<p>I am a junior looking to apply to Ivy League schools next year. I just took my first ACT, and based on my practice am looking to get a 34 or higher. My unweighted GPA is 3.77, weighted 4.0. </p>
<p>This is all pretty standard. However, I am unsure how these circumstances affect my chances. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was trapped in a war in Lebanon in 2006 for around 10 days. </p></li>
<li><p>My father died last year. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Are these worth mentioning? How do they affect my chances at top school?</p>
<p>Thanks. </p>
<p>Sorry for your loss. They are worth mentioning but it depends how you portray them. Admissions officers will most probably not like it if you are writing for sympathy. You want to show them that despite these struggles, you were able to motivate yourself to achieve great grades and advance in your academics. </p>
<p>Sorry for your loss Stevo88. Definitely include them in your essays. Show that your unfortunate situations made you a stronger person. Wishing you the best.</p>
<p>Thank you. I plan on saying that I was resilient and continued my academic success despite my hardships. </p>
<p>Sorry, I also forgot to mention my extracurriculars:</p>
<p>NHS since 10th grade
Eagle Scout
Tennis for 4 years
Assistant tennis coach for local middle school for four years
Student leadership for 2 years
Over 500 hours of community service
Ran own business, made around $2000
Some more I can’t remember off the top of my head lol</p>
<p>Both events are important and probably shaped who you are. If you can incorporate them into an essay that helps show how they shaped your life and resonated with you long after they happened yet made you a better person from what you learned about yourself, you have a good topic 1 for the commonapp. (I don’t advise writing on past events, but when they’re tragedies that necessarily shape who you are now, it’s something that matters. Furthermore, admission counselors want to see your character as it expresses itself through essays.)
Both are definitely worth mentioning at the very least.
Your two most important extraccuriculars would be Eagle Scout and ran own business - both would need to be detailed in your EC section. Assistant tennis coach for local middle school and community service would also need to be detailed.
Once you’ve found your dream schools, look for 2 safeties - schools you like, can afford (after running the Net Price Calculators and showing the results to your mom), and are 100% sure you can get into.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for your loss but to be honest, I personally don’t think (1) helps.
You haven’t elaborated on the exact circumstances but unless you were in direct line of fire or something major, it doesn’t really make any difference.
I would advice you to not count on them to get you through. Stories such as this are more common than you think they are especially considering how many wars and what not are going on in the world right now.
That being said, a good ACT score will always help :)</p>
<p>By themselves, neither event will have any bearing on your admission decision. However, if you can incorporate them into a well thought out and unique essay, they may be a positive.</p>