I am going to keep this as succinct as possible.
So, in the ninth grade, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and it absolutely tore me apart until I found a psychiatrist and therapist to work through my problems. I was forced to disenroll from my private school, and I am finishing all of my GED tests within this month of December.
However,
It has always been my dream to attend an Ivy League school, and I desperately wish to be accepted into one of these institutions. I am scoring well on my GED tests (college-ready and college-ready + college credit scores), but I am sure that this will not cut it for these highly selective schools. How can I prove myself to be academically capable and raise my chances of admission despite having only a GED, extracurriculars, and sports under my belt?
The transcripts of my high school are not bad. All A’s and B’s and honors/accelerated courses, aside from the C I got in PE, but that seems insignificant. I was thinking of attending, and hopefully excelling, at Harvard’s extension school, then attempting to transfer to Harvard and other Ivies after I have completed enough credits at the school to be eligible for transfer. I feel as though I am intelligent and motivated enough to perform in an Ivy League school, and definitely do not want to be short-changed. Staying at Harvard’s extension program is always an option, but I seek the full college experience, which would be difficult in that type of setting. Opinions? Input? Comments? Suggestions?
go to community college, earn a 4.0 and you’ll have something to show them. HES is open enrollment so doesn’t probe much either way
There’s many way to go. Community College is good beginning - good opportunity to get in, and high acceptance regarding transfer
@gigi11235 I know of two guys who had a somewhat similar situation. The first one finished his GED and then went to an in-state school to get his bachelor’s degree. Then he was able to get into another well regarded state school for his PhD in the sciences. We call him John Doe, GED, PhD as a joke! Second guy disclosed his psychiatric issues and wrote an essay about them when applying to state schools. No one accepted him even though his stats were great. He happened to meet a rep from a local, religious college and was accepted there. Living at home, has a girlfriend, enjoying school. Good luck to you!
It’s gonna be extremely hard getting into an Ivy with GED, Ivies even reject students who have near perfect scores in their GPA and SAT/ACT. You need to prove to Ivies why they should pick you over the other applicants that hold regular HS diploma and that’s gonna be extremely hard with just GED. The best route to an Ivy is through a community college transfer imo, there are Ivies like Cornell and Columbia that accepts more than 100 CC transfers every year and then there are Ivies like Harvard and Princeton that accept less than 10 students or none, so yes it gonna be hard but don’t be discouraged; getting into an Ivy is hard for everyone! Just do good in your GED and set up a great academic profile in CC, maybe you’ll make the cut! Good luck!