<p>Hello everyone. I've been coming here for some time as a reference, and I thought the community could help me out.</p>
<p>I hold aspirations of attending a UC school when I graduate. I honestly wouldn't mind if it were in San Ysidro, so long as I got in. My problem is that my grade transcript does not reflect my abilities as a student, largely due to past addiction to Vicodin. <em>Sober for 7 months</em> My greatest strength lies in my writing, and I know I can produce a phenomenal essay. My question to you is, will my application be discarded after a cursory glance at my grades and pathetic community service/extracurriculars? (Forced to work)</p>
<p>I have yet to take the SAT's, but I believe I can score in the acceptable range.</p>
<p>Grade 10 (CA>TX at semester)
Spanish III: C/A
English: B/A
AP Euro History: F/*
World History: */A
Business Management: */A
Chemistry: B/A
Algebra II:C/D
Speech: */A</p>
<p>Grade 11 (TX> new school)
AP English Language: A/A *4 on AP
Physics: A/B
AP US: A/A *3 on AP
AP Spanish IV: A/A *3 on AP
AP Human Geography: A/A *4 on AP
German 1: A/B
Psych/Soc: A/A
Algebra II: A/A</p>
<p>Grade 12 (CA<The Promised Land)
AP English Comp
AP Euro History
AP Art History
AP Econ/AP Gov't
Discrete Math
World History</p>
<p>Questions:
Should I make up the Geometry credit in the Spring? Would doing so be at all factored into the admissions process?
Is my improvement going to show enough for my application to be considered?
Is there a place in the UC essays to talk about overcoming addiction/depression/OCD?
Assuming these data reasonably support application to the UC system, what are safety schools in CA/AZ/CO that would not hurt my chances for later admission to medical school?</p>
<p>I woud greatly appreciate any guidance you can offer me.
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Lack of or in your words pathetic ECs as a result of working are usually no problem....I wouldn't focus on that. You were forced to work for whatever reason.....as are other applicants and schools do not hold that fact against you. Remain hopeful. Are you losing a year by age? Sounds like you are close in chronological age to other applicants is that correct? </p>
<p>One final question? Do you feel you will be looked upon in a negative light more so than an applicant who took off a year for medical treatment stemming from any other illness? Is that your concern?</p>
<p>To my dismay, I have not yet taken the SAT or ACT. (though i'm registered for Oct. 3) Nor do I have a UC GPA calculated.</p>
<p>Ihatesat, do you know that colleges turn down applicants on fear of relapse? If your post is speculation, that is welcome, but evidence of the practice would mean quite a bit.</p>
<p>And yes, I am a resident of California. (Canaan for short.)</p>
<p>I have a few follow-up questions. What is the virtue of applying Early Decision? Can anyone explain how admission by exception works, and if it might be applied here? What are some reliable safety schools in the CA/AZ/CO area that would not limit my aspirations of med school?</p>
<p>you certainly have a good upward trend on your transcript. it looks like you got almost all A's in your junior year, a crutial year too. colleges like to see that. don't mention your addiction to the college. instead you can write an essay telling how you did poorly in the first few years of hs and then realized what you had to do and worked harder in your junior year. keep up your gpa for your senior year. don't worry about your geometry credit, don't retake it since it was so long ago. its not worth it especially since there are a few colleges that don't even bother looking at your freshmen year. </p>
<p>i am not familiar with man schools in the area but try for UC Davis or another one of the UCs that is easier to get into. Then if you get excellent grades, you could transfer to UCLA or UC Berkley.</p>
<p>Verstehen, here's my advice:
I DO think you could get into the UC's: possibly UC Merced, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, or UC San Diego.</p>
<p>One of the main questions, however, is your SAT scores. You need to take the SATI and at least 2 SAT II's (possibly 3, I forgot what is the requirement).</p>
<p>Under the 3rd essay question (the one about mentioning anything you possibly can about your circumstances, academics etc.), you should talk about your drug addiction and how that affected your grades. DON'T act as if this gives you an excuse. Be POSITIVE and talk about what you learned from your experience. You should also convince the colleges that you're not going to fall back to drugs again, or else they would not want you at their colleges. </p>
<p>I think the improvement in your junior grades really helps. You also need to note that a grade of D or lower means you don't receive credit. Make sure you have enough credit to graduate from high school. If you don't get into a UC, you could go to a community college and always transfer. </p>
<p>I'm not exactly clear on whether you live in California. If you don't, it significantly lowers your chances of acceptance to the UC's.</p>
<p>You didn't mention your extracurriculars. The UC's are mostly concentrated on grades but I think you definetly need some EC's to put you in favor with the UC's.</p>
<p>Lionheart:
I appreciate your advice, and I am pleased to say that my first draft essay does indeed speak of my addiction, and is centered on what I have learned from the major events in my life. My next draft will put more focus on my sobriety, and my drive to avoid relapse.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have very few Extracurriculars, as it was necessary for me to work. Just a single year of Spanish/German/International Club in my Junior Year.</p>
<p>Lastly, I am a San Diego native. And DAMN proud of it. =P
However, I left California in January of 2004, and moved back in June of 2005. Is there any way that I might not be considered a CA resident?</p>