Not a normal chances thread.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I had an itching feeling that nobody would read this post in the "non-traditional students" category, and this is kind of (sort of) chances thread related, so I'm putting it up here as well:
Okay, so I have a too-long story that is somewhat explained in older posts, but here I have a huge question to ask. First I'll get my BG info out of the way.
Synopsis: I have had a terrible (horrible) and rocky first two years of high school. My life feels like a snow globe- every time it settles, somebody goes and shakes it up again. But I'm also an over-achieving perfectionist who loves to learn- LEARN, not get-a-career-and-perfect-grades learn, but striving-to-educate-yourself-always learn. So I decided I wouldn't give up and enrolled in K12 (that online public school) for the spring semester and got some credits out of the way. Now I'm taking a credit-recovery independent study school for summer to make up more credits (honors 11 English and honors US History). So, I'm pretty much entering the 11th grade. Now my credits are STILL all over the place, just because I needed to cut out undeserved bad grades that were stuck on my transcript due to my disappearance into mental-hospital land for a semester. So that's the difficult situation for me. I need to create a very fine balance of things for the next two years- challenge myself and take a full course load without putting too much on my plate and killing everything.</p>

<p>Anyways, for many reasons I am moving down to my aunt's house in San Diego. I need to figure out a few major things about my schooling before I start the next year.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I'm enrolled in Insight (another online school, this one just for HS kids), and taking an elective-loaded course list:
a. Latin 1, Art History, PE, Pre-Calculus, AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, Drama in Literature, and Sociology (the last 4 are semester courses, and I'd be taking the AP semester courses in the spring, obviously)</p></li>
<li><p>If I was doing this online school, I'd need to concurrently enroll at the local CC and take a science (for lab requirement reasons), French (I love it and want to immerse myself in it rather than take insufficient HS level courses, and English (unsure about quality at online school).</p></li>
<li><p>Unweighted, my GPA is currently around a 3.5. Weighted, I'm unsure, but if I continue to get straight A's, then I can get my GPA up to around a 3.96.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>SO, my big question is: are these online schools ANY GOOD? At k12 I was taking the stupid required courses, but I did extremely well. I'm really worried that just the simple fact of my going to an online (public charter, not an order-your-diploma school FYI) program might make me a bad candidate for other things. I can get a very high score on my SATs, and I've tested as a very bright student (highly gifted according to LAUSD).</p>

<p>I know I don't do extremely well in a traditional school environment, because of the slower pace, long and much-wasted school day, and my history of dropping out (for VERY good reasons, but still, dropping out), but if by taking online courses and CC courses and sports locally I will be looked upon as a bad candidate for 10-20% acceptance colleges, then I am willing to go to a public school. There are a few nationally-recognized schools in the area that could be great experiences, or horrible experiences. All this information and nowhere to go for help is making me crazy. College Confidential, you are my only hope...</p>

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<p>Please help me!</p>

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<p>Does ANYONE have any thoughts?!</p>

<p>I know I’m hopeless when College Confidential can’t answer my question. :(</p>

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<p>Argh! Why?!</p>

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<p>I looked up k12 and I couldn’t find any negative comments, however, I am still confused with your problem. You are enrolled in two online schools and would prefer not to go to public high school? I wouldn’t say that going to an online school would be a negative, as long as you take the hardest classes that meet or exceed(preferably this) a normal high school curriculum. Most public high school students(at least from my experience) use online high schools as a way to get ahead or take AP classes that are not available at their local high school. If you find yourself dropping out of high school continuously, then I would suggest that you take the online high school’s classes. The decision is different for everyone when deciding how one wants to graduate, though if you are enjoying your experience online and feel that you are learning, I would suggest that you continue your education online. Overall, I don’t think online high school is “bad.” As long as you can find ways to be involved in your community and have some other ecs, I would think that an online high school would serve as a good alternative for you.</p>

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<p>Well…I’m only enrolled in ONE online school (I switched to Insight) for the fall, and concurrently enrolling at the CCs. I want to be able to find a new EC for myself in the SD area- and I know I can do that. I’m just worried if it looks bad to an adcom when you take school online (is this kid a hermit or something? are they trying to get off easy? etc).</p>

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<p>O ok, I understand. I don’t think it would look bad, especially if you are taking classes at CCs and demonstrate that you are involved in ecs despite your disadvantage of going to an online school(where clubs don’t exist). By doing this, you will portray your dedication for learning, along with demonstrating that you are exceeding your limitations. Adcoms will realize your situation and will be impressed with the fact that you are utilizing all opportunities despite your disadvantage. Essentially, if you feel that you are actually learning and challenging yourself and are participating in your community, an online school is a great alternative. Hopefully that helped:)</p>

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<p>Yeah, that you SO MUCH for reading through all this and taking time to think about it. SOME people aren’t being honorable and reading it…:(</p>

<p>Anyhow, it seems you are right. Since virtual schools are so different, you can’t really directly compare them. I’m just going to have to wing it and work my butt off until I feel satisfied with what I’m showing the adcoms. Thanks for the support- it REALLY helps!</p>

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<p>i’d say focus more on how you strive to overcome your circumstance than apologizing for your complicated schooling situation (even though they may end up serving the same purpose). your app won’t be conventional, so relish in its unconventionality!
i don’t know much about online schools though, so unfortunately i can’t be of too much help…</p>

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<p>Yeah, good advice…that last sentence pretty sums up my issue. Since online schools are new, NOBODY has a good idea of whether they’re worth it or not. I guess I’m a pioneer then…</p>

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<p>If people were chancing back, then I would have like 50 replies right now…:(</p>

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<p>May I suggest you meet with a counselor at your CC to sort out your transcript, figure out your gpa, organize your completed courses, your ECs and give you help on places to apply for your intended major. Perhaps there are some non traditional high schools in the SD area you can do your senior year at and get involved in some additional ECs, get LORs from teachers and utilize the counseling staff. Good Luck.</p>

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<p>Do CC’s have counselors available?</p>

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<p>So I suppose I’ve decided that I want to go to a smaller college on the East Coast with access to bigger cities- Bowdoin, Amherst, Smith, and Princeton being my top schools right now. Does my situation seem realistic in applying to these schools? I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I also know what I want and am willing to work for it. Keep in mind that I’m applying through QB and Smith would therefore be my choice only if all the other three rejected me through ED in Questbridge.</p>