Poor GPA, with special circumstances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello,

I’m an 18 year old applying to Universities, and have some major concerns about whether it’s even possible. I haven’t taken the SAT yet, (I’m taking it in November) so I don’t know what my score is on that, But I’m aiming for a 1900-2200.

Here’s the problem. I started community college at age 14, I was home schooled, and my mother thought it would be a good idea. It wasn’t. While I still did some classes at home, and those grades were quite good, I’ll be honest, the grades through the college are awful. It’s currently at 2.25, and I’m not taking any more classes.

However, it’s not as cut and dry as that. I have a rare nerve disease that I’ve struggled with all my life. My entire time in community college, it escalated again (I had experienced a brief dormancy of it) that only ended a few months ago. It without a doubt effected my performance. I had constant doctors appointments, and we had to tinker with my meds for years, causing me to go in and out of withdrawals (from my legally prescribed meds) causing extreme weakness, fever, nausea, etc. I missed some classes, and even when I didn’t, for obvious reasons, my schooling took a hit. I suspect my homeschool grades were better because I could do them when I wasn’t collapsed in my bed, or at the hospital, whereas at the community college, the deadlines and class times didn’t care about my disease. When I did go to class, I often had to leave lectures due to sudden waves of nausea.

While my grades are bad, my last two semesters saw C’s and Bs, an improvement from my D’s and F’s.This is where my disease began to get better, and I could apply myself more. However, the semester before last (my first improvement) my family moved, which took up huge amounts of time and mental energy, especially as the move gave me a new step mother and two twin 7 year old step sisters. On top of that, while I had improved, it wasn’t fully. Last semester, which was also an improvement, I found out the first week of school that I need spinal surgery (which was performed in early Feb.) This required me to drop a 16 week class, and instead get the same class in an 8 week form that began a few weeks after my surgery. I was able to keep my 16 week biology, as my teacher allowed to take off 3 weeks to heal without dropping me. Because I was gone for those weeks, I missed many points that were only available during the weeks I was gone. When I got back to that class, I did very well, got A’s on the tests that had happened while I was recovering (which I was allowed to take on my return) and got an A on my final, because I studied intensively during and after my recovery. The end grade for my bio was a C, and the 8 week English was a B.

Throughout these 4 years, my mother split apart from my other mother (I was raised by two women, to clarify), and the mother who I’m still talking to (We’ll call her T) got a new partner, who she moved in with (bringing me along) who also has two twins. My other mother (We’ll call her C) did some emotionally neglectful/abusive things to me in which the details aren’t really important, but it was very hard for me. I use a therapist extensively to work through it, but from 14-17 was a very dark time for me because of that, on top of my physical issues.

Now that my very long backstory has been laid out, it’s time for what the question I’m here for. Even with my GPA, assuming I score well on the SAT, do I still stand a chance at getting into a University? I’ve read, and been told, that they may overlook or at least give leeway to my GPA because of the outlined circumstances. The schools I’m looking at specifically are University of Michigan Ann-Arbor, and the University of Washington, at Seattle. I myself am from Missouri. I’ve done ECs when I can, and am beginning to continue EC’s again now, if that matters. Sorry for the long question, I look forward to any answers or suggestions.

2

Looked over my post and noticed two details that are worth noting:

When I say extreme weakness, I mean weakness to the point that I could not hold a plastic cup. I was actually admitted to the hospital at one point, because they feared I would become too weak to breathe on my own. This played a larger role than just missing class because I felt ill. I literally could not walk into the school.

Second, the reasons for me not attending school this semester are not due to laziness. Even during the second half of my last semester, I still struggled due to my surgical recovery. I still have limitations on what I can do (they expire in a few months) and I didn’t want to go back to classes while I was still at a disadvantage. Additionally, we’re still settling from the move, I’m spending time studying for the SAT, and I’m also looking at ECs and jobs. Finances were also a factor.

3

If finances are a factor, how are you going to pay for UMi or UWa? UWa is $50K/year and the average financial aid is $17,500.

Give how much trauma, chaos and ill-health you have had, imo you need to settle down and build your case that you are ready, willing and able to handle a full college load. Your stats make it very unlikely that you will be successful at those UWa or UMi- now. Go talk to the counselors at your CC. Find out about the transfer process to your own state college(s), and what you would have to do to transfer (I am pretty sure you will have to take/re-take some more classes).

4

Financial aid is how I plan on paying for University. My college wasn’t very willing to help me sort it out when I was under 18, and some forms were outright not open to me. UWa has financial aid solutions, on top of those available to all. My family’s income more than qualifies.

From the explanation of my college, and from what I’ve read, I am not a transfer student, since not of my college credits occurred after HD graduation, but before. The transcript must still be provided, but I would enter as a Freshman.

As for the need to settle down due to my trauma, I do understand your point, but I don’t know i agree. My condition has evened out and is stable, and my surgery will no longer be a factor by Christmas. There’s no current reason that, by the time I would be taking those classes, they would not allow me to take a full scholastic load. If I can’t handle it, that would be because of something 100% on my end, not the health.

I’m not sure if you mean my stats will not allow me to perform well if accepted. If that’s the case, my health will be cleared up.

I personally would prefer not to go to my own state university. I’m still applying there, but that isn’t my goal.

I don’t mean to be blunt, but my question is strictly about my chances of getting into any University, and specifically the ones I listed, if I score well on the SAT and have a strong entrance essay. It is not about my current medical needs, or whether I should wait to get healthy. I know my GPA is low, but I’m wondering if that’s a total deal breaker, especially with my specific circumstances. That’s all.
Regardless, I appreciate your advice, and will still take it to heart.

5

Apologies: I hadn’t realized that all your CC classes were within HS, so you are not a transfer student.

Last year UMi had ~55K applicants and accepted less than 16K of them. Average GPA was 3.87, and the (old) SAT scores for the middle 50% were 2050-2350. UMi is specific that the two most factors are high school academic rigor and GPA; standardized tests, essays and recommendations come second. IMO you are very unlikely to get an offer, and even less likely to get enough aid to make it affordable.

UWa had ~ 31K applicants and accepted ~17K. Last year, the GPA for the middle 50% was 3.64-3.93- and no student with a GPA of less than 3.0 was admitted. The middle 50% for SAT was 1570-2020. Again, they are specific that GPA is more important than standardized tests. And again, imo it is very unlikely that you would get an offer, and even less likely to get the level of financial aid you require.

Both UMi and UWa are need-aware (that is, they consider your need for financial aid in considering whether to accept you), and neither promise to meet need for out of state students (though UWa tries harder).

The thing to remember about stats is that they serve two purposes for the universities. First, they give the university some confidence that you can handle the academic work once you get there. Second, part of the way that they are ranked is by the average GPA and test scores of admitted students. You are falling off the bottom of the charts GPA wise, and have no test scores yet for perspective. From an outsider’s point of view, having stronger homeschool grades and lower CC grades just suggests that the homeschooling work/testing was easier/less rigorously evaluated. Having read about your health issues- and the way that your grades have improved as your health has improved, opens the door to the potential for you to be able to handle the work- but you don’t have a track record yet.

One of the reasons that I suggested working with the CC system is that irl your best, most cost effective way to a college degree- and one where a 2.X HS GPA is unlikely to be a problem- is to transfer from a CC to an in-state university. You have 13 in-state options, many of which are not in your hometown (obviously I don’t know what your hometown is, but given that there are sites scattered across the state, at least some of them are away from home!). It also gives you time to demonstrate your ability to do college level work for a sustained period of time.

If going out of state is something that you really really want, places like UWa also become more possible- both for admissions and financially- if you enroll in a CC, get really strong grades and transfer as a Junior. If you are really determined to get out of Dodge, you could move to Washington State, set up life as a WA resident (get your driver’s license, register your car, etc), get a job and go to Community College there for a year; you can then apply as an in-state applicant, not just at UWa but at the other state universities.

6

Sorry for the late reply.

Your last paragraph contains the option I’m currently looking at the most. I spoke with advisors from both UMi and UWa today. UMi’s advisor was extremely rude, but UWa was very helpful. He also recommended the option of moving to the Seattle area and getting an Associate’s from the CCs there, gaining WA residency, and applying to UWa at that point.

So, my question that I forgot to ask him, but am looking for an answer to now is this: If I were to do that, assuming my SAT score is good/high, and I have a decent GPA (he informed me the average GPA for transfer from local CCs was 3.4), perhaps 3.6+, would I stand a decent or good chance at getting accepted to UWa, even assuming my past? I just don’t want to move states and do CC there if I will likely be rejected even if I do well.

My other question is this. Not all of my grades and classes throughout HS are from CC. The ability to work on the weekends (as in, do the lectures and labs on the weekend) gave me the chance to do well, because if I missed out on class because I was sick/had an appt, it was easily fixed, vs CC, where I was basically SOL. Because of this, when I merge my homeschool grades with my CC to create my overall HS transcript, it is higher than 2.25. This isn’t me trying to cheat the system, but I was under the false impression that they would only see my CC grade, but the advisor said that I would just fill in my grades, and if they any questions or concerns about the grades, they would request the transcript once accepted. If my merged GPA is at least “OK,” partnered with the explanation of my failure to do outright well, and a good SAT score, would that give me a chance of acceptance that’s high enough that it would at least be worth applying? That way, I may be considered for UWa immediately, and if rejected, then I could move to Seattle anyway and do CC (provided that would mean I have a decent chance at being accepted, and that my past isn’t set in stone). If the changes of acceptance are abysmally low even with an increased GPA, I’ll take that into consideration. Just wondering if doing that would make it possible for me to get accepted, in the opinion of collegemom, and anyone else who chimes in.

7

The state of Washington has higher costs of living than Missouri.

You would still need to pay OOS fees for the community college. I don’t know how strict Washington is for resident tuition, but many states do not give you resident tuition if you attend school immediately upon entering the state.

You have to plan for that, as well as find a job to work to pay your OOS bills.