Sort of... Unique Circumstance. Chance me for Brown?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Brown is my absolute dream college--it's everything I want in a college, and ever since I went to Summer@Brown a few months ago, I've been completely convinced that it is the only university at which I would be perfectly happy. I'm applying ED this year to show my interest and hopefully improve my chances, but I'm anxious and curious to know if I'll get in--and what they will think of my rather unique experience.</p>

<p>Around the end of my 8th grade year, right before starting high school, I was diagnosed with cancer. Needless to say, that was a long, painful, and rather debilitating time for me. I went through a chemotherapy protocol as part of a clinical trial, and was on intense chemo throughout my freshman year, making me unable to attend school full-time. Sophomore year was better, as I was only on much less frequent maintenance treatment, but I was still immunologically suppressed and couldn't do things like gym and volunteering. Of course, some of the worst side effects of chemo include extreme fatigue, nausea, pain, frequent infections, and even neurological damage. Dealing with cancer also took a toll on my mental and emotional health, as I had some mild depression.</p>

<p>I went through all of this the first 2 years of my high school career. But, I still strove to take all the hardest classes and keep up my grades--and though I wanted, and tried, to be involved in extracurriculars, I simply could not because of my health.</p>

<p>But, I got better. I went into remission and finished treatment at the end of sophomore year, then got involved as much as I could. I started going to school full-time again; I had a special plan that still allowed me to ask for special help, but I never used it. I didn't treat my cancer as an excuse for anything, and competed with kids who didn't go through what I went through.</p>

<p>While I'm definitely going to concentrate on how this experience has affected me in my essay, and hopefully it will at least add interest to my application, I am worried that the fact that it has prevented me from being more involved will hurt my chances. Freshman and sophomore years are very important starts to people's high school careers: it's when people join EC's at entry level so that they may rise in rank from year to year. It's when they start long-term, time-demanding things like sports and music. While I'd like to think I would have, could have, done these things, my cancer did not even make it possible for me.</p>

<p>Wow, this became much longer than I intended it to be... Anyways, these are my credentials:</p>

<hr>

<p>School: New Jersey, public, competitive
Rank: doesn't rank, class of about 700
GPA: 3.75 unweighted/5.23 weighted</p>

<p>SAT: 2260 (710 CR/800 Math/750 Writing) (one sitting)
SAT II: 710 Bio E, 720 Math II (retaking in Oct)
AP: 4 US, 4 Lang/Comp</p>

<p>Classes:
5 years honors Science (Physics H and AP Bio this year)
4 years honors Math (AP Calc this year)
4 years honors English (AP Lang and AP Lit)
3 years honors History (APUSH last year)
3 years honors French
3 years Visual Arts (AP Visual Arts this year)
1 year Computer Programming (to fulfill school requirement)</p>

<p>EC's:
*Genetics research program with Rutgers University; real research done with several DNA sequences to be submitted to scientific database; very selective application process to school club, even more so for summer institute; accepted into school club junior year, then summer program; now I'm an officer in my school club, teaching new members
*Arts High School program with local county college (auditioned, free program)
*Summer@Brown '11, Anatomy and Physiology, great evaluation from professor
*Polish School
*School newspaper illustrator
*NHS, NAHS</p>

<h2>*LEO Club (volunteering)</h2>

<p>What do you guys think? Thanks for reading and replying!</p>

<p>I'd just like to add that I am working on more new stuff this year that I may add later, including OM, more NAHS leadership, acceptance to NEHS, possibly a job, etc. I'll mention a lot of this in my cover letter, most likely. Also, I'm including an art portfolio, since that's one of my best skills, and I'm looking to apply for Biology (pre-med) with a minor in Visual Arts. I think these varied interests make me a good fit for Brown, especially because they offer classes at RISD, and have a great bio program with the neighboring med school.</p>

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<p>I think that with your grades and scores you are a competitive applicant. And it’s important to remember, colleges don’t want pity stories. Focus more on how you overcame a specific situation than just listing the miserable effects of chemo. I’m not trying to minimize your experience, just telling you what I’ve heard. My college counselor told me that when she was working with some of the top reps they were going through applications and there was a student with cancer. The rep said, “Ugh, another sick kid” and automatically disregarded it. So in short, without the excuse of illness you have as good of a chance as anyone and remember not to be the sick kid, but instead the resilient kid.</p>

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<p>Wow, thanks for the honesty there. Of course I won’t go narrating about it all in my essays and such as I did here. I just wanted to explain my situation in more detail here to make it a little clearer for readers who may give me some advice. Not trying to come across as melodramatic, so I’m sorry if I did, haha.</p>

<p>So is it a good thing or a bad thing for me in the eyes of colleges? Will they be turned off by it, even if I play it down? I mean, I’ve been told that if you’ve had any weird circumstances during school that affected your performance you should let colleges know. Obviously it was a pretty major issue, and it’s also a big part of my life, so I thought I’d discuss it in my essays or something. Is that a bad thing?</p>

<p>I’m just curious about the way colleges treat these kinds of things, and what would be the best way to present my condition to colleges.</p>