I just transferred from a public school that I had attended from kindergarten to tenth grade. I have taken a few classes at USM as a part of their gifted studies so, I was able to earn enough credits to graduate early. That being said, I am technically in my senior year right now taking classes through a Christian home school. The classes aren’t the greatest to any standard but, I did not want to waste another year at my former school. My former school offered 3 AP classes, after some discussion I was allowed to take AP Bio and APUSH during my sophomore year which wasn’t usually allowed. After taking said classes, I decided that I was going nowhere at my former school (The school is known to be the worst in the county due to gang activity and poor test scores which means that there are few opportunities.) and tried to enter K12 homeschooling but realized that I couldn’t afford the tuition. So, here I am taking regular classes, Now my problem is that during my first two years of high school I had some major family issues that caused a great deal of stress and I cracked under the pressure which caused my grades to slip leaving me with a 3.281 unweighted GPA and a 3.58 weighted GPA. Those grades do not accurately reflect me as a student and I’m trying everything I can to ensure that I get into the college I want, but I have found that being new to homeschooling I am faced with the same lack of opportunities that I faced at my previous school. I have taken up volunteering at several places in my community bringing in about 10 hours a week, but I notice a lack of any honors and clubs (due to lack of opportunities at both of my schools) to include on my application. This has me worried because as of right now, I have a low GPA (4.0 for the semester though) and no honors or clubs except for the few I had as a freshman and sophomore but those do not show any leadership because, I was an underclassmen and certain positions required you to be an upperclassmen. All of that being said, I am maintaining A’s in all 6 of my classes and am on path to graduate this January (1 year and a few months early) and I am volunteering a lot as well to try to prove that I am better than my mistakes academically. So, now that you know my situation my questions are as follows: What should I do to make me more desirable to colleges? I have a passion for culture and learning, but I don’t know how to prove that through action especially with the failures I have made in concerns to my grades. Please help me.
Please use paragraphs to break up your text so it’s easier to read.
Did you graduate yet? If not, I’d continue through June so you can increase your GPA and spend time improving your app.
What’s your SAT/ACT and how much can your parents pay per year? Those will have an effect on where you can go to college. What state are you in? Homeschoolers in our state (NY) often dual enroll in a few college classes at a local college while in high school.
Alright, I will do that, I apologize
I’m not sure if the rest of that comment posted or not…
I haven’t graduated yet, so I will look into getting more classes. My ACT is at a 28 from freshman year but my score should improve significantly when I take it this December. I receive military benefits and I should qualify for financial aid. I will have to discuss with my parents if they even plan on helping out though. I live in Mississippi.
Colleges evaluate your records based on how well you took advantage of the opportunities you had. Since Mississippi isn’t Manhattan, colleges will understand that you won’t have the same kind of application that some on CC have.
Since you’ve used multiple schools, your college application will be a little more confusing. You may wish to write an explanation in the extra information section of the common app or write a letter for other schools.
Is anyone advising you on college admissions? Seniors should be working on college lists and applications right now. December of senior year is very late to be doing the ACT.
Thank you for your response.
I have an appointment with a counselor this Monday who should help me. Not many people aim for colleges out of state or really any college at all where I am from so, I am dealing with a lack of knowledge in that area. Neither of my parents graduated from highschool so, they aren’t too much help with applications and my siblings have chosen not to attend college.
Also, be aware that during the essay portion of many applications, you will be able to explain your situation. In that essay, you can describe your family challenges, how it impacted your GPA, and they will be able to see your grade improvements over time (which will substantiate your essay content).
Please do not stress about this too much! You will find colleges that will be very happy to have you on board. You may not be a good candidate for Emory or Harvard. But there will be plenty of schools that value a homeschooled student and who prioritize the “full person” approach to admitting students.
Just do the best job that you can finding the most challenging classes available to you. There is nothing you can do to change the past, but you WILL have an opportunity to write an essay to explain your past.
Good luck and please keep us updated!