Hey, I’m in need of some advice and didn’t exactly know where to look for it. Basically, the past few years have been a bit tough at home. I come from a low income family (<$30k) and work a job to help my family, in addition to my parents struggling with addiction issues on and off for the past several years. I earned one C in an honors math class sophomore year (retook the class at local CC and earned an A) and I’m very worried about how this will affect me. Is there any way to explain these hardships to elite colleges or should I just stop complaining and accept the facts?
Will mentioning that I paid for the CC class with money from my job help at all?
Maybe point out in additional info that you repeated the class at CC and got an A. But don’t make excuses. How you paid for it doesn’t matter.
Regarding your family hardships, sometimes you can get your guidance counselor to help communicate that information (working to help support your family and parent addiction issues). Your family income will be obvious from the FAFSA and other financial aid forms.
I think you will be fine. If you have good grades and are from a low income family you will get some nice assistance. make sure you have a relationship with your guidance counselor, stay in close contact with him/her to get the support you will need to navigate the college application process. Make sure you don’t miss any dates/deadlines or pieces of your applications. Be sure to talk with the counselor about application waiver fees. Make sure you get the highest grades possible for the remainder of your high school career. Look forward and not back to that one class. Focus on getting a four year degree that will lead to employment after college. Remember, there are many college majors that either don’t pay well or don’t lead to jobs that pay more than minimum wage. Good luck to you.