@distressedsenior_ Just give the second teacher the same info. That is fine. Gosh you’re super busy. No reason to have more unnecessary work.
Oh… ok, that’ll save me some time then. I was honestly doing home repairs and chores today, but also had to walk around with my dad, since that helps him stretch out his back (decompress,something like that?).
Are you sure I shouldn’t just add a quick tidbit of something I found interesting in his class, like the books we read? Mind you, it was a standard English class, but I guess when you ask questions you stand out more. I know we read “Death of a Salesman,” and the “The Things They Carry” (a Vietnam war story, it was the most recent book as well), and was thinking I could add some small thing about how, “politics affects all of, whether we choose to participate or not, which was seen in the Vietnam war most clearly through the draft, etc” would that be too cliche?
So should I just remind my first teacher(US history) Monday and ask him about my recommendation, which I know he still hasnt done(how should I ask him to please do it?)
And should I tell the other teacher that I sent him the resume, or will that be awkward/rude to ask him to do it so soon? I dont think any of my schools require two recs for any EA deadlines, except Colby, but thats November 15. When could I realistically expect him to finish it, or when should I tell him I need it by if he asks?
Also, anyone want to read my Common App essay, I think its good, but wouldn’t mind a, uhh second(5th?) opinion.
Also, I’m afraid of applying to schools if this teacher doesn’t get his recommend they have any sort of leeway in that area, considering I worked well with my counselor, which i think gave me a good rec, and have everything else submitted? Should I add the other teacher as a recommender on my common app right now, or wait until Monday? I already did for the History teacher, they should get notified right?
@distressedsenior_ Go ahead and supplement your info sheets for teacher #2. That is a good idea.
For teacher #1, maybe something like, “You are excited to be applying early decision to college. You have almost everything ready for Nov. X. Do you need any more information from me for the recommendation letter?”
I would just be straight forward with teacher #2. You didn’t think college was going to be possible but now you are going to try for a few colleges that can meet your need. Would it be possible for him to write a recommendation letter before your Nov. 15 deadline?
You can send me your common app. I will review tomorrow but maybe @MYOS1634 can take a look too since @MYOS1634 is more expert.
I don’t understand your last paragraph. You have one recommendation letter already?
Teachers are very busy people. Nov 15 will be tight for any teacher to get a rec written. Just get going, today. Email the teachers, tell them the basics (you are applying ED, etc…), ask politely for their quick response. You need to do this now. If Dickinson is not affordable and Muhenberg is, apply ED there. It’s an excellent school. If you don’t have a compelling reason for your grades, I think Colby is a wasted ED card. Reread your earlier statement about Muhlenberg. Your stats fit there, and you will find yourself among like-minded people. You also need tosee your counselor if you apply ED, as they have to acknowledge that you understand that ED is binding. So get in there asap.
@distressedsenior_ Please clarify if you are male of female (unless someone else knows this) and your family size and if you are in a rural area. Thnx
Also have you taken the ACT again? Or do you plan to in November?
@Lindagaf @MYOS1634 So this is what we know I think. @distressedsenior_ is on the low end for GPA for Colby. Current ACT is O’k. Higher acceptance rate for Muhlenberg and Dickinson and a better fit for stats.
Pennsylvania has an Hispanic population of around 7%. The Hispanic acceptance rate at M and D is around 8%.
Maine has an Hispanic population a little over 1%. The Hispanic acceptance rate at Colby is around 7.5%.
Distance: Maine is maybe twice as far away.
@distressedsenior_ is an Hispanic (male? -please confirm), first generation, living below the poverty level in (rural? - is this true OP) Tennessee. True his GPA is on the bottom for Colby but it sounds like OP was working 20? 30+ hours a week with his family to make ends meet. (please confirm this for us OP**) Who else is getting into Colby at the lower stat range than a candidate like OP? You know Colby, might never get candidates like this so I personally think OP could be valuable to them. More than the Pennsylvania schools which has a higher local Hispanic population.
I would not worry about OP fitting into the Colby/Maine population. People in Maine are the “salt of the earth” kind of people. My aunt is from Mexico and lives and teaches (Spanish) at a college in Maine. I have no concern for OP having trouble with a not as diverse state as others.
@MYOS1634 has helped with OP’s essay. OP comes across to me as thoughtful and mature. With strong essays, decent recommendations and the possibility of higher stat scores with fall retake, I think OP has a shot at these reachy but generous schools.
I think OP is choosing Muhlenberg ED1 and either Dickinson or Colby ED2. Maybe wait for the new round of stats to choose ED2 but I just think he is so much more important to Colby.
**Not everyone gets to have a fluffy unicorn and rainbows childhood. When you first introduced us to your work and Father’s physical challenges in post #1, you down played it. I don’t want to see that on your common app. Your dad is brave and strong to get up every day and work for your family inspite of his physical challenges. And what you did by helping your family survive is more important than 95% of the other kid’s ECs and that is it be respected and valued.
I’m male, and have 3 people in my household including myself. The area I live in is kind of starting to have some development, so in between rural and suburban. I havent taken the ACT again, and considering how busy I am, I’m not sure how much I could possibly improve or study for it with the time I have left. I’m guessing I should get comfortable with my 27.
@distressedsenior_ type of location that you live? Rural, suburban, urban…
@gearmom read above, but I’d probably lean more towards suburban now
@gearmom
My parents moved to this area since they could afford a house back around the 2008 recession, and there was basically no development. Since then though a lot of somewhat high end large houses have started being built, and any people have started moving here because of the cheap land.
I’m guessing living in the suburbs would weaken my application, even though none of the benefits are really felt by any of my family? We could never really afford any of the activities around here anyways.
Also why is gender important, do certain schools have higher admissions for males or females?
@Lindagaf
I guess I kind of have “mitigating,” circumstances for my grades considering I had to do a lot more chores around the house than most kids, if that makes any sense, and the extra work I did with my parents. I did work often with both my parents, like recently I had to miss school for like a week a few months ago to help my dad do some moving. He was literally unable to do it without help, and couldn’t find anyone else, so I had leave
Also, is this ok for an additional info section, or is it too whiny?
I already emailed my resume to the other teacher yesterday night and added a bit of insight on some books we read. Should I have told him more than, “Thank you for taking the time to write a recommendation, I hope this information is useful in writing it.”
He’s a football coach, and teaches standard English, so I’m not sure how many rec letters he’s writing.
^I think that your additional info section needs to be stronger. @MYOS1634 What would be an estimation of hours per week? Also I think it needs to be very clear that your work is necessary for your family’s well being. You’re below the poverty level. Your parents are injured in jobs that require physical labor. Without your help they would have risked loss of job or injury.
I’m pretty sure that male is less represented for black and Hispanic students so that is a better. A better hook. Lots of questions but we’re trying to measure everything to get you the best opportunity. I think you did enough for the football coach. Good job. Don’t worry about the 27 now.
Estimate home chores in hours per week and other work hours per week
Ok, so you might have a shot at Colby, but because you earlier said Dickinson is a dream school, I was going with that. Of course, not if FA won’t work. I agree that you should use the additional info section to your advantage. I would make it clear: your father is disabled, your family struggles financially, and you have to contribute to keeping the home going. You can list those actvities as ECs, by the way, especially if you do them consistently. You can say what you said above, but I would stick to basics: Your parents are physically limited due to injuries and needed surgery, so you are responsible for doing all these things. Your obligations at home have interfered with your ability to maintain grades as high as you would like. Just try to condense the middles section.
^Yes. @distressedsenior_ You need to be complete unambiguous. Admissions isn’t going to be asking you questions. I would not even put that you enjoy working around the house (I know that you are a great kid). Your parents are working to their physical limit. You are doing work outside of the normal for your family even taking time off of school. When you don’t have as much, people sometimes try to preserve a certain dignity if you know what I mean but this needs to be very straight forward and easily understandable. The best way for you to help your parents long term is this educational opportunity.
Oh I guess I forgot to add that I also had (somewhat) severe medical issues, from like 4th grade to 7th grade. I’m not sure if I should add that, or how I should talk about it, since its not really fresh on my mind. It was a neurological issue, like a tick(is that what you call it?), that had me miss school all of 4th grade, and was pretty sick, so it was a big burden on my family. I was kind of fine after we moved to our current house, but still had asthma, and had to take medications (that also led to me gaining a lot of weight, but I had to keep taking them to control the symptoms) which led to, “continuing issues” up until around 8th grade.
It’s all kind of hard to explain, but basically I’m fairly positive I have ADD, but my parents are strongly against “labeling,” or wanting government assistance for anything like that, so they never went through with any steps to diagnose me. They’ve also never applied for any sort of benefits, such as medicaid, or food stamps, even though we would apply for them. I agree with them for the most part, but I’ll sometimes spend a lot more time doing something than others, and am very meticulous when I do things. I kind of also had(have, not really anymore) OCD, and my mothers side of the family, has had issues with that as well, but considering I never wasn’t through with being formally diagnosed, I’m guessing I should just leave that out. I did manage to consistently do Taekwondo throughout those years though, since it was one of the few things that was actually affordable(some family members had used equipment/ gear I borrowed), and got my black-belt after 5 years in the 8th grade. Maybe that could count as “overcoming my adversity,” but again that was quite some time ago, and I’d rather stick to high school activities, and I’m guessing AOs don’t care about that that much.
Also any thoughts on Ursinus College, they require CSS, so I’m not too found of sending another profile if it’s not needed, but I would apply for a $30K merit scholarship automatically(would that stack with need?), with my 27 ACT.
https://www.ursinus.edu/offices/scholarships-and-financial-aid/grants-scholarships-loans/ursinus-gateway-scholarship/
My parents suggested I send them to top schools, and really only sent it to 2(out of the 8) that I’m interested in. We didnt know the fee waiver only counted one time for 8 schools, and you couldn’t go back and change them, so I sent them to Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgetown, American, George Washington, Occidental, Rhodes, and Sewanee. I’m really only interested in the last 2, how much did I screw up?
Is there any way to change the CSS once you’ve submitted it, or would I have to add more schools for $15 each?
Another big thing that happened starting high school, that could explain my grades would be my mother returning to school (community college), to get an associates. She couldn’t do house cleaning anymore, because her knee got worn out(dislocated? something like that?). This had me doing much more work at home, since my father was busy with work, and I had to take car of the household a lot more than I had before. Combined with working with my dad, that’s how I basically spent most of my outside time. I’ll just quote what I wrote on my resume.
So pretty much that plus working with my dad, could maybe explain some (poor) grades at home, and a lack of extracurriculars? Also, would her having her associates, not count me as a first generation student?
Hmm, so should I just be direct in what in my additional info section say without any fluff at all? Is shorter better, and what should I put, since I’m guessing admissions officers don’t want to read too much. I feel like I’m pretty good at being straightforward, but what you said about “preserve a certain dignity,” is somewhat true. Also I guess a big thing is that I never really view myself as any of these things being a “chore,” or a “burden,” I always just do what I have to to make ends meet and help out. So the more I think about not having ECs, such as band, soccer practice, etc., the more I realize it wasn’t just because we couldn’t afford them. It was also because I was usually busy doing something related to our household when other kids where doing those things.
To conclude, I’m guessing in my case, the additional info section may be the most important and I guess “eye-opening” section of my application, that provides some background to my circumstances, right?
You have received outstanding advice, so i’m not sure i’ll be adding anything particularly new, but anyway:
- URM is a definite bump and especially at non-coastal LACs and small private universities. You just so happen to be looking at several such schools: Rhodes, Sewanee, Dickinson, Berea, Belmont, Lipscomb, etc. And among just those six you have three statistical reaches, probably a high match and two matches or low matches, so a nice mix. But I think you should bump your stats up a bit when considering the small private schools -- think of your GPA as a 3.5 and your ACT as a 30, given the URM hook. Suddenly Rhodes, Sewanee and Dickinson are high matches and the tigers follow suit. Point being, the hook will very likely help you at those (and similar) schools. It doesn't mean you'll get in; it does mean you'll be more likely to be accepted.
Vanderbilt, hook or not, is highly unlikely, especially given the fact that they are probably the most stats-driven school in their peer group, which also includes Rice, Washington U, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Emory and maybe Carnegie Mellon. You probably would need to get the ACT up to at least a 31 and the GPA up to 3.6 to be a competitive applicant, but hey, the only way to have a 0% chance is if you don’t apply.
I’d look at schools in the Dickinson/Sewanee/Rhodes range – ranked about 30-60 in the USNews LAC rankings – as high matches and matches. Here you will find excellent schools that will also give strong aid and could well be affordable. Find some that look good to you and run the NPC to confirm whether they would likely be affordable.
@distressedsenior_ Your additional Information part is going to be very, very important so make sure that everyone who is working with has a chance to weigh in on this. Don’t submit the mom chores one. Let us work with you on that one too.
So your facts that need to be conveyed are: You had serious physical issues during your middle school years that caused you to miss an entire year school. You continued to manage your asthma throughout your high school years. Both your parents worked physical labor jobs and refused and continue to refuse government assistance even though your total family earnings are less than $20,000. During your high school years, your mother was unable to work due to a knee injury and earned her associates degree. Your father continued to work in landscaping even with though he himself had back and knee injuries. In order to maintain your family, you did house work and worked with your father at his job because he needed assistance even sometimes having to miss school to do so. Your time for standard ECs was limited due to your family obligations. And also living in a rural part of Tennessee (which is evolving), your outside opportunities were limited. The amount of work needs to be clearly in your app. Don’t call them mom chores. Moms will be reading your app.
I don’t think that you can mention ADD that isn’t undiagnosed. Hopefully someone else can answer your CSS question. You need that answered. Have you run the net price calculator on Vandy, Duke, Georgetown, American, GW, Occidental, Rhodes, Sewanee and Uranus. Are they all affordable?
I think your first generation status might be impacted but don’t worry about it. You have plenty of hooks.
The maintaining dignity. I understand you. We couldn’t afford music lessons when I was a kid. I would have loved to have had that opportunity. That was for wealthy kids. I did take ballet when I was young and that was important to me but had to stop when my dad lost his job which was a scary time. So I look back and I guess we didn’t have a lot but you don’t complain and your parents try to protect you.
so are LACs going to be overall more holistic in their admissions? And I’m not sure If I should bother with Lipscomb and Belmont, considering they don’t give good aid at all.
The mom chores one is what was on my counselor rec, so i sadly already submitted, but I’ll send you a link to my current additional info section, so you can suggest some stuff.
How concise should I keep it, or since I have a umm different circumstance, is it alright to l have it a bit long?
Pretty much, you always have to make do with what you have, and there’s no point in complaining for what you don’
@gearmom @Lindagaf
can i send you guys a link to a google doc, or how should I share it?
Yes, most, if not all, LACs are holistic. I don’t think the medical issues you faced before high school can be mentioned, unless your family is still paying bills associated with those issues. Colleges don’t really consider anything before high school except in unusual circumstances.
I do think your additional info section is important, especially if you can get your guidance counselor ot also mention some of this as it pertains to your grades. And I am a fan of no fluff. Colleges will appreciate you being starightforward. They don’t admit people because they feel sorry for them. They do like to admit people who can succeed despite challenging circumstances.
Any obligations you have outside of school can be used as ECs. A job is an EC. Cooking dinner daily is an EC, as is lawn mowing, buying groceries, cleaning house, or looking after siblings. You can change the inof onnthe Common app before you submit it to reflect any ECs. Your most time-consuming one is usually first. Or the one you care about the most.
The common app will ask about your parents’ education level. Is your mother currently getting a degree and doesn’t have it yet? You could certainly mention that in additional info.
If you can streamline your additional info statement so that it hits on anything important you need them to know, I can have a look at it before you submit it. PM it to me. Cut and paste the doc right into the message. Google docs won’t link. From what I have read, your parents’ physical limitations, your home responsibilties, and your mother being in college all seem to be things that should be mentioned in additional info.
And you still have a little time for ED apps, but get the teacher recs sorted. Many very selective LACs like Colby will let you request interviews and it’s good to do so, as it shows interest. Many schools will do Skype or phone interviews if there are no alumni in your area.
If mom chores is from your counselor, don’t worry about it. Don’t worry in general but don’t repeat.
The right length is however it takes to concisely convey what you need to say. They need to understand the odds you faced because you’re trying to be the kid who gets that opportunity.
Try a Google doc sharing. Maybe include @prezbucky because she is super smart.