Success Stories: Bad HS Record w/ top college admissions

<p>you can make fun of my grammar all you want but i'm not the one that didn't get grades that they desired and have to complain about it all over a forum. btw...i'm also not the one that lies to all of his friends about his stats just to make himself look better. you are about to graduate, relax and enjoy the summer. you will be fine.</p>

<p>yea indy you can't make it through high school and now you won't even consider a school unless it is top 20 or 30? Sorry you have a real reality check coming your way in a year or two.</p>

<p>I don't think JHU and Emory can be considered a good chance for anybody. I guess it depends on what you call good. They aren't safeties (for anybody). 50-50 might be pushing. That would be called a "high match". </p>

<p>I didn't even know there was such a school as "McGill" until now. Haha, shows what I know (not much.). </p>

<p>Aditya: You have a subject verb agreement issue. It should be "I'm not the one that didn't get the grades that <em>I</em> desired".</p>

<p>Hate to hijack a thread, but I have a similar issue to Supindy, and Bourne, you seem to know what you're talking about. I had an ~ 2.0 in HS, and a 4.0 gpa in a local CC. I have highish (21something) SAT scores, but I didn't take them until my second semester in college. My ECs are a little bit on the crappy side because I live alone and have to work full time. On the top of the working I did some volunteer work, was an SGA senator (but had to quit, I just didn't have time), attended some summer writer's conferences, and am a PTK member. I want to go to good creative writing school. I'm looking at NYU (Gallatin) or JHU for the spring. Yes/No? I might apply to Cornell, Brown and Ahmrest as well, just for the hell of it. I'm also going to present my case to Columbia GS (even though I didn't have a gap year or anything). My safety schools are Emerson, Pitt (Transfer agreement with my school), and a couple local LACs. </p>

<p>Besides the fact that there are 9 schools on my list, what do you think? </p>

<p>I'm thinking they stack up like this:</p>

<p>Out of arm's reach: Brown, Cornell, Ahmrest
Reach: JHU, Columbia GS.
High Match: NYU.
Low Match: Emerson.
Safety: Pitt.
Child proof: Moravian (2nd tier LAC that I live across the street from). </p>

<p>And really, I cut like 12 schools off of my list because I was worried you guys would think I'm crazy.</p>

<p>I just wanted to share my story to all of those who may have obtained a GED instead of going the traditional "high school graduate route". I do not mean to shine light on dropping out of high school, but I do intend to show that it is not impossible to obtain your dreams. </p>

<p>I went to a pretty average high school in central virginia. I was a smart kid with a chip on my shoulder and missed a LOT of school (i missed about 1/3 of each school year. I eventually dropped out and tried to work full time, trying to just get by. I hated school. After a few years of working I got really sick of what I had done, which motivated me to rebuild the bridges that I had burned. I enrolled in my local community college and started getting straight A's. I really tried hard and overcame the temptations that could have set me off track. By the end of my two years at the local CC, I ended up with a 3.8 cumulative GPA. I applied to the University of Virginia and was recently accepted as a 3rd year. I transferred without the articulation agreement (without the guaranteed admission agreement).</p>

<p>Listen, the application is key - be honest and blunt with them. They'll see that you dropped out of high school, but your essays can show them why and what you learned from the experience. The whole scenario immediately sets you apart from the other applicants and can be somewhat of a "hook". </p>

<p>Good luck, guys!</p>

<p>Edit: I wanted to add that I never took my SAT and did not send them with my application. I was also accepted into William & Mary and Virginia Tech, but decided UVa was a perfect match for me.</p>

<p>I just thought I would point out that Chicago has gotten a lot worse for transfers the past couple of years as far as admissions go. If you weren't borderline competitive to get in out of high school then you're probably not getting in. </p>

<p>Chicago is not known for being forgiving of a bad HS record, I would say don't even apply but if it's your top choice then just be aware that it is going to be extremely difficult. If you don't have a hook or the requisite HS grades or scores your money and time is better spent at another school. </p>

<p>Take it from me, I had a very average HS gpa and perfect college gpa, excellent essays and a great interview and I didn't even get deferred from EA, straight up denied. There were a lot of students on here that had much better stats than me who got denied and the ones who were accepted were almost overwhelmingly from Ivies or comparable schools.</p>

<p>supindy...if you want to get into cornell, go to a NY community college. Berkeley is impossible if you do not go to a top tier school or a CA community college.</p>