Please Help! Will NYU acknowledge my personal struggles?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello! This is my first time posting on here. I have a very important question that I haven't been able to find the answer to through Google. Also, I know this is an EXTREMELY long post. I really hope someone out there will take the time to read all of it and answer my questions honestly.
Does applying to NYU's Core Program require teacher recommendations? I have a COUNSELOR recommendation. But do I need a Teacher?
Also, how does getting accepted into the other NYU locations (London, Florence, Paris, Shanghai) work? Is it possible to get accepted into one of those instead of the NYC location? </p>

<p>So please chance me! And be honest, these past few days I've been telling myself I'm not going to get in just so I won't get completely destroyed if I do get rejected.</p>

<p>So I applied to NYU's Core Program Early Decision.
My GPA is a 3.7 unweighted.
My SAT scores are a 1820.
I know that those are EXTREMELY low, but I hoped to appeal to NYU through my personal life. I don't want to be pitied, but I just want my struggles to be acknowledged and accounted for because the things that I've gone through have had a serious impact on my school life obviously.
So I've gone through the cliche, parents being divorced, mother doesn't do the proper raising stuff. But during my last two years of high school, freshman and sophomore year, I have gone through Hell and back. I had a very verbally borderline physically abusive boyfriend, lost all my childhood friends, got into drugs and alcohol, survived and recovered from bulimia, suffered from anxiety/panic attacks and depression, and came out of all of that so much stronger.
I had regular appointments with a psychologist and I totally changed my life, I decided that the environment I live in is just not good for me. I can't be around the people I live with everyday anymore, so I've decided to graduate one year early from high school.
I emphasized the fact that I'm fully recovered and so much stronger as a person now.</p>

<p>I am planning to join the military (Coast Guard or Army) and I wrote that I will be joining ROTC at NYU. I don't know if that would have any help in my admissions at all, I'm wondering if it will?
I am planning to pursue Psychology, ultimately I would love to be a part of the Med Corps or a social worker.</p>

<p>I love kids, so all throughout my high school career, I've managed to volunteer as a private tutor for kids in kindergarten to 7th grade. </p>

<p>I have been on honor roll my whole high school career.
This year I'm taking all honor classes and two AP classes, except math which is Trig/Math Analysis.</p>

<p>I know my counselor will have written an amazing recommendation because he has helped me through all of my personal struggles.</p>

<p>I don't know what other information I should provide, but someone please answer and help me ease my anxieties!</p>

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<p>EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out. Good luck with your application.</p>

3

<p>I think that you have a decent chance. This is the first year that applicants have been allowed to apply directly to LS, so I don’t know what kind of impact that will have. I can tell you that your stats are on par for LSP, but I don’t know how that will translate considering the change. You have a compelling story and the fact that you want to join the military will probably make you stand out. As for the teacher rec, I believe they are required for all of NYU’s undergraduate divisions. I have no idea why your guidance counselor didn’t mention it. Don’t panic, but call NYU first thing on Monday and ask them. Explaining the situation would probably help seeing as I think it would probably be pretty difficult to get a teacher rec this late in the game. Even if you managed to get it, it would probably be rushed and not reflect the best representation of you as a student.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for responding! It really means a lot to me. I have already asked a teacher for a recommendation and sent the request over CommonApp last week. But both my teacher and I were really confused as to whether or not she needed to write a recommendation for me because we couldn’t find anything that said they were required. My counselor is making me handle everything by myself because I am the only student of his graduating early. One would think that he’d put extra effort into helping me right?! So I emailed my teacher saying that the recommendation is back on! Is there a deadline for recommendations?</p>

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<p>No problem! I felt like I wasn’t very much help, but I’m always willing to provide what info I can.</p>

<p>Technically you are supposed to have all your materials in by November 1st, and colleges aren’t really flexible about deadlines. However, since it’s not a piece of the application that you’re submitting yourself, like a supplement or something, they might give you a break. Also, it takes some time for them to get the application materials together. As long as it gets done this week, I don’t think it will wreck your chances.</p>

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<p>You really were a ton of help! I’m really relieved because I haven’t been able to get answers at all. Yay! Thank you! :D!</p>

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<p>Generally, extreme circumstances can explain low grades, but I don’t really see how it could affect your highest test scores as you can always take the test when times are good, so to speak.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure if this would “count.” Usually special circumstances would be for major diseases like cancer, close family members’ deaths/serious illnesses, abject poverty, or other things. However, having a boyfriend, being bulimic, into drugs/alcohol, and depressed might throw up red flags for colleges, I’m sorry to say. I have a lot of sympathy for you, please don’t get me wrong, but these aren’t really the kinds of things colleges like to hear because they might be concerned that you would be an unstable student or engage in risky behavior. Fair or not, that’s what it is, which is why you are often advised not to mention depression, and certainly not drugs on your applications. Sorry again.</p>

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<p>If you had an abusive boyfriend you are allowed to break up with him.
Drugs and alcohol are you own fault.
Why did you friends leave you? </p>

<p>Your stats are good, but if I were the admissions officer reviewing your file thats what I would say.</p>