<p>So up until this year (I am a junior) I got straight As in all classes except foreign language [Spanish], always a B. </p>
<p>Now, this semester I’m looking at: </p>
<p>-Honors Anthro: B
-Spanish: B
-Honors Chem: B+
-AP English: A
-AP Calc AB: C
-AP World: A
UW: 3.17, W: 3.67</p>
<p>BTW, nobody has any As in my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd hour classes. </p>
<p>But let me explain. For the last few months, I’ve had major stomach issues and have had very little sleep because of it [going for “exploratory surgery” tomorrow]. I was also just diagnosed with depression, the chemical imbalance, not because of life events. </p>
<p>My counselor has refused to say anything about it when she sends my transcript next year because “I didn’t miss too many school days so my illness didn’t affect me too much.” Her words, not mine. </p>
<p>Either way, my parents are going to kill me because I am doing so poorly, they don’t care that I’m sick. </p>
<p>Anyways, if I do really well 2nd semester, would they see that this really isn’t what I’m normally like (grade wise) and would there be a way to let them know what happened since my counselor won’t say anything? </p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I’m freaking out and Brown is my dream school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My counselor has refused to say anything about it when she sends my transcript next year because "I didn't miss too many school days so my illness didn't affect me too much." Her words, not mine.
[/quote]
why are you even asking your GC about this right now? you're only a junior right now. things may change. anyways, i sort of agree with your GC that there is no way to prove that your illness caused your poor performance.</p>
<p>the only kid i know who is having the GC mention a medical condition in his rec was virtually paralyzed for 3 months. (his back muscles spontaneously tightened up so much so that he could barely move.) he's ok now but he ended up missing so much school that he had to make up junior year.</p>
<p>i think that if you do really well second semester you'll improve your chances a little bit. it probably will hurt you though... junior year is very important. if you do end up being sick with something serious, i'm pretty sure that your GC will write about it in your recommendation.</p>
<p>Sorry I should explain better. I have a severe ulcerative colitis. The reason I don't miss school is because I literally spend my weekends in the hospital so that I could do the rest of the week at school. I have been in and out of the hospital my whole life so I have learned how to deal with medical issues and not miss school because of it. </p>
<p>At my school, at the end of the 1st semester of junior year we meet with our GCs and tell them anything that they need to know about our senior applications, any thing we'd like them to know ahead of time. Since I am scheduled to miss 2 weeks of school due to surgery, I needed to see my GC anyways. </p>
<p>And on a side note, my GC hasn't liked me since freshman year. I came from a different district and she told me that I couldn't test out of freshman courses because I was out of district. I believed her so I took a bunch of meaningless freshman courses. Turns out, I had the same opportunity as everyone else but I didn't know it at the time. I was talking to my English teacher and she told me that I could've tested out of her class. Anyways word got back to my GC and she almost got fired (no, I didn't complain or anything against her). Since then she's blamed me and treated me like crap. </p>
<p>If you still feel the same way, I completely understand. But that's why I need to know if there's a way I can let Brown know the situation, whether it be by apps or another way. That's all.</p>
<p>On apps, there are places to explain extenuating circumstances. You can send in a little something explaining the situation.</p>
<p>Ok thank you :]. That's all I wanted to know.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sorry I should explain better. I have a severe ulcerative colitis. The reason I don't miss school is because I literally spend my weekends in the hospital so that I could do the rest of the week at school. I have been in and out of the hospital my whole life so I have learned how to deal with medical issues and not miss school because of it.
[/quote]
sorry to hear that, you must have a bad case of ulcerative colitis (i know a little bit about this because i know someone who was thought to have IBD but instead just had IBS). if you are spending a significant amount of time on the weekends in the hospital i think you could argue that it could hinder your school work, but what about the weekdays?</p>
<p>
[quote]
At my school, at the end of the 1st semester of junior year we meet with our GCs and tell them anything that they need to know about our senior applications, any thing we'd like them to know ahead of time. Since I am scheduled to miss 2 weeks of school due to surgery, I needed to see my GC anyways. </p>
<p>And on a side note, my GC hasn't liked me since freshman year. I came from a different district and she told me that I couldn't test out of freshman courses because I was out of district. I believed her so I took a bunch of meaningless freshman courses. Turns out, I had the same opportunity as everyone else but I didn't know it at the time. I was talking to my English teacher and she told me that I could've tested out of her class. Anyways word got back to my GC and she almost got fired (no, I didn't complain or anything against her). Since then she's blamed me and treated me like crap.
[/quote]
man your GC is AWFUL! not just "awful," but AWFUL! luckily, you are in good classes right now despite your GC's blunder.</p>
<p>anways here is what i would do:
1.) get most of those grades up to A's. you didn't really do that bad though anyways. you still have a good shot.
2.) don't forget about doing meaningful EC's you care about. (try to have some leadership positions.)
3.) get good test scores.
4.) try to get your GC to like you somehow... easier said than done... i know :P
5.) write about how having ulcerative colitis affected your school work in the Additional Information part of the CommonApp.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I ill be president of 2 clubs next year. 2 I am very passionate about.
ECs are good, I even started a basketball league for at-risk innercity kids.</p>
<p>Test scores are okish. 30 ACT (first time). SAT- 710 CR, 720 M. (Can't remember writing, but it was in the low-mid 600's). </p>
<p>And while I am stuck in the hospital anyways, I taught myself Latin (and I want to go to Egyptology so I'm going to try to start learn how to read hieroglyphics).</p>
<p>And thanks, I hope to go to Brown :].</p>
<p>And yeah, my ulcerative colitis is pretty severe. They think too severe, which is what my surgery is for this week (they think it might be something else). Oughta been fun :[. Lol.</p>
<p>"why are you even asking your GC about this right now? you're only a junior right now. things may change. anyways, i sort of agree with your GC that there is no way to prove that your illness caused your poor performance.</p>
<p>the only kid i know who is having the GC mention a medical condition in his rec was virtually paralyzed for 3 months. (his back muscles spontaneously tightened up so much so that he could barely move.) he's ok now but he ended up missing so much school that he had to make up junior year.</p>
<p>i think that if you do really well second semester you'll improve your chances a little bit. it probably will hurt you though... junior year is very important. if you do end up being sick with something serious, i'm pretty sure that your GC will write about it in your recommendation."</p>
<p>um...no. wait? no. yeah...no. what was that? no. </p>
<p>first, the op has a "physical" (aka acknowledged) illness as well as a mental one. but the former is no more substantial or more affecting on ones life than the latter. </p>
<p>even if the op did just have depression, you can completely link it to a drop in performance. depression has been unequivically proven to cause a CHEMICAL decrease in motivation, concentration, cognitive processes, memory, attention, energy, etc. These things affect school!!!! These things are real!!!</p>