<p>Hi, I'm a homeless high school senior. I've been homeless for the past few years, actually. I've always wanted to go to a top tier school, but with all of the things going on in my life, I've got a pretty low GPA and almost no extracurriculars. I'm taking a year off before college to save some money, and since I'm looking to apply later this year, I wanted an outsiders perspective.
Will top schools be okay with a kid with an unweighted 3.2, weighted 3.5?
PS. I'm going to be the first in my family to graduate from high school.</p>
<p>What did you get on the SAT</p>
<p>I had a classmate how was homeless. He applied to college through the questbridge program and got a huge scholarship as well as his own “movie” that was on questbridges site. I would look and see if that would aid you in any ways in your college search.</p>
<p>Please reach out to an adult you can trust to get support in the college application process. You need to understand finances, financial aid options, good fit colleges, and colleges where your skills and interest line up to what they are looking for in a college class. You should work with your high school counselor now to layout plans for what colleges you should apply, as applications and teacher references need to lined up as early as October of the year before you start. Your gap year may allow you to earn more money, but without a solid plan to stay in touch with your high school during the application process, you may not have all the support you’ll need while taking a gap year.</p>
<p>Hi! First off, congratulations on reaching high and coming to this site! You’re on the right track.
I, too, was often homeless and poor throughout my hs career and I’m currently on a gap year to regroup. If you wanna pm me, you can. 
</p>
<p>What kinda school are you looking for? Size, diversity, location, etc? Your GPA is a little low for super reaches (Ivies + Ivy like top unis and LACs), but many other schools would be great for you that meet full need. What are your scores?</p>
<p>If your classes have been rigorous, your “hooks” of being homeless, and first college grad may boost you to the level of some pretty selective colleges, depending on your SAT. However, if they weren’t that rigorous, then you probably won’t have a chance at the top. </p>
<p>You can probably get into State Flagships and other great schools with those hooks, as long as your scores are good.</p>
<p>If you write a really killer application essay, selective schools might tae a chance on you. Also, a high SAT score can show potential. There are many community programs that help tutor low-income and at-risk kids on the SAT; see if you can get into one of those types of programs.</p>
<p>You also will want to look into Questbridge and maybe the Posse Foundation, too. Posse I know provides scholarships to students who intend to go to college; although they select the college for you, you go with a group of other low-income and at-risk kids and they are all top schools. You get support from the staff on-campus and back home.</p>