<p>Hello everyone,
I am an female Asian sophomore in Canada in and IB school.
It's always been my dream to attend an ivy or Stanford or Berkeley - But now it looks like my dreams are in vain.
Over the past years so many things have happened to me and i feel like is it negatively affecting my future.
In 2012, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer - stage iv. She had so many medical problems throughout the years and this year she passed away in February. My dad, who had diabetes, also got diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013 and losing my mom has made him very depressed these months. We are so very poor (He is a janitor), he speaks no English and he is very moody and unsupportive. He knows not even what school i go to. He's my only relative in Canada.
I haven't talked to anyone about these problems - No one listens to the full story.
Lately all my senior friends are getting their admittance letters to Princeton and Yale and Berkeley and I'm just sitting here looking at my 4.1 GPA and 168 PSAT score. I have almost no EC's and no good friends.
Life, and my dreams, are falling apart. What can I do? How can I get into a good university?</p>
<p>Admissions officers are not heartless (although they sometimes seem to be). They will evaluate your application in the context of your situation. In other words, do not fear! I am sorry to hear about your parents, I hope everything works out.</p>
<p>No matter what difficulties you face, at the end of the day what you do is in your hands. No ECs? Go out and do some. Do what you love (except playing video games 
), campaign for whatever cause you believe in, participate in whatever sport you like. Your academics are something no one can take from you. It is undoubtedly extremely difficult. Yet, you should have the belief in yourself and the mental strength needed to cross these hurdles. Work hard, study your heart out and get the grades you need! When you do, you will understand the beauty of hard work. Then talk about the hardships you had to overcome, the things you had to pass through, that entire struggle in your essay. Pour your heart out. Make your application stand out. That’s how your dreams will come true.</p>
<p>You need to take the initiative and pick yourself back up. Whenever you feel you’re faltering, remember your dreams. That’s the key to success. Best of luck! Have the belief and no force can stop you from achieving your goals.</p>
<p>Hi Empressz,
Two things:
- You’re a sophomore! There’s a lot of time for you to pick up the slack. Your GPA is already pretty good, but you should definitely spend some time studying for the PSAT in your junior year and the SAT for junior/senior year. There are A LOT of websites that offer free online SAT tutoring sessions. Additionally, like Squashie said, find some ECs! They don’t have to be debate or science club or whatever, just do something that makes you happy. Just SOMETHING. You can’t go to an admissions officer and tell them you sat at home, just try to get in at least 1 EC.
- This may be hard for you to swallow, but it is not necessary that you go to an absolutely elite school. Schools like Yale, Stanford, and Berkley all have extremely low acceptance rates and get thousands of extremely qualified and brilliant applicants each year. It wouldn’t hurt to apply to the schools you love, but you also need some matches and safeties. What do you want in a school? Large or small? Urban or rural? Liberal or conservative? Run the Supermatch College Search on the tap on the top of the page and see what you find. Also, go on ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■. They make lists based off of college selection stuff, and one of them is “Schools You Won’t Believe You Can Get Into!” or something along those lines. Since you seem to like prestige, try looking at a big-name school with a higher acceptance rate of 10 or 20%. Also, consider applying ED to a private school. You will get much more merit aid (which is what you need as an international applicant) if you apply ED to a less-selective private school.
PM me for any more advice!</p>
<p><em>I meant to say a higher acceptance rate THAN 10 or 20%, not of</em></p>
<p>Thanks so much for helping patriot420. you are right about most things. However, i also do not have any idea what field i want to pursue. I have no passions and I don’t know why but lately I’ve been freaking out about it.</p>
<p>I was originally going to give you nonsense because I thought the title was a bit satirical but after reading your whole story, here is my advice:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Be brave when it comes to family, I too have a very moody parents, and sometimes, especially if your parents are slacking, cut them a little slack because they have worked hard and I’m sure somewhere down there, they will appreciate you. Also, remember college is for yourself, not for anyone else, so keep looking forward.</p></li>
<li><p>For your extracurriculars definitely find some clubs. I would not recommend service clubs (Seeing the situation you are in), but I would definitely look at leadership and business clubs. These are also great ways to make friends, both in and out of your school. Don’t worry, you’re just a sophomore so there are plenty of chances to get involved, as long as you set your heart to it, and don’t worry about not knowing your passions or what field to pursue, you have time. Try different things, and you’ll find one eventually.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep your GPA up, if your dad’s moodiness affects your studies, go study in the library, GPA is essential.</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to counselors/other personnel at your school. From personal experience, they can give essential help in the college application process as well as your daily life struggles. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions!</p></li>
<li><p>Work on your test scores, go to the library and check out some Princeton Review or Barrons SAT/AP books and start studying for your SAT and IB tests, it’s never early to start. I would recommend carefully reading the whole book before starting the diagnostics. There are strategies to SATs! Also, don’t forget about SAT II subject tests, all the good schools will ask for them. I recommend Math II, a Science, and either History or English.</p></li>
<li><p>Write about your struggles in your essays. The admissions officers will take into context your struggles, but try not to sound like you are complaining. Instead, write about what you learned from these experiences. This is of course, a long way off still.</p></li>
<li><p>Rant and complain through some outlet. It seems like weird advice, but whenever I am stressed, I find some anonymous outlet to let go of some of my frustrations just to make myself feel better.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, alicksmeow. You know, I’ve always had a problem due to my dad’s emotional and verbal abuse towards me - I cry a lot at unneeded things. I wouldn’t know how to bring this us to my counselor. </p>
<p>Empressz,</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. But as the people above have said, you’re a sophmore, your GPA will be fine. As for EC’s, not only will they add on to your applications, but they can be good distractions and stress relievers. As well, since you are a sophmore, you should look into something called the Senate Page Program. Depending on which session you take, you can take a break from life for either 3 or 4 weeks, or 5 months. They pay you-quite substantially-and provide you room and board (they deduct from your salary.) It looks good on applications.</p>