Intro:
Please read the text before answering. If not, look at the comment written under and look at my accomplishments.
This is a genuine college admissions question. I am lacking in GPA but not in life experiences. I believe these experiences set me apart, but are hard to quantify and long if strung into a story of cause and effect. It’s hard to make them appealing, but what sets me apart is learning from each and every experience.
I live now realizing today is the first day of the rest of my life. If I am able to get a fighting chance into said colleges I will fight. If not, I will find another solution.
Background: I am an 11th grade, Indian (Asian-American) male living in Michigan who wants to get an MBA. I aspire to get into Finance or Management in UofM Ross, Wharton- UPenn, NYU, Columbia, Harvard, or any other Ivies (of which I know, have “extremely low acceptance rates”, but upon looking and analyzing I believe the system does reward those who make an effort and care).
Before making judgements, the following is very long and doesn’t deserve a read by any standards. But it would mean the world, and hopefully help others along the way.
From what I understand, getting into a opportunity-laden college means showing I am academically sound and capable of time management while being a leader.
The Story:
At the moment I have a 3.33 GPA. It is my only limiting factor, yet it opens an extremely large hole of insecurity in me. I have worked through this partially and have a few accomplishments to note. But, it all requires a story to explain. It’s fair to assume I won’t get in anywhere prestigious but to combat this initial judgement it’s probable I will get a 36 ACT, guaranteed 35 (I have received similar scores on an upward trend since 5-6 years), high chances of national merit (results haven’t been released), and a similar SAT. I have measured my IQ out of boredom several times and it is 130 (not high but far above average according to the bell curve).
By reaching for the stars I plan to land on the moon, one of Saturn’s if I’m lucky, and I know to cherish my experiences all the same. To those who may comment prestigious colleges are not necessary, and neither is college in the first place: it is my belief that becoming extremely specialized in something I love will both satisfy me and give me something to eventually start a business out of.
Not only do I love Finance/HR I love entrepreneurialism and working for oneself (I actually dislike the idea of Wall Street but using it for a purpose, all while becoming specialized and LEARNING is what I want). To those who complete this read, I truly appreciate the love and will consider every criticism.
I have been smarter than most everyone I’ve known my entire life and I am decades beyond others maturity-wise, even with my brother of 21 (I’m 16). I don’t have the ego one would expect the way I am talking about myself, but I must describe who I am. My knowledge comes from the sheer number of books I’ve read. Every parent I’ve had dealings with for both limited and extended periods of time outside my immediate family- interaction with them is both painful and limited- has seen I am years beyond my peers in maturity and look to me as a leader ( I could get a Rec. from one of them who was my team manager at one point but now I lead said team).
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
I was a very happy, motivated child (discounting my troubled family) whose relationship with books could not be described with the word ‘love’. I was a bibliophile, and told everyone I could of my passion. I had been partially successful in a few math competitions in my elementary school days (AMC, Gauss, etc). I was recognized by my peers as the smartest in school (the same peers who now have extremely, extremely high chances of getting into colleges with great opportunities- Ivy League/ similar caliber).
This continued into 5/6th grade where I religiously worked (it doesn’t count as work to me though) to keep the highest AR total,which was the way of measuring the amount of books a student read. I maintained the highest count for both 5th and 6th grade, the only years they were measured. I was enrolled in high school math. Not a big achievement but it speaks to my intrinsic drive, and more importantly the fact that I am in love with learning.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
In 7th grade I changed my focus from being the first to finish a math worksheet or read a book to more on sports, being popular, and getting girls when my previous friends were too shy. I wanted to be the most popular Indian, as shallow as it may be- because of the attention I so desperately needed. I distanced myself from my previous friends who were too insecure or scared to be made fun of by ‘cool kids’. I worked extremely hard to be the second fastest kid in my grade (the first was far too genetically gifted and molded from childhood for me to surpass), make the basketball team (and contribute), make and lead my travel basketball team to be undefeated, be one of two 7th graders on a 200 student track team to make it to an extremely competitive track invitational,and be a great football player my first year of playing in 8th grade. I maintained good grades and tested out of another year in math (back then there were less than 5 who did so in a class of 500, the few others took summer school) and had big visions for my future.
Summer of 8th grade my best friend moved and I honestly missed her- she was the most attractive/popular girl in my grade with an amazing personality that didn’t care about popularity in the slightest (I may have had a little crush on her). I made many friends to offset the loneliness/ pain of poor family relationships but with my best friend leaving I suddenly lost what made me the happiest. I’ve had an extremely bad relationship with my father, who is troubled himself, since age 3 or 4. I ran for class president and came up short because I failed to appease the students who I left behind and didn’t know me, but grouped me as a ‘cool kid’. I believe these major events, along with other minor failures spiraled me into severe depression in which I desired to end my life for the past two years. Simply because I couldn’t find a purpose. But, I have learned from each and every one of my shortcomings and experiences.
HIGH SCHOOL:
From a high A student (95-100) and having a 4.0 in basic high school math/language I turned to having a 3.33 GPA in my freshman and sophomore years (my grades have dropped freshman to sophomore). In my depression I wasn’t motivated to test out of math classes so I could start Calculus in 9th grade, and remained in pre-calc (3 years ahead) and didn’t have the motivation from my peers to succeed. I was alone. If you can empathize, my grades or academic achievements didn’t really matter when I didn’t want to live.
I didn’t see the importance of GPA, AP classes or not, when all that needs to be done to get an A is read a few hundred pages. It didn’t motivate me other than quantifying my then little work ethic for academics. It’s a path of diminishing returns when striving for extrinsic motivation. Being depressed demolished my intrinsic motivation. I’d watch motivational videos for hours and ask myself how bad I wanted ‘success’. I’d read books by Osho, Robert Greene, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
While this is obvious, colleges need a way of scaling the general public and I have realized so. While depressed, I wasn’t entirely underachieving. It’s a fact now that I am the most popular Indian in school (even as I entered freshman year with all the upperclassmen included). I say this because I achieved what I set my mind to. However, as a freshman I stopped caring about popularity and the trivial enjoyment that’s brought about by high school sports. Leaving organized sports increased the severity of my depression because it meant spending less time with others.