<p>So, I suppose I should start off with the basics--I'm a senior in her first semester.</p>
<p>act: 32 composite (35 english, 36 reading, 28 math, 29 science)--however, i'm planning on retaking the test in december (maybe ill-advised considering the timing, i really have no idea) and am aiming for at least a 33 to bump up to 99th percentile, and really do not see that as a problem considering how unprepared i was the first time around haha</p>
<p>current gpa: 3.444, weighted; 3.244, unweighted</p>
<p>i've been in multiple clubs dedicated to community service throughout high school, volunteer several hours a week for church (thanks, filipino mother), played jv soccer for a couple years. i also maintain a kind of incriminating art blog on a popular social media platform where i've seen significant success, though mostly anonymously--i wonder if that's a kind of thing that should be kept under wraps or hinted at in applications, because it is probably the best display of my talents, seeing as ive never taken an art class nor entered any competitions, or, more importantly, won any prizes under my legal name</p>
<p>the crux of the issue, I believe, lies in my first semester of junior year. you see, for the first two and a half years of my high school career, I had attended a public school offering IB about thirty-five minutes away from where i live, instead of the one down the street, and had done reasonably well in the pre-IB years, enough to expect the real deal to be solid</p>
<p>somewhere around october, wisdom tooth extraction acting as a super suburban white girl catalyst, I became profoundly depressed and apathetic, spending the remainder of the semester avoiding everyone, sleeping in bathroom stalls instead of attending class, popping prescription pills, making up elaborate lies to placate guidance counselors, spending nights pondering endlessly and floridly on the futility of life...the whole shebang, really</p>
<p>eventually my actions (or inactions) caught up with me and, as standing with school policy, my attendance record had me--not ejected, but--persuaded out of IB. My inability to 'handle the courseload' being the general consensus, my counselors advised i return to my hometown school and finish out the rest of high school there</p>
<p>semester gpa: 1.141 (three f's in english 11, sl physics, and sl math)</p>
<p>so hey, yeah, went to hometown school, rode out the year with a truly intrepid 4.0, and am now super concerned/horrified about what i've done and how it will affect how colleges will see me </p>
<p>many guides i've seen that have touched on this subject include a well-intended but vague "hey, just explain yourself, they'll understand, probably" OR, in a display of defined internet polarity, strictly say, "nope, no, say nothing, just hope it slides by, they're more likely to persecute you based on emotional or mental issues than act sympathetic"</p>
<p>so, what do you think?</p>
<p>how do i explain myself in a genuine, helpful way as to illustrate the reasoning behind my conflicting behaviors and somehow also portray myself in a positive light as a student very interested in the institution of knowledge itself, and gaining it?
another point is that although i'm mostly relatively sure i'd been/am depressed, as well as in possession of some annoying BFRBs, i've never been officially diagnosed and will definitely not be as long as i live in this house</p>
<p>on the same note, what kind of colleges do you think would accept me? obviously im not praying for ivy leagues or anything quite so prestigious, but what kind of level do you think COULD accept me? for instance, have i got any chance whatsoever with, say, UCLA, or the University of Washington? </p>
<p>I'm just really confused and i promise i'm not nearly as sarcastic or snobby as i probably come off as here, wow, sorry. also this is really long and reads as more of a confessional. dang.</p>