & NC State.
Publisher what areas could OP focus on to potentially enhance her application and improve her odds? I know it’s late in the game but any advice?
I would encourage you to focus on really trying to dig in and understand what makes Brown’s approach to the open curriculum unique, perhaps the schools culture and history, talk to alum and present day students if possible etc. If at the point you still think it worth “spending” your early decision card, then write a very specific series of essays showing how you will contribute to the Brown community and how you will leverage what you learn there to benefit others once you graduate.
As mentioned earlier you have a strong personal voice that comes through. Make sure you take full advantage of that skill by being specific, introspective and fully informed about why Brown versus the other thousands of options.
Browns aggregate acceptance rate this last year was 5.4% (so eyes open) and your likelihood of acceptance if you don’t apply and or craft great essays is exactly 0. I am cautiously trying to empower and encourage you but your comments about grade stress concern me. Take your shot if you can live with long odds and likely disappointment or recalibrate accordingly.
Either way you are impressive and apparently resilient. Good luck!!
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Thank you so much for your support! As I’ve mentioned before, I understand the importance of essays and will put forth my utmost effort to craft strong, beautiful essays that captures parts of my personality and future vision.
My stress about grades may be in vain, but I don’t want to be hurt in the admissions process for my sophomore grades. Life happened and circumstances that could not have been foreseen altered both my life and high school career. What’s done is done and all I can focus on are keeping up my extracurriculars, scoring well on the SAT, maintaining grades in the fall, and writing essays.
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Why do believe so? Would AOs look at my illness as a weakness and wonder if I can handle the rigors of university? I like to think that a “holistic approach” would put my sophomore year grades and illness in context.
Be as blunt as you like, I may get hurt but I want a full picture and a variety of opinions.
What aspects of my applications are lacking the most? Grades, ECs, rigor, Test scores (not applicable yet), etc
The University of Washington will be test-optional but they are certainly not test-blind like the UCs.
Top schools are difficult to get into for almost anyone. Definitely try, but don’t stress if it doesn’t work out. The vast majority of college bound students at my high school enjoy where they went, even if it wasn’t their top choice. Looking back many have told me where they actually went would have been their top choice in hindsight.
The two groups of kids who didn’t like where they ended up in hindsight were those who graduated with a lot of debt and those who went to a school FAR below their ability (without a decent Honors College). I don’t see any schools on your list where I see the latter being a problem for you.
If a school interests you and might be affordable, give it a try. If you get in and it turns out not to be affordable, move on to a better option. If you don’t get in, you know you at least gave it a try and can move on. If you get in and it’s affordable, congrats! Regardless, once you decide where to go, buy the sweatshirt, take advantage of all they offer, and enjoy!
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hmmm - 36% does not a match make. And your GPA has a lot to be desired (for Wm and Mary).
Absolutely apply - but it is not a match. This is where student’s have to be careful with confidence. I hope you get in - but hope alone doesn’t get you in.
My daughter had better stats than you (not test score) and was waitlisted as was several of her friends.
Make sure you have a true list - if people are telling you it’s a reach (multiple), it’s likely a reach.
That doesn’t mean to not apply - that means have it in the reach category but a true match and safeties below. Good luck.
Alright, I guess I’ll (grudgingly) scooch it over to the reach category. But a match doesn’t mean you WILL get in but more like a 50-50 chance. Does my GPA have a lot to be desired? I thought I was in a pretty comfortable boat. Clearly not a 4.0 but pretty decent with a strong grade trend and rigor.
Once again, grades are not the single factor in admission so there could have been multiple reasons why your daughter was waitlisted. Just like the example in your daughter’s valedictorian, some things just can’t be explained.
BUT I still want to add 1 or 2 more match schools. I’m kinda lost bc I can’t really find any that fit my criteria.
I don’t think you need to add more matches as long as you are truly happy with affordable safeties (looks like UNC Charlotte for you). You don’t have to use the reach, match, safety categories if you don’t like them–especially with your less common health situation it’s hard to predict how individual schools will consider your application system. Your grades are what they are, I’d advise not worrying about them. You seem to have a good mindset, and that will help you handle the stresses of application season. The most important thing for you now is matching your test scores to your expectations and the standards of the schools you’re hoping to get into.
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Pain clinics raise concern as pain pill mills.
The type of illness that you were treated for is usually from stress & anxiety or from an injury suffered in a strenuous sport. Recovery time is typically a couple of weeks.
Your ECs raise the concern as to whether or not they can be verified.
There is nothing in your posts that would prompt one to admit you to a highly selective/most selective school in my view.
Another poster asked me to make a suggestion as to how you might strengthen your application. My answer is to avoid any mention whatsoever of your stress related condition & of your treatment at an outpatient pain clinic (they are usually referred to as “pill mills”), and to send verification of your claimed ECs. Avoid excuses.
Excuses focus on why you failed to accomplish something.;it is better to focus on actual, verifiable accomplishments.
Earn an actual standardized test score on the ACT or SAT.
Be more realistic about your accomplishments (ECs) and about your target schools.
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I find it beyond inappropriate that an adult is substituting their medical judgement over the internet, with incomplete facts, for a poster’s own doctor, and characterizing her as being treated in a “pill mill”.
While not flaggable, I also find @publisher’s tone unnecessarily harsh.
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So I should avoid writing anything to explain my sudden drop in tenth grade, opting to take 3 Ps, or withdrawing from two classes? Yeah…that sounds a little dangerous. Perhaps I will emphasize what really caused my health condition. Talking about my incident with the flu and how that with my asthma led to a long-term health issue that is now resolved. Oh and making it very clear that I never took any pills and how basically all of my treatment involved pain physical therapy, hypnosis, and coping mechanisms.
I wanted to make it very clear that I was treated in a renowned hospital and NOT a pill mill. I’ve never even heard of the term till now.
And I hope you can differentiate between simple explanations and excuses. The two words have very different connotations.
As for ECs, why is that the case? Is it just because a lot of my ECs are outside of school? I don’t think my ECs are truly out of the ordinary and out of this world to warrant verifiability or suspicion. They feel very normal in the competitive environment I’m in and a reflection of my interests.
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The best results I’ve seen from applications are when students “do themselves,” not when they try to twist to fit what other people think they should do.
Be yourself. If you get accepted, great. If not, it might not be a good place for you. If you bend to fit anyone’s advice I’d keep it limited to those who really know you like your teachers, esp if they’ve seen other students get into various colleges, etc. I’m not sure I would tell the teachers which way to write their letters. Let them write it. When I have written letters for students I’ve always put my own spin on it based upon what I feel best reflects that student.
The big take away is not to assume you will get into somewhere with a <30-40% acceptance rate, esp with a <10% acceptance rate. Have options and a safety you like.
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