Stressed Junior Looking For Some Advice

College Search & Selection
1

Hi, all! I don’t come on CC much, but when I do, it’s usually because I’m stressed out. This is one of those times.

I’ve been coming to terms lately with the fact that I’m not in as good a shape, grades-wise, as I thought I would end up being before going into high school. My average for freshman and sophomore year is an 89 with non-core classes included, 87 without, and I’ve gotten 3 C+'s and a C over those two years. Ouch, right?

Even though I have some good things going for me (passionate EC’s, early college program widely recognized, upward trend, good writing skills, 2000+ SAT), I can’t help but feel like my past is going to drag me down, even though I have decent reasons for, and great lessons learned from, those bad grades.

I really want to find a college that has the exact type of atmosphere I’m looking for (passionate students, a busy but beautiful campus, smart teachers, etc.), but I feel like everywhere I let myself get attached to is way far out of my reach. Am I setting myself up to be disappointed? How can I get past feeling like anywhere I end up that isn’t a very prestigious school that I know I won’t get into—say, for instance, Brown!—is going to make me miserable? How can I come to terms with my realistic goals? Are my goals even realistic? How much does passion and drive play a role?

I know there’s 400 million kajillion kids out there just as quirky and passionate as I am who also have the grades to back it up. How do I learn to deal with that?

For some perspective, here are my current stats, C/Ped from my other thread:

Very selective NYC public school w/ early college program
white female (cries)

UW GPA:
High school: B+ or so
Early college: 3.6-3.7 (crossing my fingers for good finals! I think I’m looking at an A, A, A- A-, B+, A-, B+ finish, w/ the last two being art and p.e., but my latin final might sink this expectation…eek)

my school doesn’t rank but i figure top 15-20% out of a class of 150 ish?

PSAT: 211

SATI: aiming for 2100-2250 range
SAT IIs: planning to take literature and math II or biology

EC’s:

  • violin (6+ years)
  • art/painting (3-4 years)
  • school art magazine (senior editor)
  • chamber orchestra
  • musical theater camp counselor (3 years)
  • sci fi club (co-founder)
  • summer intensive illustration programs (2, a 3rd this summer)
  • yearbook
  • art history self study
  • taught myself digital media production (2+ years)

Intended fields:

  • art history (PASSION)
  • literature (PASSION)
  • english
  • studio art
  • french
  • neuroscience (not looking to major but it is interesting to me)

Anyway, thanks. If you have any miracle stories or helpful advice, it would really improve my mood.

2

It’s true that your low grades might be an impediment at some schools, but admissions offices are much more forgiving toward those with a slightly lower GPA and a difficult course load. A B in an AP or IB class is worth more than an A in a regular class, for instance. I don’t know what your high school’s program is like, but if it is highly selective then I am sure your intended colleges will know about its rigor and take that into account. Also, good grades in early college courses will definitely compensate for the Cs in your high school courses and demonstrate that you can handle higher education despite the “blip” on your high school transcript.

Your scores and ECs are great; the self-taught skills especially demonstrate independence and drive. At this point I would focus on your essay, which is often a “dealbreaker” for borderline students.

Where are you thinking of applying, besides Brown?

3

Thank you for your response! You’re really kind.

My (tentative) list, sans Brown: Oberlin, Macalester, Kenyon, Mount Holyoke, Bates, Bard, and some universities my mom is urging me to look at so I can have bigger course options—Northwestern, I think she said? But that falls into a reach category as well, as I’m sure she knows.

4

Your financial need (or lack thereof) is a huge variable. What is it? Your impulse toward LACs is a good one for a person with your interests. You might want to include some along the “Colleges that Change Lives” lines; outstanding schools with higher admission rates. Best wishes!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleges_That_Change_Lives

5

I agree that finances are important. Have you taken the SAT yet or is that just a projected score?

6

How to get past the prestige demon? Realize that after high school, you will never see most of the people again in your life, so their opinions about where you go to college don’t matter after June (or whenever you graduate). Remind yourself that most people associate prestige with name recognition - and they recognize the names of schools that are either nearby, have a big sports presence, or are in the news for some reason. The names that have clout with graduate schools are quite a different list (and include many LACs, as you’ve already noted). In the future, where you go to grad school, assuming you do go, and your last job is much more important than where you attended college. Be confident that a school that brings out the best in you, as a student and a person, is what you are really looking for - not the ‘wow’ when random strangers hear where you are going. (Repeat the above as needed.)

By the way, if you are quirky and passionate, check out Reed. A magnet for quirky, passionate and ‘angular’ kids in the city of Portland, Or. Willing to consider rural? Look at Grinnell - same vibe as Oberlin and Brown, and like Brown, it has no distribution requirements. If you like Bates, check out Colby - again, lots of overlap AND a terrific museum of art right on campus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colby_College_Museum_of_Art

7

@pontmercy I think your list looks pretty good, actually. You’re clearly an articulate and passionate person, and I think many of the schools on your list are going to see that. In fact, you might want to look carefully for the schools that WILL value that passion, drive, curiosity over the numbers on your transcript. In general, the smaller LACs will.

Your situation sounds so very similar to my D’s 2 years ago. Her GPA junior year was just 88.7, due to a rough patch with an undiagnosed learning disorder and depression. But she was a VERY smart, passionate, intellectual kid. She just could not see herself at any of the schools we visited that were “match” schools, because on those campuses she felt like there were so many people who were not really engaged and invested in being there. She craved a vibrant, passionate, and highly intellectual environment… and mostly she saw that at schools that were definitely “reaches” for her based on her stats. This is NOT a prestige thing, even though most of those schools were more prestigious. It was about fit. It was about walking onto a campus, and talking to other students, and feeling at home, feeling excited and inspired - rather than feeling like it would be a chore to be there.

I’m really happy to see Mount Holyoke on your list. That ended up being my D’s top school, she got in and absolutely LOVES it. I cannot tell you how great it has been for her. She is more passionate about her studies and engaged and inspired than I’ve ever seen her.

For what it’s worth, her initial list, before visits, included:
Bates
Connecticut College
Skidmore
Bennington
Bard
Vassar
Barnard
Bryn Mawr
Brandeis
Northeastern
Emerson
Smith
Mount Holyoke
Wellesley
Hampshire

After visiting, several fell off the list because she just didn’t feel like the students were engaged enough for her, and some fell off the list once we ran the Net Price Calculators and saw that they were not going to meet enough of the financial need she had. Her final list was:

Mount Holyoke
Wellesley
Smith
Skidmore
Bard
Hampshire College

During the application process, she thought she wanted to study art and psychology. Her stats at the time of applying were probably similar to yours (?)
SAT 2100
SAT2s 720, 790
GPA 89.2 (aprox 3.46 unweighted)
mostly IB and honors classes

Her results were:
Accepted:
-Mount Holyoke
-Bard
-Hampshire
Waitlisted:
-Wellesley

So don’t give up hope! Keep you grades up, study for your standardized tests, and most importantly VISIT the schools so you can see where you feel the most at home. Try to visit while school is in session (this spring break?) and if possible do an overnight and sit in on a class. Good luck, I am sure you’ll find the right place!

8

I am currently waiting for the “big news” coming up. I often felt exactly what you are feeling right now. Thinking about the “competition” will only bring you down. Instead, realize that there truly is nobody out there like you. You are unique and one-of-a-kind. Don’t let the acceptance rate of a college or the stats of their students make you feel inferior or that you have no chance. Because when it comes down to it: you have a chance. If there’s even a shot at getting into one of those schools you listed, go for it! I’ve applied to a lot of reach schools, hoping that at least one will see something in me…see what makes me so different from every other applicant. Even though some other peers may have higher stats then me, they don’t have what I have to offer still.

I truly feel that your goals are as realistic as you make them. Ok…maybe if you had a 1500 SAT and Cs across the board, I would say to move on. But you ARE a qualified candidate in my opinion. Evoke your passion, drive, and ambition in your applications. If you can do that, the admissions will see it. Don’t be perturbed or troubled by the possibility of rejection.

I know this advice is coming from someone who hasn’t even been accepted/rejected to schools yet, but I have finished the application process, so I just thought I’d shed some light on my own experience thus far. I understand the stress and worry…I too often thought “what am I doing? I don’t even have a chance?”

Then I realized, “why not me?”
So start thinking to yourself “I deserve this. I AM good enough and MORE.”

Wish you all the best + drive is everything! No matter what school you go to, drive will lead you to success. In the end, You can and WILL be successful anywhere.

9

@pontmercy‌: I truly sympathize with you, however, I respectfully suggest you attempt to place your likely “admissions situation” in a more-reasoned context (and I certainly don’t intend that to be insulting . . . it’s near-impossible for a probably 16 year old to perceive the world with the vision of a mature adult, not to mention a senior citizen).

What’s your worse case scenario? You’re admitted to several very fine, highly regarded, and long established National Universities and/or LACs, but none that are “elite names.” Will attendance at these sorts of colleges or universities preclude first-tier graduate or professional school? No, every year alumni from such schools enter postgraduate training at Stanford, Princeton, Yale, etc. Will matriculation at these sorts of schools diminish your academic and non-scholastic undergraduate and education and experiences? Almost certainly not, VERY few undergraduates are so brilliant that they will exploit even half of the resources offered by these long-respected colleges and universities. Will a Bachelor’s degree from these sorts of schools materially alter future job/career prospects? Not significantly, only a few employers will not recruit graduates of such well established and highly regarded schools. In fact, one might even have greater potential leadership and participatory experiences at second/third tier colleges and universities (however defined), due to a more “level playing field.”

Relax, continue to work hard, remain conscientious, but PLEASE understand that the VAST MAJORITY of highly educated, successful, happy, and respected Americans never attended a “prestigious name or elite” institution. They have done VERY well, with excellent educations from fine colleges and universities, other than the exceedingly-selective ones.

10

@snarlatron and @austinmshauri : I have considered the FA aspect, yes, but my mother keeps assuring me that we’ll likely be able to pay for the college I end up going to. My parents make good money and apparently one of her financial advisor friends assured her that having 3 kids in college at the same time and living in an area with a high cost of living will get a little bit of aid thrown our way.

Honestly, I worry about it a lot, but every time I ask her about finances she gives me the same answer I just gave you, so I’ve mostly given up. After all, my parents already have a daughter in college; this isn’t their first aid rodeo.

@N’s Mom : Thank you for the advice. It’s hard to understand why I’m so caught up with said demon, though I think I’m far better off than many. I never had any dreams of attending HYSPM, and am almost entirely drawn to Brown because of how right it feels (thus far). Somehow, I think talking to my classmates about it helps; they’re all very realistic people, and a vast majority would much rather attend, say, Reed or Oberlin than Harvard or Princeton. That said, those of us who do are often accepted…

@staceyneil : You have no idea how much this response means to me! Your daughter does indeed sound a lot like me, right down to the highly intellectual environment she looked for. Congrats on her stellar acceptances and lovely dorm room (I admit I peeked in your threads; that dorm sounds absolutely gorgeous! I wish I could tell you architectural aesthetic wasn’t as much of a sway factor for me as it is, but no such luck)!

I’m really looking forward to visiting schools, starting with the B-word in February. After that my mom is taking me and my twin on a trip to the South just so I can get a sense of what I don’t like in a school, which I feel is an… interesting… strategy.

11

Glad to help. My D has also said she’s happy to talk/text/message with students considering MHC, so PM me if you would like to set that up.

Regarding financial aid, presumably your mom knows about the Net Price Calculators that all schools are now required to have (this is a fairly recent requirement, so I guess she may not…) In any case, it’s a great way to make sure you know what you’re going be paying. Some schools, like MHC, may even factor merit aid into the NPC result.

12

It’s helpful that your parents make a decent salary. Schools don’t take into account how high the cost of living is in your area because where you live is a choice. It will help that there are 3 students in school at the same time, but make sure to take into account the effect on aid and EFC when that drops to 2, and again when it drops to 1.

13

Your PSAT score puts you in National Merit Finalist range (the cutoff this year in Pennsylvania was 210) and that alone will get you into a heck of a lot of great schools. If you are going to be looking at Art History programs, you arent necessarilly looking at Ivy/near-Ivy schools anyway. You can always aim for grad school at Cornell. There are dozens of really great schools out there where the students are engaged, faculty is challenging, and you will fit in. Try to attend one of the visual/performing arts college fairs this fall and you can talk to people directly about your stats and chances.

Admissions offices do take into consideration the caliber of your high school too. A 4.25 weighted GPA from a crappy school did not get a student I know into Virginia Tech’s architecture program, while another student I know had a 3.7 from a much better high school and got in. And colleges also look for improvement, so keep working on those grades and try to get better as you go along. Applying regular decision rather than early will also give you the chance to have a strong senior first semester counted.

14

It’s more important to go to a “brand-name” school for art history than for other majors - because connections will matter a lot in that field. However, what your classmates call “brand-name” may not be what you need. Youmust be well-aware that the be-all, end-all in the field is Williams; applying there as well as to Brown would be super reaches. However, considering the school you go to, you never know (odds are very low but as long as you understand those are lottery schools…) What will matter is finding match schools, several of them, with art history programs that have good connections for internships. This will take some digging. If you’re a top student with a good internship, you can either look for a job or go to grad school at Brown :).
Colleges that come to mind: Bryn Mawr, Vassar, Skidmore, Connecticut College. If you don’t need financial aid (or very little), NYU or UCLA.
I don’t know whether those would be considered matches though. :s

15

Or get your M.A. in Art History at Williams if you don’t get in as undergrad. (Art History is one of the two small graduate programs that Williams offers.) There is no place with better connections for art history than Williams. FYI, I was an English major back in the day at Williams but I took a lot of art history courses (maybe 7 or so). I got accepted to several Masters programs in art history (with a full tuition scholarship to one program) I think largely because of my B.A. from Williams (even though I wasn’t even an art history major there). Then I got my first museum job because the Director was a Williams alum (he admitted to me later that he pushed to interview me when he saw Williams on my resume).

16

If your SAT score is really 2000+, you can definitely get into University of Alabama and with a scholarship. http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html
These are all automatic. Admission is rolling. As long as you have either the GPA, the SAT score, or the ACT score, you will get the scholarship.

It’s hard to say this, but I heard Auburn has really good scholarships too. http://auburn.edu/scholarship/undergraduate/freshman.html
I wouldn’t set your heart on an Ivy league. I got into Princeton, but when I looked at the cost, I reconsidered. I go to the University of Alabama and I know that not only am I able to afford an education, but it is a good one, and I have lots of opportunities that competitive schools like Princeton only offer to Graduate students.

17

@honestmom : In my state, the semi-finalist cutoff range is 218, sadly. However, I qualify for a commendation, so that’s… something? I guess?

@MYOS1634 and @momofzag : I didn’t know Williams had such a great art history program! I honestly don’t think I could get in there, though, and I don’t know that I’m passionate enough about it to try. Actually, now that I look at it, my school’s naviance has a much higher average accepted gpa for Williams than it does for Brown; that’s kind of funny.
Honestly, I know I should be planning my graduate education too, but even the undergraduate rodeo is enough to make me lose my mind. It’s interesting to hear from other people who enjoy art history, though! :slight_smile:

Sorry for the short replies; I just took my math final and didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, so I’m not feeling too hot.