unusual situation/q re: princeton and U of Chicago

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My kid, like 18,000 others wants to go to Princeton, but his situation is a bit different. His dad suffered the sudden onset of a catastrophic illness and died at the beginning of his sophomore year. It was hard, he was grieving, developed migraines, his grades fell, but somehow he managed to pull a B+ average.</p>

<p>He finished his junior year with all As, 800/780 on his SATs, 800 on subject tests. He is two years ahead in math and taking multivariable calc next year. He was selected for an NIH funded high school internship program for promising science majors and is a highly dedicated rower. He is literate and I expect, judging from his past writing, that his essays will be powerful, funny and interesting. He is not a kid who will join clubs just to fill out a college resume, but he is passionate about cancer research (his intended field and rowing. His teachers and coaches seem to have a high regard for him and I think his recommendations will be great. So here's my question: will a school like Princeton look at his situation and consider his sophomore year experience, or will he be excluded from consideration because of his grades that year? I know every school says they consider everything but I wonder if this is really true. </p>

<p>His strong second choice seems to be the University of Chicago, although he wants to visit Bowdoin and Williams. </p>

<p>Thanks for any insight in the to this highly mysterious process. And I don't mean to make this sound like a woe-is-me story; he is a very strong kid and excited about college.</p>

2

<p>A B+ is not bad as all, considering the circumstances. </p>

<p>If he explains his situation in his essays, he will be fine. </p>

3

<p>I’m not an admissions counselor but from what I understand they absolutely will take into account the challenges that he faced. You want to make sure that somewhere in his application the circumstances of sophomore year are spelled out. Usually it’s in the guidance counselor letter but best to confirm that specifically. He could choose to talk about it in an essay but if it is in the counselor’s letter he can use his essays to highlight other aspects of who he is. </p>

<p>And my heart goes out to you and him. My rising senior D2 lost her dad suddenly from a heart attack spring of sophomore year, with some similar struggles sophomore and junior year. Grief has its own timetable, as I am sure you have learned. </p>

4

<p>Thank you so much for the responses. Yes, grief does have its own timetable. And my thoughts and hopes are there for your daughter as well. </p>