Do I include them in the special circumstances section or should I leave it blank and let my GC handle it all in her letter of rec?
Also, I have another random question. Does living basically home alone count as a “special circumstance” in any way? My parents found 2 people from the internet and they were supposed to take care of me, but I rarely see them anyway. I go to school at 7 and come home at 3. They leave around 10 and came back at 11 every night so I couldn’t really do anything. This lasted for about 3 months.
I basically bought my own groceries, made my own food etc. Is this even worth mentioning?
Thanks.
Yes it is. BTW this is child endangerment and should be reported.
This would also be a good topic for an esasay, to show your grit and resilience and drive, and how these 3months shaped who you are now and made you stronger to tackle college.
@MYOS1634 could you explain a little more how this shows grit/resilience? I don’t want to make them sound abusive, they were very nice people. It’s just that they were out a lot due to their work.
Also, in your personal opinion, this would be better if it was an essay opposed to being in a counselor Rec? Is it bad if it appears in both?
“My parents found 2 people from the internet and they were supposed to take care of me, but I rarely see them anyway”
Where are your parents, and does your guidance counselor know about this? Please understand that to a bunch of parents, this sounds close to child abandonment, and strikes us as a situation in which child protective services should have been called in.
The only situations I’ve known where this sort of thing has happened, has been cases of international students who were sent to the US by their parents for high school. Is that your situation?
Hold the phone here! When did your parents start doing this? Were you in high school? Did the people that they hired drive you or assist you in any way? It sounds like the OP’s parents are very hardworking and needed to work these hours to make ends meet. If the OP was old enough to be alone, then as long as they came home every night, I don’t see this as child abandonment. My own niece basically cared for herself in high school out of sheer necessity. If it was for three months, I can’t see how this would make for a special circumstance. I should also note that I have stayed home with my kids but I understand that sometimes parents have to do what they need to do in order to put a roof over their heads and food on their plates. There are plenty of applicants who have the responsibility of taking care of their siblings while their parents work long hours.
It was because my dad works in China. My mom was sick and thought that treatment here wasn’t enough so she went back to China to receive the Chinese way of treating people through herbs and stuff (different from all the pills of western medicine). She felt that it was necessary so they found two people on the internet to take care of this. No, my guidance counselor doesn’t know about this. I think at the time, my mom didn’t want me to tell anyone because it would raise the taxes since we’re technically renting the house to 2 people.
My mom left for China for about 3 months, so @educateddarcy it is slightly different from what you’re saying.
Your guidance counselor does need to know about this. Period. Your parents are doing their best to take care of you, but until you are 18 leaving you home without a legal representative is not correct. Your guidance counselor can help them make the arrangements that they need to make.
Renting rooms in your house to someone who receives reduced rent in exchange for serving as your legal representative probably is distinct from renting rooms for a profit. Your parents could investigate that.
Wishing good health for your mom.
I feel like if you try to word this situation to show “grit and resilience”, it’s going to sound more like child abuse. That probably won’t impress a college.
This situation raises many more questions and concerns than suggesting ‘grit and resilience.’ I would not bring it up in this way. I think it’s reasonable to write an essay about having learned to be independent and self-directed because, as immigrants, your parents’ work and health issues required that you be exceptionally self-motivated and self-reliant from an early age. The ‘home alone’ incident is, I suspect, just an extreme example of the training and expectations that have been set for you in this area for much of your life. Many immigrant children are in similar positions (though few end up living with strangers for several months). It is possible to make these points without raising awkward questions about child abuse (and your college application is not where you want this flag to come up.)