new here. complicated life story=complicated chances...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, all. I'm new to collegeconfidential (though I've been scanning it for a long time).
Anyway, here we go:</p>

<p>White female from NYC
Attended extremely competitive private school in manhattan for 11 years, then boarding school in utah for 1 year, then public school in ny for 2 years (will explain later...).</p>

<p>Applying to: Brown (ED, legacy), Princeton (pushed into it by parents), JHU, Stanford (yes, I know already this is a HUGE reach...), UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, UCSB, UCSD, UC Irvine, UC Davis (as you can see, I want to be on the west coast), NYU (legacy).</p>

<p>GPA: not quite sure, something like 88% with freshman year, 95% without. school does not weigh grades. </p>

<p>3 honors courses (most available at the school I was at at the time), 4 APs (most I could have taken thus far. next year=2 APs (no other option) and self-studying for 8).</p>

<p>school does not rank, probably in the top decile though.</p>

<p>SAT I: CR-790, M-710, W-760 1500/2260
SAT II: Math2C-790, Lit-760</p>

<p>AP scores: Lit-4, Enviro Sci-4, APUSH-3 (ahhh), Calc AB-3 (started the year in normal calc because they didn't offer AP, switched mid-year to new school and into AP).
next year-AP Bio, AP Stats
self-studying (school does not offer these): lang, french lang, us gov, psych, micro/macro econ, art hist, calc BC</p>

<p>ECs:
so this is where I need to start explaining.
i'm bipolar and have a lot of other emotional issues that climaxed when I was in 9th grade (this is reflected in my grades). I was sent to a boarding school/residential treatment center in utah for 8 months where i COMPLETELY turned myself around. once i graduated the program, i moved from my old school (toxic environment), to a new school to "start over". since i've been all over the place, my ECs are not very "consistent".</p>

<p>-Invited by treatment centers around the country to give speeches/lead groups for the girls and their families (this is something I created myself)
-volunteered/ing at hospital (first volunteer invited to work in neuro ICU, assisted in procedures like bronchoscopies and spinal taps)
-black belt/teacher/first place champion in tae kwan do (12 years)
-assisted/ing orthopedic surgeon
-play guitar/write music (have performed at venues)
-Co-chair on a very successful and highly publicized fundraiser (but if i told you what it was, it wouldn't be confidential ;) )
-founder of environmental club at one of my schools
-other clubs but not officer or anything.</p>

<p>employment: hardly any, nothing significant</p>

<p>awards: student of the month, high honor roll x3, AP scholar with distinction</p>

<p>recs: this is tough because the teachers i'm getting them from have only known me for about 6 months, but they seem very fond of me. my guidance counselor says i'm her most dedicated student. I'm also getting a supp rec from the program director at my treatment center.
my essay will talk about my experiences and how they've motivated me (but not in a self-pitying, "woe-is-me" kind of way. i like to think i have a good sense of humor...)</p>

<p>additional information: the things that have happened in my life have certainly complicated my schooling/application process, but hopefully schools will see that, not only did i make the best out of my situation, but i built upon it as a means to motivate myself in the future and inspire others.
oh and i want to go into pre-med either for neuroscience/surgery, psychiatry, or psychopharmaceutical development. furthermore (as i am an animal rights activist), i have a goal to develop ways to test pharmaceuticals while lessening the impact on animals.</p>

<p>so, wadda ya say?
yes, no, maybe?</p>

2

<p>HIGH FIVE! I have problems too…Utah is pretty much fix-your-kid-up center heaven, right? But its also sort of hell…anyways! You look like you have pretty great chances at the UC schools for the most part. You seem to be able to write, but REALLY pour out this story in your essays. It is crucial for you-really crucial! </p>

<p>Oh, so I’m a legacy into UCLA, Berkeley, and SD- we could swap? I’ll take Princeton, you take LA?</p>

<p>Since Stanford is a reach for absolutely everybody, there isn’t much to say on that point. Don’t apply to the lesser UC’s- they really aren’t very much worth attending. Stick to UCLA, Berkeley, SD, but kick Irvine off the list (trust me, it isn’t what you’re looking for. If you want West Coast, you’ll probably want Santa Barbara, LA, or SD. If you want the Frisco area, Berkeley, Stanford or Davis)</p>

3

<p>hahah yes, i definitely have a love/hate relationship with utah…
i’d be happy to swap. being that i was hospitalized at Princeton University Medical Center for two months at one point for my issues, i never want to be in the town again. hah.
and yes, being that the career path i’m chosing to take is based in my experiences with treatment, it will play a HUGE part in my applications.
do you have any thoughts on what UC schools would be matches/safeties for me? keep in mind that i’m OOS…</p>

4

<p>Yeah, and I was hospitalized in the UCLA Medical Center. Okay…woah, that was a MAJOR turn off for me…I don’t think I like Princeton very much anymore…no joke.</p>

<p>Okay, Merced, Davis, Santa Cruz, and Irvine will all be like 99% for you. Merced like 109% because they already accept 99%. </p>

<p>Santa Barbara is a definite in, UCLA is a 65-80%, Berkeley a solid 60, and SD a 75% As long as your application itself is stellar, you won’t have too much of a problem. Keep in mind that you aren’t high on their preference list for being out of state, but the rest of your stats show very high chances.</p>

5

<p>You’ll need to calculate your UC GPA to give a better idea of your chances. Look at the eligible classes here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Add extra points for honors courses:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html#H[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html#H&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also note that UCs only consider sophomore and junior year grades.</p>

6

<p>Oh yeah, thanks rc251! The UC system has really different policies than most East Coast schools, not to mention pretty much every other school as well. My old HS had seminars on how to prep your applications for just the UC system. For me, it really inflated my GPA because my school pretty much gave no EC for APs and Honors, but for a lot of students it deflates their GPA by a lot.</p>

7

<p>Nicely put…and inspirational. Nonetheless, adcoms are gullible and subjective and my sister, the ultimate candidate, was rejected from UCLA this year. Things happen. So just work the application the best you can, and hope for the best.</p>

8

<p>awww you guys are great. haha
rc251, my UC gpa is 4.31 (i think. once i get my transcript i’ll see if i missed anything).
that is SUCH a relief that UCs only consider soph/jun grades!
alexandrafitzmor, tons of schools have accompanying hospitals (and, by proxy, unfortunate associations). princeton is an incredible school with a beautiful campus (as if i needed to even say that), don’t let my experiences put you off! :slight_smile:
harvard1009, i really appreciate you saying that. i often think of adcoms as stoic admit-bots. it’s nice to hear that that’s not (always) the case! haha</p>

9

<p>I don’t do chances threads so take my post with a grain of salt, but I think with those stats you have a great chance at all the UCs even as an out of stater. Using [url=<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu/]Statfinder[/url”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu/]Statfinder[/url</a>], I got these average admission statistics specifically for out-of-state students (Fall 2008):</p>

<p>Berkeley: 4.23, 2144
UCLA: 4.19, 2054
UCSD: 4.15, 1933
UCSB: 4.05, 1959
UC Davis: 4.04, 1924
UC Irvine: 4.03, 1891
UC Santa Cruz: 3.94, 1915
UC Riverside: 3.76, 1768
UC Merced: 3.73, 1767</p>

<p>Most people say UCs aren’t worth it for out of staters (except for the top 2, occasionally SD is included in that too), although that’s up to you. There aren’t many out of staters at the UCs save for the top two (though my roommate at UCSB was from Fort Worth, TX and loved it there). With UCs having severe budget issues, they are likely to become slightly friendlier towards out of staters who can pump in a lot of tuition money into the system.</p>

<p>You might also want to consider some privates in California since they might be worth your money more. What kind of colleges are you looking for specifically? Do you like the state school environments?</p>

10

<p>Yeah…well, I actually don’t really know why I’m posting my questions in the chances threads- they are more of questions about how I would be regarded, not my chances.</p>

<p>There is something terrifying to me about being too close to these hospitals. I really had a harrowing experience. I’m thinking about just…sticking to Bowdoin or the like. But I do like the city too…</p>

<p>But your story helps me in a way, because I see that if you can turn it around, so can I.</p>

11

<p>I don’t know how you feel about liberal arts schools, but maybe it’d be worth the time to at least look up Pomona College. It’s in Socal.</p>

12

<p>rc251, i’m not generally wild about state schools (i hear that one of the biggest factors in getting into a good med school is the name of where you went to undergrad). i have trouble in the new public school i’m at, as when i find myself socializing with people outside of my classes, i get frustrated with stereotypical teenage superficiality (i mean, we all fall prey to it at SOME point, but come on…) so i’d like to be around fairly intellectual, thoughtful people.
that being said, i’m not interested in a SUPER small school (and none with religious affiliations). </p>

<p>alexandrafitzmor, the princeton hospital is not actually in very close proximity to the campus/town. it’s kind of in the middle of this strange little suburban neighborhood that you probably would never go through unless you really had to. in terms of my story, that’s sort of why i give speeches/lead groups at treatment centers. when i was in treatment, i kept hearing about how relapse rates were SO HIGH and it just felt kind of hopeless. i want people to know that lasting change really is possible. <em>cue cheesy music</em>
haha</p>

<p>i was honestly kind of expecting to be a bit bashed because i don’t have a perfect SAT score or a 5 on every AP ever created, but this has been really helpful (that’s not to say that i can’t take some constructive criticism…hah)</p>

13

<p>^I think with the criteria you mentioned, Berkeley is probably the best fit for you. It’s an intellectual environment, less superficial, and great brand recognition for grad schools. UCLA is going to have a bit more superficiality and focus on looks (I mean the school is right next to Bevery Hills and Hollywood) and UCSB has the reputation of being a party school (I went there for undergrad and loved it but it might not be the place you’re looking for). UCSD also has the reputation of people studying hard but that seems to be all they do. Irvine and Davis have decent social atmospheres and good academics. That about covers the UCs at least :)</p>

14

<p>yeah, as far as the UCs berkeley is my top choice. i love that it’s intellectual without being pretentious (this is something that also really attracted me to brown). i would probably pick it over JHU or Princeton. </p>

<p>does anyone have any thoughts on the other schools?
i forgot to mention, i know someone who went to brown undergrad, brown medical, and worked in admissions for a bit. he said he’d be happy to write a little note to the adcom on my behalf. :)</p>

15

<p>Since UCs don’t consider legacy–don’t take that swap!!</p>

<p>I think you have a complex situation and this board is not a good place to sort it out. Hopefully you have a good counselor or access to a good private one.</p>

<p>There have been many discussions here on depression, being bipolar and other forms of mental illness and how they effect college admission. If you read through in the achieves, you’ll see an adcom has joined the discussion.</p>

<p>The bottom line seems to be that colleges fear all potential problems. Adcom are not doctors and can’t determine who is cured, who may relapse and what the real issues are. Colleges have been sued by parents of suicidal kids and have faced horrific situations with kids with different mental illnesses. </p>

<p>Therefore, what you tell them and how needs careful consideration by folks who really understand the issues here. I strongly recommend you consult an expert if at all possible, and at the very least talk this through with trusted, knowledgeable adults.</p>

16

<p>that’s a very good point.
in my situation though, there is no way i could let it slip under the radar. however, when i address my past, i’m going to try to focus less on the details of who i WAS and more about who that’s turned me into, what it took to get me here, and where i’m going.</p>

<p>but yes, i have spoken to many knowledgeable adults about it and will continue to do so.</p>

17

<p>See, reading hmom5’s very knowledgeable answer on the subject (which I’ve been trying to get for a long time now) scares me. I don’t want to be rejected after all this hard work (in a lot of ways its like I’m working twice as hard- academically and personally) to make me a successful person. It worries me when I hear that I might be more of a liability issue than a student.</p>

18

<p>alexandra, i think we you have to take what hmom5 said with a grain of salt (no offense, hmom5). For people like us, it’s impossible to completely ignore our past; it WILL come out eventually. it’s better to talk about the change you made than to just have a strange transcript with no explanation. furthermore, i think a lot of this will be communicated in an interview. i honestly do not think that a college would reject a qualified candidate because of something like this.</p>

19

<p>Alexandra, worry does no good. Get some professional help in how to deal with your situation on applications if your family can afford it. Positioning is everything. What you write, what your counselor and any outside experts write–all of this can help immeasurably.</p>

<p>You can’t ignore your past but there is much you can do which does not include clich</p>

20

<p>Thanks SO much, hmom5! I looked at the threads on these issues and it sounds like there is a way to handle it and direct it appropriately in your application, but I need to be really careful what I say and how I say it. Your insight is actually profoundly helpful, not only in the honesty, but the fact that I’ve been rather lost on the subject until now.</p>