Find me some non reach schools and chance me Brown ED

Chance Me / Match Me!
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My advice–which you requested–is to focus on your strengths and on your verifiable accomplishments.

Plus,let your teachers decide what to put in their recommendations rather than asking them to write about your medical condition.

Don’t speculate about a future standardized test score. Just share that you are planning to take the ACT or SAT.

Credibility is important.

P.S. If you want to explain a temporary, uncharacteristic downturn in grades, then briefly state that I suffered temporary complications from the flu which affected my ability to study during this time period.

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All right. I agree with you about not asking my teachers to write about my health issues. @Creekland Also helped me understand this point. They can decide how they want to write my letter of rec.

I put my estimated SAT score in to put together a better picture of what my App will look like. While I may not score 1550, I can expect 1500.

Once again I do not think that explanation fully justifies my academic performance as a sophomore. But, I will try to present my health issues in a way that does not raise a concern about my future health or performance.

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Do you want college admissions officers to focus on what you did accomplish or on why you didn’t accomplish something ?

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What I did accomplish. Once again I have no intention of writing my essays on my illness even though I’ve gotten advice to do so.

Life hit me with unexpected circumstances. I want AOs to focus on what I accomplished despite that. I want them to see the obstacle I’ve overcome.
Here are two very different messages:
I got sick and I couldn’t do as well as I liked to because it was really hard.
I got sick but I put forth my best effort and did not let it deter me from my dreams.

I would rather be the latter.
There are all sorts of unusual circumstances. Do you not encourage writing about any of it?

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Being sick for 2 years does warrant a mention; it’s not an excuse but a necessary explanation.
AOs WANT to know when a student has been sick, how it impacted performance, how the student coped, grit, etc. It’s really important to understand context and grit matters a lot. In addition, it’s taken up half your time in HS, it’s too important to gloss over.
Your way of thinking about it (“the latter”) is correct.
Obviously it should primarily be addressed by thr GC and the teachers and only briefly mentioned by the student.
That being said, you should try and find more safeties. Why not UNC-A, NCSU, or App State (I think you’d fit right in at Wautega)? Or an affordable university that shares some characteristics with your favorites ?

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@parasaite: In response to your question directed to me as to whether or not you should write about your illness:

My opinion is that you should not write about your sickness/illness/medical condition.

If warranted, your guidance counselor can make a notation in your records which are sent as part of the college application process.

“I got sick and…” “I got sick, but…” focus on you two years ago & focus on an excuse, not an accomplishment.

Consider: “Despite an illness which affected my academic performance during my sophomore year resulting in two withdrawals and three Ps, I still earned GPA s of 3.7 and 4.0 during the year prior to my full recovery.”

Then move on from any discussion regarding illness or excuses. Focus on positives.What are your interests ? How do you approach problems / difficult situations / life’s challenges ?

If you focus on illness, then so will the reader. Is that the impression that you want to make in your college applications ? No.

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@publisher, I think everyone reading this thread knows that you don’t think the OP should address her illness. Repeating it is unnecessary.

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I like this…

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I have no particular expertise in gauging an individual’s chances of getting into specific colleges. But, I did want to share that a real personality comes through in your writing. And you have handled this discussion quite well. Certainly better than I would have. Good luck. I suspect you are going to do well whichever of the colleges you attend.

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Thank you so much! A lot of you have commented on my writing, and I sincerely thank you for your kind words. I never thought of myself as a strong writer, maybe above average at best. This praise gives me the confidence that I can produce quality essays.

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I guess each person’s definition of a match is different. I see it as a school that you have a good possibility of getting in, but not an absolute.

My daughter had a 4.5 with a 32 ACT and great ECs. I assume her essay was good (to me) as well as her LORs. She had 9 APs and a DE class.

We knew Charleston - where she was going - was a safety.

We knew Rice (she applied TO, UNC (OOS), Emory and Wiliam and Mary were reaches. She got rejected at the first two and WL (which is a rejection in reality) at the last two. She got into W&L; didn’t see that coming - but no aid.

Targets were schools like UGA, Florida, Miami (where she was initially deferred and then accepted).

There was a lot she got into that were safeties - like U of SC - but the Honors College was a reach and she got in.

As long as your list is balanced - you are fine. So, if for example, you want to be in NC (but if are out of state), maybe you apply to an Elon if it fits you. or an App State. Or you want to be close - a UT Knoxville, where you’d get aid - both are safeties, etc. A Miami of Florida or Case Western, to me, would be a match. SMU too.

UGA, to me and UF, would be match schools as well - you will need an ACT for UF. Tulane - if you applied ED and you get a 1400 - would be a target, etc. To me it means you expect to get in - but wouldn’t be shocked if you didn’t.

I’m just encouraging you to add a couple - I know I can 100% get in and I can see myself there and afford it schools. Many like schools like Arizona or UVM because of where they are even though they are easy admits. Alabama has kids turning down Ivy Leagues - even though it’s an easy admit.

In the end, if you get into a school that you’d have a positive experience, then nothing else matters.

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I agree that I need to add some matches, and perhaps safeties to my list. An issue that’s I’ve been finding is that a lot of the schools I’ve been looking at don’t have as big of an Asian population that I like. Tulane for example - only 3% Asian. This is likely a difference between the West and East coast and simply the community I’m a part of.

I’ll look into more matches. But for now, I’m happy with my safety school - UNC charlotte.

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A lot has been said already, and since there seems to be differences of opinion - I will quickly sum up mine. Thanks, also, for clarifying your transcript.

  • I do not know much about your illness, but it seems too complicated to leave for a recommendation. Note that you will not even get to read what is written if you go this route. Glad you will write about it in the commonapp.
  • I understand the “don’t make excuses and focus on the positive” strategy, but the problem for you is if you do that, I am not optimistic about your college acceptances. Certainly Brown will be out of reach if they take your grades at face value. It may be out of reach even if they do not.
  • You can apply to as many reaches as you want, of course, but yours are a little too reachy from my experience, so try to fall in love with your matches.
  • The best ED strategy, from my experience, is to use ED on a low level reach. On your list, that feels like a W&M type school.

Good luck!

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From your experience, do colleges tend to recalculate Ps as Cs or just leave them off? If I score well on the SAT (1500+ at least) will that make up a bit for my grades? My only dips were due to health and disorganization at the start of freshman year.

I don’t agree with the “don’t make excuses” strategy because it completely undermines my hardships and the obstacles I overcame.

I’m rethinking where I want to ED because I’m not sure if I can edit my essays or whatnot if I get deferred.

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From my experience, colleges will not recalculate that way. Some might though - can’t know them all. 1500+ will help you. Unfortunately the lower grades happened 2x and not just 1. That bothers me a bit tbh.

Yes, you need to explain the situation because you want to soften the grades. On the bright side, you are a good applicant and will most definitely get into a school that matches your accomplishments and potential.

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Yeah…that’s why I beat myself up a lot.
Going into high school, I was too disorganized to keep track of all the deadlines and pieces of homework. A couple of folders and a planner went a long way. I thought things were going great for me when I got my act together. I was so stoked bc I thought colleges would overlook my rough first semester if I did well for the rest of my high school career.

Little did I know I would end up getting sick resulting in another dip in grades.
I’m not proud of my grades during my first grade dip, but I am for the second one.

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Don’t beat yourself up - look forward, not back.

I love this - Going into high school, I was too disorganized to keep track of all the deadlines and pieces of homework. A couple of folders and a planner went a long way.

Sounds like growth that can maybe work it’s way into an essay.

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I have a Rutgers graduate and another who will be an incoming freshman, at least half of my daughter’s friend group was Asian. Two of her Asian HS friends went there too. I just checked, 25% Asian vs. 37% white.

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OP: I have reread your posts in this thread several times. My concerns remain.

Consider viewing yourself as an excellent student who is service oriented. Are you open to Jesuit or Catholic schools ?

Your ECs boil down to to two (2) from the listed eleven (11). Overstating / repeating ECs lessens the positive impact.

I do think that some readers,maybe most, will view your assertions with a bit of doubt. Once you are aware of this, then you can streamline your college applications to present a more precise image.

The pain clinic / rehab treatment does not work in your favor. Your grades are fine. There will be doubters–which does not help your chances of admission–and there will be believers-which also reduces your chances for admission. Other than a brief sentence to explain Ws & Ps on your transcript, your self-portrait is not helpful when emphasizing an illness which has passed.

Overstating ECs also does not help.

Sympathy does not equal admission.

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Thanks! Looking into it now, I’m considering using my ED on Emory instead.
While I still love Brown, my parents would be a lot happier with Emory because it’s only a 4-hour drive from NC.
Pros:
-Atlanta! A big new city which will be exciting
-Great for pre-med (CDC and Emory Hospital)
-Anthropology and Human Biology major, a minor in Middle Eastern and South Asian studies available
-Persian classes! I wanna learn some Persian but I’ve found a lot of colleges don’t offer it
-Parents think warmer weather is better for health
-Lots of Asians 22%
-slight geography boost

Cons:
-Rigorous grading but honestly doesn’t seem too bad and very doable
-Not an open curriculum but I actually like the requirements
-??

What do you all think? ED rate is 30% RD is 20%. Middle GPA 3.80 - 4.0 75% SAT is a 1510

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