<p>My fresh/soph yrs of hs were awful. My family struggled with my father's alcohol abuse, we had to move 4 times, and he was deported. This has caused much emotional stress, as well as depression. In addition to this, my siblings and I were placed in foster care. They didn't have internet and I was doing online school at the time, so when I enrolled in public school they gave me all F's. Everything felt like a big mess but I kept pushing forward. I wanted to be a role model for my siblings and I used this as an opportunity to grow, become independent, and discover my potential as well as develop new interests. I volunteered, earned straight A's, became involved in school, and got a 2150SAT(aiming for 2250+)</p>
<p>Now I'm wondering if it would be best to start out a community college. However, I see this as an opportunity to explain my situation to colleges. I feel like I'll be throwing away some of my hard work if I start at a CC and when I apply to transfer it will appear as though I didn't care in high school. What should I do? Would I have any chance of getting into a top school like Rice, Stanford, Notre Dame, Cornell, etc if I start out at a community college?</p>
<p>Top colleges don’t accept many transfer applicants, I’ve heard. What’s your reasoning for wanting to go to CC?</p>
<p>That was my concern. Thanks for clarifying. I highly doubt I’ll get accepted as a first-year applicant, and I’m not so sure I’m prepared for university with all of the school I’ve missed. </p>
<p>I know this is going to sound bad but it will also take away some of the stress knowing I’ll still have a chance if I start at a CC. </p>
<p>There are some top schools that accept transfer students…Vandy and USC and Cornell do. So may some others.</p>
<p>Yes, you probably should start at a CC first since as you said, it’s doubtful that you could get into a top school from HS.</p>
<p>what state are you in?</p>
<p>What are your GPA and test scores?</p>
<p>I’m in CA. My gpa is uncertain right now, as my counselor has to make adjustments with my retaken courses, and a few teachers made mistakes on my grades so they still have to change those. If all goes well I should have a 3.9 uw, and 4.1 w. If not, I’ll have around a 3.4uw. My SAT is 2150 but I’m confident I can boost it to 2250+.</p>
<p>It’s reassuring to know that USC and Cornell accept transfers. My dream school is Rice but I know I have to be realistic and accept that it likely won’t happen.</p>
<p>I’m not clear about some things. You’ve missed a lot of schoolwork you say, yet you’re a junior set to graduate on time and you have a good GPA. Could you clarify, please?</p>
<p>What would your UC GPA be? If it’s possible to get a 3.9uw and you have a 2150 (or 2250+) I don’t see how you’d consider CC (if money isn’t a problem) when you have UCs that you can go to. UCB and UCLA are both top schools.</p>
<p>@jkeil: I’ve missed a lot of school due to extenuating family circumstances. I attended 7 different schools, and each school taught in a different order so I feel as though I didn’t learn anything. Also, my 1st semester of 10th grade I basically didn’t attend school at all. However, I spent junior year retaking all of my courses and gaining extra credits by taking a zero period and staying until 5 after school retaking additional courses, and a community college course. I’m just afraid that I’m not prepared for high-level university work.</p>
<p>I can’t apply to UC’s or CSU’s, due to some other circumstances I can’t discuss.</p>
<p>If your other circumstances are not having the right papers, the UCs recognize “Dreamers”.
In addition, since you were placed in guardianship after age 13 you’re automatically considered “independent” for financial aid purpose so you should apply to as many “100% need” schools as you can (start working on your essays as soon as school lets out). As an independent student, you would have EFC 0 meaning that you’ll get a free ride (you’ll have to contribute work study and summer earnings, plus in most cases but not all, $5,500 in federal loans.)
<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students;
You are exactly the kind of students these colleges are looking for - smart and strong. What you’ve accomplished, in such difficult circumstances, is remarkable. And top colleges want students like you.
Be aware that for these universities, the ability to hold a job for 20 hours a week (or more) for a couple years (or more) is as valued as an EC. Taking care of your siblings (taking them to and from school, cooking, cleaning, ironing, making them do hw, organizing their time, doing laundry) is also “counted” as an activity to which you showed dedication.
You can apply to Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Tulane, Tufts, Wash U through Universal Application, and you have 20 possibilities in the Common App (the previous universities can also be applied to through Common App).
You may not be prepared for high-level university work but these selective universities can choose among dozens of thousands students and they only admit students whom they trust can succeed. You wouldn’t get into a school where you can’t succeed, period. These schools will have lots of support for you to use - but it’ll be up to you to use it. In addition, you may have to do a summer session before school starts. But if, say, Rice admitted you, it’d only be if they believe you can do the work.
However do include some safeties and some matches, although for a 3.9/2150 student it’ll be hard to find a safety if you won’t include the UCs - the safety would probably be U Alabama Honors.</p>
<p>Be aware that applying to community college means you’d lose out on a LOT of merit scholarships and that gaining admission to the above (100%) schools is very very difficult as a transfer.
For instance, with your stats, as they are right now, you qualify for Honors College, Honors Dorm, and a full-tuition scholarship at the University of Alabama (it’s automatic for your stats, but if you apply in the Fall you can also participate in a competition where they can add more perks). You could apply to the Johnston Fellowship at Washington and Lee, to the Frederick Douglass Scholars at American University, to Chancellor’s or Cornelius at Vanderbilt, etc, etc.</p>
<p>I think considering your situation you should not go to community college, and instead go into researching where you could qualify for scholarships/aid as this will help you and your family. You may keep rice as a graduate school choice, but realistically even if you got into those schools you might not have finances available to pay for it. The above post about alabama is an excellent starting point. Good luck! You have certainly worked hard so I hope you reap all the benefits! Ps your essay should likely focus on hoe you rose above this situation.</p>
<p>@shiloh: OP was placed into guardianship after age 13. S/he automatically qualifies for maximum financial aid at all the 100% need met schools.</p>
<p>on the other hand, MYOS, I think I hear OP saying that OP isn’t sure s/he knows the school material all that well and/or that the schools OP attended were not all that good. I think that’s a good hesitation for OP to have, but I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker. OP may have some shortcomings in terms of preparation for the Rice’s of the world, and OP might need a school that will not only, as you say, have resources but someone, the head of advising, an associate dean, watching out for OP and helping OP navigate these waters. I watched a Dean do this for a classmate in grad school, and the French African, recommended to us by people at the Sorbonne, turned out to be a brilliant scholar but might not have had not someone been helping him with the language and curricular hurdles. does anyone have any experience with this at the u/g level?</p>
<p>I think OP would do better at a smaller school - Rice, Tufts, or a top LAC, than at a large university, because those provide a lot closer guidance and support. But many among the top colleges in the 100% list provide a summer “transition” program for admitted first gens. In addition, OP feels uncertain about his/her ability and content mastery, but s/he did retake all these classes and managed to cover both Fall semester and Spring semester together, while maintaining a 3.9. So I think OP lacks confidence more than anything else. </p>
<p>Thank you very much everyone. I’m very interested in the University of Alabama, but need some clarification. Their website states that I would qualify for a full scholarship, but is there a discrepancy between getting accepted and getting the scholarship? In other words, does the guaranteed scholarship also guarantee admission?</p>
<p>Well, you have to apply to the university first, but yes if you qualify for the scholarship you’re guaranteed admission to the Honors College and the Honors Dorm too. In addition, if you go for college of engineering, you get a stipend. And of course you can go for the very competitive fellowship programs.</p>
<p>Great thanks so much for the info! I hope you don’t mind me asking one more question, but do you think taking multiple SAT IIs and scoring at least 700 on each will improve my chances?</p>
<p>Many “100% need” schools actually require 2 SAT Subjects and expect at least 700 on them so it’d be to your advantage to take those.
For instance, Rice does, and the last date you can take either SAT or SAT Subject is December for RD.
It doesn’t matter for Alabama or the other “automatic” scholarships since they’re awarded for SAT resuts + GPA, however SAT subjects (700+) do matter for competitive scholarships.</p>
<p>Does everyone really believe highly competitive colleges will just ignore “fresh/soph yrs of hs were awful” and “when I enrolled in public school they gave me all F’s”? While the HS may recalculate the GPA and in-state schools may accept that, I doubt that will be the case across the board.</p>
<p>@Erin’s dad: it is my understand that OP “erased” all these F’s which were in part due to foster family conditions . It happens (as do things like enrolling kids in online school then placing them in foster family without internet access. o_O)
Jinx and her siblings were essentially left unschooled for who knows how long, then she caught up and managed not only to pass courses for which she was missing more than a semester’s worth but also to double up on most subjects and get A’s.
In addition, foster kids getting above 2000 on the SAT are very rare. Many top universities (especially LACs with holistic admissions) would be interested in this story. </p>
<p>Fair enough when the story is laid out like that. </p>