<p><strong>THIS IS REALLY LONG BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND HELP</strong></p>
<p>Ok, so I'm a current junior in highschool and I feel as if I wont get into any colleges.
Let me give you a backstory.</p>
<p>I'm very overweight and have been constantly harassed my entire life. Last year when I was a sophomore it got so bad that I would constantly leave school or skip classes and just cry. I felt like a failure and I couldn't talk about it with anyone. Along with the pain of my own depression in January my sister attempted commiting suicide and that was a huge blow for my family and my sanity. My own depression got so bad that I let other kids bully me into failing 3 classes. I failed english, advanced biology and AP world. My GPA went from a 3.5 to a 2.3. This year I thought was going to be better but after my 1st quarter at school the harassment began again but even worse than before. So far my grades are decent but I dropped down to a regular math class (I'm still a year ahead of where I'm supposed to be though) because I was so stressed and I got put into a class full of kids who harassed me. I constantly do bad in class and feel like an idiot because I'm afraid to speak up about anything in that class. I'm currently failing and I'm pretty sure I will yet again fail a class. I'm going to speak to my teacher to see if he can make it so I even pass with a D (I will retake the 1st semester next year to raise the GPA no matter what. I dropped after right before 1st quarter ended so I have an auto F for 1st quarter.) Other than that my grades are fine, but I have a few C's due to missing school because of harassment and depression.</p>
<p>I used to have big dreams of going to NYU or Boston University but I know now that wont happen.
What I was wondering if there is any chance due to my circumstances of getting into a decent school. The school I'm looking at is the University of Minnesota.</p>
<p>I'm taking my ACT later this year and I will take it as many times as I need to get a 33. My practice tests always put me around there.
My practice SAT tests put me around a 1900, but I'm going to study to get a 2100.
I'm involved in very many E.C's involing Speech, Debate, Knowledge Bowl, Student Council/Student Government, Principal's Advisory Council, Theater, Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Choir. I'm also a Drama captain and a Speech captain. I also have a job (I work at Old Navy) and constantly volunteer throughout my community and am active in church.</p>
<p>I'm retaking 2 of the 3 classes I failed last year (english and biology, we only need 1 semester of world so I'll have a 0 on my GPA which sucks.) and I've talked to the teachers and 1 is giving me an auto A due to the fact I only failed because I was missing a short story prompt with is an auto fail if you don't have it turned in (it was due on the last day of school and I missed because of harrasment.)</p>
<p>If I rock my 2nd semster this year and my year next year I can get my GPA up to a 3.7 weighted GPA.</p>
<p>I want to go into buisness and eventually work for a company that involves fashion. My dream job is to be a fashion buyer or fashion merchandiser. I love buisness overall and would love to go into it. I'm not interested in journalism or science or anything like either of those. :B</p>
<p>Please please please let me know if there are any chances of getting into any decent school with my possible scores and circumstances.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry you’re dealing with all this :(. People are *******s.</p>
<p>A 2.3 isn’t great obviously but a 33 is fabulous and your ECs are very good too. I don’t know about Minnesota’s gpa but if you do get a 33 you’ll definitely be above their average there. NYU and BU are reaches of course but if you’re looking for a college in the big city there are definitely options out there. Pace University is almost definitely a safety, and some of the CUNYs too. You will get in somewhere decent.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. (:</p>
<p>My GPA will raise to about a 3.3 by the end of this year and by mid next year even if I get all B’s it will raise to about a 3.5, which still isn’t great for weighted GPAs but its way better than a 2.3. Haha.</p>
<p>I know NYU and BU are major reaches right now, but I may apply after taking my SAT and ACT if I do amazing. xD
I just don’t want to end up going to my towns college with half of my graduating class. xD</p>
<p>Well this was from a while ago but does anyone else have input? (:</p>
<p>You will deff get in SOMEWHERE. </p>
<p>My question is, how are you able to Drama & Speech captain while suffering from the kind of insecurity that you described. Seems oxymoronic. </p>
<p>Bring up your GPA, write a great essay about OVERCOMING adversity (NOT a sob story about being harassed), and in 2012 you’ll find yourself at a good college.</p>
<p>You haven’t dug your own grave for those universities yet. You are clearly smart and have a strong shot at both! Your stats look great so far, and (if you will be able to) an upward curve in your grades will probably be noticed by admissions. And don’t listen to those losers! In a few years you’ll be away from them for good anyway.</p>
<p>When I’m in my comfort zone (I love performing) I don’t think about my insecurities. Granted last year my speech piece was all about my insecurties pretty much, so that wasn’t too big of a help. xD Also, in speech and theater its not the *******s that harass me. Its the kids that are different as well and we create our own little group of talented people.</p>
<p>Do you have any tips on what to say (and what not to say) in the essay? I’m a good writer but at I struggle writing about myself.</p>
<p>@jonmrcool- Thanks! My grades are kind of not the best right now, but its because the harassment is up and at it again but my counselor at school is keeping track of everything and is going to help me explain things. Next semester I’m going to kick butt and get my grades all up though.
Thanks! I try to think that way but they make it really hard at times. xD</p>
<p>Expand on what you just said. Explain how much you love performing and how great you feel when doing that. Spend less than 1/4 of the essay actually talking about the harassment. Most of it should have a subtly triumphant tone. Choose a specific incident or day to talk about. You’ll be fine. And def keep the counselor involved. Her recs will be very important. Were you interested in Tisch?</p>
<p>This is frank. Colleges need kids who can endure challenges and muster the courage to face them. Colleges need kids who “find the strength.” </p>
<p>On one hand, it’s not great to say, well, those jerks ran me out of that class or made me let myself fail. What happens in college, if someone gives you crap? If it’s not peers, it could be a tough professor in a tough class. You have time to think about this and work on it.</p>
<p>Adcoms do like it when a kid’s ECs somewhat predict how engaged he/she will be in campus life. If performing is your solace, find a way in your app to express your desire to continue with that, in college. </p>
<p>Some of the best college app essays are about overcoming- not just with mental resolve, but with action. Can you take your love of performing to the community, mentor kids, vol at a local theatre? The writing advice is “show, not tell.” But, this is great life advice, too.</p>
<p>Well I’m currently trying to lose my weight, so if I succeed should I talk about that in the essay at all? I’m interested in Tisch and Stern. I’ve always wanted to go into buisness and its pretty much a family trait (most of my cousins have gone to Babson and work for top companies including Johnson and Johnson, Gap inc, etc) but I know they have a school where you can take all different classes (I laughed when reading the description because they said you can take a variety of classes, even some as crazy as buisness to performing arts xD) so I was thinking of possibly applying there.</p>
<p>The app essays are unlike anything most kids have ever written for high school- a typical “challenge I overcame” example would be: based on x, your viewpoint changed, you learned y, and the effect transformed you in some way. It’s good to be able to point a examples of how you now act and react differently. Along the way, you weave in a bright tale.
Losing weight, dealing with your family issues, pushing yourself to overcome peer hassles and improve both grades and test scores…that’s a lot of work. Pace yourself.</p>
<p>NYU can be highly competitive. Look at their supplemental questions. One of their underlying concerns is how kids will thrive- or not- in NYC. We don’t know enough about your ECs to advise about focusing. Anything you want to mention here?</p>
<p>Well, I’ve been to NYC and I love it (NYC is my 2nd city love, Boston is my favorite place. Ever.)<br>
As far as what I’d like to mention- is the question asking about my ECs? Its late and I’m tired so I’m not comprehending things too well. xD</p>