How am I supposed to feel?

Applying to College
1

<p>I've been a lurker here for awhile. And I grow more and more unsure of how secure I am in getting accepted to my colleges as I see people post uncertainly about their extraordinary accomplishments. Things that I've never done but I should probably explain more...</p>

<p>My family circumstances have always had an effect on my academic life: younger autistic brother that I always took care of due to monetary constraints, bipolar mother who refuses to take medication, father who likes to be absent whenever possible, and father's girlfriend (now ex) who was verbally abusive to me to the point of police being called and me having to be in foster care for a couple of days. There are more than a fair share of B's on my transcript as well as 2 C's, a D, and a F (most of which are math classes that I have made up). I've never had the chance to do ECs or anything like that until now - my senior year where things have settled down as much as possible.</p>

<p>I'll post my stats and all of that but I just wanted to vent about my insecurities. I don't know how "worthy" I will seem to admission officers. I've tried the best I can to convey how much I want to make something of myself. Find out who I am and what I'm capable of without an albatross hanging over my shoulders.</p>

<p>Overall GPA UW: 3.57
UW 10-12 GPA: 3.42
GPA W: No idea. Very complicated with makeup courses at community colleges and parts of high school in a different state.
SAT: 1st time - 1840 (610 R, 620 M, 610 W); 2nd time - 2010 (750 R, 640 M, 620 W)
Subject Tests: Literature - 690 ; Math Level 2 - 600 (They are terrible and I'm retaking both this Saturday.)</p>

<p>No APs - never had the chance and only two options (APUSH or Comp. Science) the year I did have a choice. Would not have succeeded if I had taken them. However, during my freshman and sophomore year, I took numerous accelerated courses as that was available in my old school.</p>

<p>No clubs or awards. But, I was given Student of the Month a couple of times and a Student of the Quarter award at my old school. Their version of a gold star :D Also, 8th place on a National Italian Exam. </p>

<p>For my senior year, I've started volunteering and attending a middle college program as I'm not needed to take care of my autistic brother as much. Taking some community college courses (1st semester: Precalculus and Intro to Political Science; 2nd semester: English 1A, Stats, Sociology) as well as the required high school courses for both semesters (English, Government, Economics, AVID). Through one of my high school courses, Special Projects, I've needed to have atleast 50 hours of community service per semester. Did 56 this past semester at a daycare in an emergency housing shelter, reading to little children through a local church's program, helping at an elementary school's annual carnival , etc. Also, recently was a cabin leader at an outdoor science camp for a week (overnight and the whole shebang) and that counted for 87 hours.</p>

<p>The one consolation I have about this whole process is that my recommendations are pretty good. My middle college teacher, basically my high school teacher, knows everything about me and pretty much guaranteed me an awesome recommendation. She knows me as a person as well as a student and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. My other recommendation is from my PoliSci teacher (college class) and I am fairly confident it will be good. I participated in class a lot and she always used to call on me (in a good way). Most of our homework was essays and she liked that I always went overboard with how many pages I wrote.</p>

<p>Colleges I've applied to - all of which are in-state:
- San Diego State (safety?)
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- UC Berkeley (received a supplemental application and submitted it)
- UCLA
- UC San Diego
- Scripps Women's College
- Pomona College
- Claremont McKenna</p>

<p>This was a lot of words. Any feedback would be great.</p>

2

<p>I think you should feel really proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish despite difficult family circumstances. Understand that the students and parents who post here are not representative of the pool of applicants in any given year. </p>

<p>Did you consider additional UCs such as Santa Cruz?</p>

3

<p>Can you afford the UCs and CSUs? What do the Net Price Calculators at the private institutions suggest?</p>

<p>Your GPA and test scores would get you serious merit money at some out-of-state institutions. Go to the Financial Aid Forum, and read the threads stickied at the top on the subject of Automatic and Competitive merit aid. Most of the application dates are past, but if you are willing to take a Gap Year, you might have some very good options.</p>

4

<p>Thanks Snowdog for the kind words. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to consider or apply to any other colleges. Convincing my dad to apply to these 8 was challenging, to say in the very least. And, happymomof1, I believe I’ll be able to afford the UCs and CSUs with financial aid. I qualified to be an independent on the FAFSA with 0 EFC but I’m not sure about the private colleges. My dad is self-employed and, unfortunately, I question the veracity of his financial details. On paper, his income is around 70-80k but I don’t know what his 2013 tax returns will be like. And my mother, the noncustodial parent, is not going to pay for my education but is unemployed with $120,000 in savings. And taking a gap year or applying out of state is not an option, either. I want to leave while I have this brief window because my family would prefer if I just stayed forever. But I don’t want to move out of state with the possibility of not being there for my brother when the time comes. There’s no one else who is capable of taking care of him if something happens to my parents.</p>

5

<p>Your GPA is definitely not going to help you too much but given what circumstances you were in, I’m really impressed what you were still able to accomplish in your high school career. I hope that you at least got the chance to mention these challenges in essays or plan to in upcoming interviews. Admission officers are human too and they look at everything from a very holistic aspect (at least I hope). Good luck to you!</p>

6

<p>Well, from your life experience it sounds like you probably wrote one heck of an essay.</p>

7

<p>I admit, if you were my child, I’d have recommended a lower level CSU and UC to be included in the mix. You did happen to choose the 3 most competitive UC’s and the 2 most competitive CSU’s. I think your chances are good for San Diego State but I’m not sure you can say “safety.”</p>

<p>The good news is, your stats puts you in the top 9 percent of the state and thus, should you not be accepted to the UC’s on your list then you will be offered a place an another UC if they have openings. Most likely UC Merced. I do know there are a small handful of CSU’s still taking applications like Fresno and Humbolt and they would be safeties.</p>

<p>Scripps, Pomona and Mckenna are really tough and rank class rigor and GPA of highest importance in admission. However, your story might come through. It’s hard to say. All depends on who reads it!</p>

<p>Don’t sit around comparing yourself to online entities. It’s a tiny sampling of applicants and it’s online… you hate to think it but you can never rule out a little exaggeration. My own daughter doesn’t even look at this site… I’m the “type A” one in the household lol. Those with higher stats won’t necessarily have interesting stories to tell in their essays. Colleges are looking for a smattering of bright individuals with different things to offer. You’ve turned them in. Relax and try to enjoy the rest of your senior year!</p>

8

<p>justin5585 - Thanks! I did mention most of the stuff in my essays and interviews but not everything because it’s…heavy. And, yes, my GPA is my Achilles heel. I’m hoping the people who read my file are in a good mood.</p>

<p>Mandalorian - I hope so! I actively tried to make it as simplistic as possible - kept imagining that I was having a conversation with someone rather than writing one of the most important essays of my life.</p>

<p>turtletime - I definitely will try to relax more now that the hard stuff is over with :slight_smile: The waiting got to me all of a sudden and this post was the result of it. I agree that there probably should have been more safeties in my college list but I was only given the option to apply to 8 colleges. So, I decided to go big or stay home. Thanks for you advice!</p>