In need of good college admissions advice-help me please!

Applying to College
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<p>Hi!
I'm in need of some college advice from some of the experienced posters here on CC. My parents both went to college but they were first generation and they still don't know a lot about the college process. Mostly anything that has to do with going to college has been from my own research and prompting. My GC is pretty much clueless and not up to date on things so he's not a huge help either. I just have a few questions that I need some help with.</p>

<p>As the username (somewhat) implies, I am a Navy brat. Because of this I have to move schools a lot which means different grading systems and ranking systems blah blah blah. </p>

<p>In the middle of 8th grade a couple years back my mom was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. At the end of eighth grade my family moved to Washington State. My mom was getting better but with my dad taking on a heavy work load I had to step up to the plate and help with her care as the eldest for the almost 2 years that we were there. My little brother was also going through a tough time and was dealing with what was then undiagnosed Aspergers, so I helped take care of him too. I was able to do 2 outside activities but other than that I stuck to school and my familial obligations. The school that I went to was a rigorous private IB school. 9th grade year and the 1st semester of tenth grade year I did very well. Second semester of 10th grade was a lot worse. There was a lot going on at home and school with my family and my one health. At the same time my dad's orders had gotten pushed way up so we had to move a lot earlier than expected which made things super hectic. However, I do take responsibility fpr my grades as I feel I could have time managed a lot better than I did. All this definetly affected my second semester marks. </p>

<p>At that school there were no AP classes and all my classes save for one elective per semester were chosen for you. Out of a class size of 20 I was in the top 5 students (about #4). My GPA for both years is a 3.44. At that school a 3.44 is considered very good when the would be val (they don't rank) had only a 3.5 (and it wasn't from lack of hard work either!). </p>

<p>Now at my new school ( a large average performing public) I've done very well. My family responsibilities have been greatly reduced with my mom and brother getting much better (and me time-managing better too) and I have a huge upward grade trend. I have a 3.8 UW for semester one and I will have a 4.0 UW for the second semester which means a 3.9 for the whole year :) (I even got an A in calculus when I'm normally a B math student :D). I'm expected 5's on my AP exams and a 700+ SAT II score. However, because the grading and pretty much everything else and done so differently the GPA on my current's school transcript makes it look like I took easy classes (they re-named everything to fit their course catalog) and makes my GPA and ranking look superficially low. And by low I mean super low like 3.2 and 86/236 low. This really worries me because I don't know how people reading my app will see this. I don't want them thinking I'm a delinquent student when the exact opposite is true lol.</p>

<p>One more thing, since my two schools were so different I have to take a number of super easy required classes that make my schedule look less rigorous. For example this year I took/am taking: APUSH (all year), AP Lang (all year), Chemistry (last semester), Calculus (this semester), Econ/Personal Finance (last semester), Pre-Calc (last semester, French IV and Ceramic (this semester). I'm trying to make my senior year schedule more challenging but it all depends on how many other required classes I have to take. </p>

<p>My questions are as follows:
1. Should I include my family situation for the first two years of high school in my applications? (I'm not going to write my essays about that though).
2. If so, where would I put that? Or would my guidance counselor write it in his rec letter?
3. Will my GPA at my old school be an immediate red flag?
4. Should I be concerned about my transcript and ranking situation? If so what should I do?
5. Will my family situation and the hectic nature of military life hurt or help me?
6. I'm reluctant to mention my chronic pain illness since it's only affected my attendance but not my grades since I do all my work from the hospital. Is it relevant?
7. Should I be worried about the issues with my class schedule?</p>

<p>Thank you and many apologies for the long post. :) </p>

<p>P.S. If anyone is wondering my college list is quite balanced with schools with up to and 86% acceptance rate. </p>

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<p>As a generalization, adcoms want to understand circumstances that have affected you in HS. I’m not a GC and by no means an expert, but I will say that explanations are generally better received when they come from an independent party. So even if your GC is not that savvy in admissions its worth making sure she/he knows your family situation and can mention it in a letter.</p>

<p>As for your personal health issues, whether to mention it or not is a tough call. I don’t know if your colleges would allow a doctor to submit an extra letter confirming that you have faced health problems, but if you decide to mention them one way to get them in is to let your GC know and then ask your doctor to send a letter to the GC confirming them. That way the GC can mention them and the doctor’s letter. I’m just tossing that out as an idea, with the HIPAA privacy rules this may not be easy to do. </p>

<p>You might want to also try posting your question in the Parents Forum as well as the “Ask the Dean” (button on the top right) to get as wide a range of answers as you can. </p>

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<p>The user name implies that you are a parent! confusing. Your title is not illuminating, after all this is a help forum for college admissions, so naturally…</p>

<p>I tried to make sense of your post but it is so ramble-y and jumbled up. I recommend you make your applications very clear and concise.</p>

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<p>I’m by no means an expert but:

  1. Yes
  2. Either write it in your essay or in the “additional information” section of the common app. Additionally you should talk to your GC about your situation and ask him if he can mention it in the rec letter.
  3. To be blunt, yes it could be a problem. However the colleges you apply to should have a profile of your old schools -since you have to enter every school you’ve attended on your app- so they should be able to put your GPA into context.
  4. Yes you should be slightly concerned, but there’s not much you can do at this point.
  5. If you can talk about your family situation in an uplifting manner -how it made you grow as a person, mature, etc- your situation should help you.
  6. Your chronic pain illness is relevant if…see above
  7. See #4</p>
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<p>@BrownParent‌ I share this account with my mom. I said that in an earlier post of mine, I’m sorry I did not make the clear here. By rambl-y and jumbled up do you mean the format is weird? I’m sorry if it is or seems that way, I have a hard time making things short because my background is so extensive</p>

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<p>@saif235‌ Great :frowning: just another thing to stress about. It’s a wonder if I get in anywhere. Thanks for the advice </p>

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<p>@BrownParent‌ as for the title I’m really sorry, I just didn’t know what to call it. However, does it really matter that much anyway? (I hope that doesn’t come off rude) </p>

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<p>Please don’t share accounts, its confusing and I think it is again the terms of use. Don’t assume people read your previous posts first.</p>

<p>I read your post once and found it hard to sort out. I saw questions at the end that I don’t recall being referenced earlier. I tried to skim again and still couldn’t follow. It was just not clear enough and some things didn’t make sense. I thought the least advice I could give would be to say to be clear and concise in your applications because that doesn’t seem to come naturally and you want to present yourself in a way that someone can follow your point and not have to struggle. I think that is important for admissions. </p>

<p>Here is a point or two, (I don’t want to keep reading your post.) Yes be sure to explain extenuating or unusual circumstances. Try not to make it seem like a litany of woes. Do not neglect to list duties to family and hours devoted on your activites list, as if it was an EC.</p>

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<p>@BrownParent‌ is correct. It is against the term of use to share an account. Ask your GC to address your school changes and how what is required for graduation affected your schedule. Colleges have seen this before, particularly for military families.</p>