<p>Actually, I agree with Erin’s Dad’s first post. I don’t see why they would even consider someone with all F’s for a semester when they have tons of applicants with perfect 4.0s, high SAT’s, and outstanding EC’s. I’m sure they don’t want someone lowering their average gpa/rank, therefore making their college seem less competitive. And, let’s be honest, with competition comes prestige. That is actually why my original question was whether or not to attend community college first, in case that would help my chances of getting into a top university that meets full need.</p>
<p>@MYOS: I want to thank you for giving me hope, but I’m not so sure universities will take my circumstances into so much consideration. Although my situation is rare, I’m fairly confident they would much rather accept someone they KNOW will succeed(aka 4.0 2300+SAT student) than someone they think MIGHT succeed in their college. I don’t really think they’ll find me ‘‘extraordinary’’ enough to accept. I do appreciate your optimism, though.</p>
<p>Actually, Jinx, the top schools have repeatedly stated that they could fill their class two or three times over with kids of the 4.0/2300 variety, and they don’t. They want to see academic challenges successfully negotiated and strong academic performances, they want to see grit, determination, creativity, so yes they do like someone who is “different” and tough, who stands out, and performs highly in the context of their circumstances.
You’ll have to write a bullet-point list of your circumstances and achievements (in context) to help your guidance counselor who may be overworked and may have a general recommendation cut-and-paste, to make sure sher personalizes the letter to your circumstances.
You DID make up those F’s right, and they were due to your being unschooled for how many months? This should absolutely go into your counselor’s recommendation, as would the fact you went to school double-shift for a semester, etc.
Look at Naviance: where do students with your jr-sr GPA apply/get into?
I don’t think going to community college would work financially nor would it provide you with the challenges you’ve shown you can handle. However you can ALWAYS apply to community college. Let us say that you applied to Harvard, Wellesley, Princeton, Pomona, Bryn Mawr, Scripps, Hamilton, Tufts, UChicago, your state flagship and its honors college, a couple colleges ranked 50-85, a local college and its honors program, etc, and ALL of them, as unlikely as it’d be, turn you down: you can still apply to community college in April-may. If your community college has a honors program, you can apply whenever you want, but community colleges accept applications until July or even August depending on places. So, you really don’t have anything to lose. The 100% schools are the ones likely to find you the most interesting if you can frame your story properly.
Where did you think of applying, beside community college?</p>
<p>What you said about applying to community college later is a valid point. Yes, I have made up those F’s but they still appear on my transcript. Why do you think the 100% schools will find me most interesting? I think they’d rather spend their money on someone who has shown more success. I was thinking of applying to Rice, Notre Dame, Cornell, and Harvey Mudd as major reaches and Macalester, USC, and Pitzer as reaches. Alabama will be my match. Community College is my safety. However, this list will probably change over the course of the next few months.</p>
<p>The 100% schools are all holistic in admission. They look for personal characteristics in addition to academic rigor/transcripts (and you’ve shown that, when placed in the right circumstances, you can thrive). In fact you’d have better odds at holistic schools than at numerical ones, because holistic schools would look for the explanation behind the all-F semester following by a double dose of A’s.
Notre Dame = are you Catholic? If so, apply to Holy Cross (100% school).
Be aware that ND is infamous for “gapping” lower-income students, ie., not providing enough financial aid.</p>
<p>What is this about ND gapping? I am also helping a foster child a bit with her apps and she applied there. They say they meet full need.</p>
<p>jinx, I don’t think you should make assumptions on that the school prefers to spend their money on, with your limited knowledge of the process. Listen to the parents here and others who have more experience. If you only have one semester of F, the the total gpa is really 3.4 to 3.9, then you should apply this cycle. It can’t hurt because you will get application fee waivers. </p>
<p>Where will you live if you go to a cc? With the alcoholic parent? Money for transfers and transfer admit rates are a different story than freshman admissions.</p>
<p>I am at a loss to understand why there is any problem with UCs and they are critical because they will meet your need. Isn’t CC a path to UC anyway? If you think I can help you, PM me. I am in CA and like I said I’m in touch with a foster child applying this cycle.</p>
<p>For others to help more, it would be better if you listed your classes and grades each year. I usually don’t read through that but for unusual cases it gives a better picture.</p>
<p>So I officially talked everything through with my counselor today. It turns out I have to make up 2 more classes to get my GPA up, even though I don’t need them. My 2 teachers who made a mistake have fixed this, so as soon as I retake those other 2 classes I will have a 3.95gpa. I’m thrilled to know I still have Alabama as a choice. </p>
<p>I feel like I haven’t shown course rigor, though. The only AP I was able to take junior year was English. However, I plan to take 5 AP’s next year. </p>
<p>As for Notre Dame, their website states they meet 100% need. I wouldn’t consider myself Catholic.</p>
<p>If I go to CC, I will either find an apartment nearby or live with my mother(she isn’t an alcoholic). Is it really much more difficult to get into top(25 or so) colleges as a transfer?</p>
<p>Hopefully, though, some colleges will give me a chance. I try to place myself in adcoms’ place and ask myself, ‘‘Would I accept this applicant?’’ and honestly I think I’d be a bit wary to, especially with tons of top-notch applicants in the pile. I understand other people on here have more experience with the college application process, but I’m just trying to be realistic.</p>
<p>^I apologize. I often write based on daily knowledge/readings and sometimes things get blurred, so I went and checked for ND and I was wrong: although they don’t meet 100% need for all students (only about 50% receive financial aid, with only 60% applying) those they choose to help do get their need met.
However it’s a very seriously Catholic university - one of the few that still has parietals (rules about when/where men and women can interact, visit each other, etc) and that takes its Catholic identity as seriously as its football. It can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how Catholic a student is and how important their faith is for them. </p>
<p>Course rigor depends on what is available to you. In the bullet point list you’ll prepare for your counselor, make sure you write “took only AP available junior year”. I am not sure whether community college enrollment (1 course) over the summer, perhaps in a subject that you’re good at, might be possible to show your ability to handle a faster pace?</p>
<p>It’s very very very difficult to get into a Top 25 college as a transfer because so few people leave or drop out - most everyone who’s admitted really wants to be there and has the ability to succeed + the support to do so, so there are very few “open” stops for transfers. In addition, and I think that’s the key for you, there’s no guarantee that need will be met, regardless of situation, when you’re a transfer. A way to imagine this is that transfers get the scraps from freshmen’s financial aid. </p>
<p>I understand ND is devoted to religion, I’m completely open to all faiths. </p>
<p>I plan on taking either a political science or biology course at a local university during summer. I’m currently taking a business law course at my CC right now, so would that be considered rigorous?</p>
<p>The fact that transfers get ‘‘scraps’’ really worries me. I feel much more pressure to get accepted somewhere. I was just thinking about Alabama and realized I don’t have the funds to pay for the rest of the fees. I would probably have to take out large loans each year. </p>
<p>The deal is that ND is 85% Catholic and that is not an accident. So I think it makes your chances much more difficult than can be expected by looking at the accept rate, which is still very competitive.</p>
<p>If you go to a CC you will most likely be able to transfer to a UC or to USC. I don’t know how USC does with aid for transfers. UC will cover you. Top 25 isn’t likely, although it is possible, it is rare. The ones I read about are outstanding students with impressive leadership positions in the college and community, awards, and often come from the state the university is in.</p>
<p>Who is going to pay for that apartment you will get near the CC? You will not get aid to cover living expenses.</p>
<p>Are you sure it is worth it to retake those classes? Were those the F classes and how would you be so unaware you didn’t retake that? What is gpa without retake? I don’t know if it is better to spend your time more productively. It is not just your gpa but it is your courses and how far you have gotten in math, foreign language etc.</p>
<p>At Alabama, if you apply early enough, you can enter a competition (scholars) that would cover the rest of the fees. The full tuition is automatic, the rest is by competition.</p>
<p>It’s true that if you live in CA, as far as I know, there’s no difference between CC students and freshmen for financial aid if you apply to a UC.</p>
<p>For those two classes, my counselor had told me they wouldn’t be counted against me. One of them was Spanish, which I was given only because it was the only class with space. However, I’ll have 3 yrs of French by the time I graduate. The other was Bio, which I had taken freshman year already and received A’s. The school that gave me the F’s, however, placed me in Bio again(10th grade). My counselor said those classes wouldn’t have any affect on my gpa, but he inquired more information about it and it turns out they do.</p>
<p>If I do go to a CC, I will have to work. I’m also planning on applying for some outside scholarships.</p>
<p>It’s a real disappointment that it’s rare to transfer to a top 25 school. I guess all I can do now is keep working hard and hope for the best when I apply to colleges next year.</p>