<p>I'm looking to apply to several top schools (Stanford, Princeton, Upenn-Wharton).</p>
<p>I feel like I had a pretty strong chance (as much as anybody can have, anyway) until this year, my Junior year. I became very sick in October and stayed that way until April. Though I continued to attend school, I started doing poorly-- my gpa has dropped from a 3.9 to a much lower figure. I doubt that my AP scores will be any good. I would have been on the varsity lacrosse team, but my illness prevented me from playing at all. I also didn't really achieve much in the way of my extracurriculars.</p>
<p>How forgiving will admissions officers be to this type of thing? Where on my applications will I have the opportunity to explain the terrible junior year?</p>
<p>Stanford, like many schools, has a "special circumstances" section on the application. Most students don’t use it, but your case is exactly the kind of thing that it’s designed for.</p>
<p>Remember that the admissions office's job is not to excuse students for difficult situations but to accept the most qualified applicants. If you don't prove that you have come out of this a strong, high-achieving, well-qualified student, then Harvard, Stanford, etc. will not take a chance on you. Good luck though.</p>
<p>I had a horrible ulcer attack in my senior year, that affected me both physically and psychologically...I still attended school, and it may have affected my performance, but there were several other factors that contributed to my falling grades. But I didn't mention a word of this on my app.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the advice. I'm looking to have an awesome fall, with 8 AP classes and hopefully varsity cross country. I guess I'll reconsider my school choices and only apply if I feel like I'm doing well.</p>
<p>Overcoming adversity and becoming a better person from your exerience can show who you are as a person. There is a reason that schools put the special circumstances category on the application. Just try to recoup, get great grades now that you are better and make the best of your remaining high school experience. Apply to every school you are interested in. If you don't apply, you definitely will not get in. Good luck.</p>
<p>ah, nice, and I see that you're at Williams, which is one of my favorite schools-I-haven't-visited. My neighbor's daughter went there and has been encouraging me to look at it since I was 6.</p>