UPDATE Sixth grade dropout, homeless, performing very well in CC, seeking new input/advice/guidance

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys.

Perhaps you remember my thread from a while back; I explained my situation. After having acquired a GED I subsequently scored fairly well on certain standardized tests (32 ACT) and not as well on several test subjects. Given my (utter) lack of formal education, I was told that my ambition to get into a top 25 university was commendable, but unrealistic. I was also given very insightful advice into how (if am am to be irrationally tenacious) I should go about maximizing my chance.

Thank you all for your advice, which I took. Now I seek more of your help, but first, I will recap my childhood/homeless situation.

I’ll briefly explain, in case you cannot locate my other post, though I believe it is available on my user page;

I became homeless when the recession hit (twelve years old, 2008), and remained homeless until I was sixteen. I did not attend school, and lived out of churches, my dad’s van, or a tent beside Lake Mead, NV (I have photos, which I will one day share during my motivational TedX talks, lol). We relocated to SD (intentionally vague) because of the very low unemployment rate. In SD, I went back to high school eventually, but found I had been hopelessly outpaced by my peers (who had not gone homeless). I then, willingly, (but surely understandably?) chose to leave school for an alternative, online school, and then dropped out entirely. Then, my brother, who battled depression for a long time (valiantly so), succumbed and committed suicide. After that, my dad’s mind collapsed, and he blamed himself (I think) for what had happened. I cared for my dad for two years by working on the rigs in the oilfield (14-16 hour days most often, often passing 100 hours weekly). He became physically ill, and thanks to Obamacare (sorry to the Republicans, but how could I not be grateful), and to my dad’s willingness to do his homework, we relocated briefly to Rochester, MN, where I used my savings to pay for his co-pays at Mayo Clinic (one of the best hospitals on earth). It was there that a doctor had a passing conversation with me, and told me that I could also be a doctor. I do not want to be a doctor, but the point was made and a new hope had bloomed. At the time, however, we slept in our vehicle to save money- a penny saved is a copay paid.

Since the time that I was 12, everything went fully, and utterly, to crap. It has been a long road, but I feel good about things now.

If you can criticize me for any of those past events, or for my response towards them, please do. Then, pray to God that you never have to walk a mile in my shoes, because in one day my world was (seemingly irreparably) turned upside down and it has taken nearly a decade of my life and the entirety of my brother’s life to get to where I am now.

Nothing is guaranteed in this life, so don’t trust your current comforts or harshly judge others, please.

That being said, here is my update beginning with previous history of education:

Self-taught and earned:

GED with Honors
ACT 32 (will retake shortly for a higher score)
Various SAT subject tests which I will retake as well, given that people were not thrilled with my scores…

NOW:

I took your advice (except the guy that basically said give up and die) and enrolled in a community college so that I could “prove myself in a classroom setting”, as that would be a “determining factor in admissions”.

I volunteer four hours weekly.

I finished out my first semester with a GPA of 4.0.

Also, I’ve won a scholarship (for writing) for which I had to be initially sponsored by my English prof. to enter.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity (solely on recommendation from faculty) to assist a master’s level English prof. with his PhD dissertation, which will list me as a coauthor. I’m especially about that because it should look good on my application.

I have also been accepted into the Honors College.

Furthermore, I have been made a Chancellor’s Fellow within the Honors College.

I am also in Phi Theta Kappa (as of the first day of school, next semester).

Other than that, I literally don’t know how else I could prove myself more in a community college. If you have any suggestions, please share. (I don’t play sports due to a small knee injury.)

So, out of my original list of unrealistic reach schools, I have set my gaze on Cornell, or Dartmouth…

They have the highest acceptance rates of any Ivies, and they match my initial intentions for pursuing a philosophy/Christian theology major, with the plan in mind to attend law school.

Will you guys please tell me ANYTHING you feel I should know that could improve my odds of acceptance- I only have one shot at this and I have been prepping for two years.

Thank you very much, and it is no understatement to say that I literally modeled the last half-year of my life based on your collective advice, and am willing to do so again. All that is to say that I am grateful to those of you who gave me information, encouragement, and direction.

“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

2

I forgot to add that I am also in the process of forming a self-sustaining (meaning it will continue on after I leave CC) club which matches native or fluent English speakers with one or two ESOL students or members of the community for tutoring in English speaking or simply for providing ESOL persons with the opportunity to engage in English conversation to practice their skills. This should add to the “Show us you are a leader” portion of every application I read over.

Thanks again.

3

Oh and I just got promoted to Junior Member hehehehe :slight_smile:

4

That’s a crazy story man. Your scores are solid and your aspirations are great. Absolutely amazing involvement at your CC. I honestly think you have a great chance at any college you apply for, not only because of your hook, but also your extracurriculars and grades. Good Luck!

5

I’m assuming you are applying fall 2017, to start fall 2018. If you are applying right now, you can ignore a lot of this.

Look at your transcript in light of typical college entrance requirements. Do you have foreign language, American history and government, math to at least precal, English literature and composition, the basics of both physical and life sciences, and so on? Choose next year’s classes to fill in any holes in your educational foundation. Make sure your classes are tough and that you continue to make A’s.

Grow your college list outside the Ivies. Assume nothing as far as admissions are concerned. Your story and accomplishments are compelling, but there are no guarantees. Be grateful to go where you can get in with the financial aid you need. Have folks on this board check your list for reach, match, and safeties with good financial aid programs.

Other than that, keep doing what you’re doing.

One thing to clarify with the professor you are working for: PhD dissertations do not typically have coauthors. That might sound a little strange on college applications. A typical job title for a community college student working for a professor is probably research assistant rather than coauthor.

Definitely put the junior member thing on all your apps. Colleges will be super impressed LOL

6

Perhaps you are working on a paper with the professor and you are co-authoring that. But I agree that the dissertation will be single authored.

7

Amazing story, if it’s true:-) Great lesson in perseverance.

Have you been to see a counselor at your CC? They should be able to advise you about what will and won’t transfer. Please be aware that it is possible that any college you transfer to out of state, or that is private, may not accept many of your CC credits. I admire your ambition, but are you prepared for paying for another four years of college should you get into Cornell or Dartmouth? Is there any kind extra benefits from being phi beta kappa, apart from it will look great on your tanscript? I think you should aim for colleges that give merit aid to transfer students, which is what you will be considered. You might do very well with University Of Rochester, for example.

I am sure you will graduate with a Bachelors Degree, but do not just set your sights on Ivy colleges. There are many other great schools that can meet your demonstrated finacial need in the way that makes it most affordable for you. Good luck, I wish you well.

8

Thank you guys for replying.

Based on your guys’ advice, a few more questions have come up.

About taking challenging classes:

I’m in Honors College which has the most challenging courses available at my CC, but within the scope of Honors classes, is there anything that looks particularly good on an app?

Is honors biology/chemistry better than honors calculus or honors sociology or honors statistics? If it matters, I plan to major in philosophy/Christian theology. I really hadn’t thought to configure my classes in terms of difficulty.

About coauthoring or assistant:

I don’t know. Is coauthor the same as collaborator, and if so, are they equally impressive on an app?

I have an email as well as papers from University of Houston stating that my cooperation and assistance to the doctoral student, etc. will result in my being given the title of “coauthor”. Perhaps I am missing something, but worst case scenario, I’ll take either/or.

About be able to afford Cornell, or Dartmouth:

My “family income” is a bit below 60k annually which according to Dartmouth and Cornell’s website, and this article https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/affordable-colleges/these-10-expensive-colleges-have-free-tuition-or-full-ride-scholarships-for-middle-class-families/ would mean that I get free tuition, and in some cases free room and board as well, so long as I am offered acceptance.

If I didn’t qualify, there is NO way that I can think of that I could attend any of my dream schools.

All that being said, is there anything else that I should do? I’ll take the most challenging classes within the Honors College, (as soon as one of you experienced folks enlighten me) and I’ll ask about the “coauthor” situation to avoid embarrassment. I think I’m set financially, too. So, any more advice?

Oh, and yes, I speak a foreign language. I am fluent in English, Spanish and Classical Hebrew, so I am multilingual. Also, I can’t do much in the way of sports but I am trying to start a club this coming semester that would pair native or fluent English speakers with ESOL students and community members for the opportunity to practice English, since not having the chance to practice English will result in slowly forgetting it. Trust me, my first language was Spanish, and when I learned English, I had to relearn Spanish.

Plus, do you guys know how many people are turned away from CC because of their language barrier? Man, its crazy. I’m tired of seeing perfectly intelligent people (when you converse with them in Spanish) reduced to mopping floors because they can’t speak English.

9

Oh, Lindagaf, yes their are some spectacular scholarships available to PTK members, and I spoke with an adviser about using those scholarships.

If I can’t pay, I just can’t go… It’s sad but it’s true. However, the article that I linked says that those with income under 60k (if accepted, hard enough) will receive full-ride or at least free tuition at many Ivy League’s.

10

Again, thank you for your replies and especially for the kind words. I’m going to get some rest now, but I’ll check expectantly in the morning. Please let me know if any honors classes look better on an app than other honors classes.

Good night

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Regarding college financial aid, each college has a net price calculator on its web site. You can use it to estimate each college’s likely financial aid for you. (However, some colleges offer worse financial aid for transfer students, and their net price calculators may warn you that they are intended for students entering as frosh.)

State of residency? Also, your age may matter in terms of classification as a dependent or independent student.

Here is an inspirational story:
http://news.berkeley.edu/2011/05/10/medalist2011/
http://sociology.fas.harvard.edu/people/aaron-benavidez

12

I can’t see a reason to take classes that don’t interest you as much just because they are “harder.” You are not going to be assessed like a high school student would be. You are a transfer student. So yes, they like to see good grades and rigor, but you are already at college and doing well. The types of people who get admitted to Ivy League schools as transfers are not dissimilar to the types of people who get admitted in the first place: serious students who also are active in ECs, in a nutshell. They do want students with a story, and yours is compelling. I think you have a decent chance, but getting accepted as a transfer student is just as, if not more difficult, than being accepted as a high schooler. The numbers are small, becasue these colleges have high retention rates.

You need to meet with your advisor at college and ask for some input. They know how to deal with transfer students. They do this all the time, because everyone at CC either transfers or doesn’t.

In regards to your paper, you will need to list it on your app, so why not ask the pHd candidate you are working with how he/she thinks you should do that. Failing that, you list it as another poster suggested above, research assistant. If others are saying there isn’t a coauthor on a pHd candidates dissertation, listen to them. As an adult, you don’t want to list stuff on your app that will have any admissions officers raising their eyebrows.

I am still not clear as to when you are applying. You say you have been prepping for two years, but you have just completed your first sememster at CC, right? So if you are applying for the class of 2022, you just keep doing what you are doing. You need to do more research on how to pay for college. There are more than two colleges that you can get into and afford. If you don’t get into Dartmouth or Cornell, what other schools are you applying to? Do you just give up? I didn’t think so. You need to research which colleges might be affordable to you, not just your “dream” schools. I think you have a high chance of getting into Rochester, which I know gives transfer scholarships. There are other schools that do as well. You have plenty of time to prepare, but if you get into a mindset of Ivy or bust, you are doing yourself no favors. Good luck.

13

My age is 21 and my state of residency is Texas, (Houston). Thanks UCB for the advice and articles.

Also, thanks Lindagaf for the advice.

I will ask about the paper.

About the Ivies, please note that I am trying to see what’s possible, not what’s probable. I have already been offered a 14k$/year scholarship at HBU. I also called TAM and told them my grades, and was told that so long as I meet basic enrollment qualifications I’d be acceptance without second thoughts. Also, similar deal with UofH. It’s not Ivy or bust, that’d be very irresponsible and childish. It is more like pushing as hard and as far as possible, and seeing what happens.

I do have my safety schools :slight_smile:

Also, two years refers, in my mind, to when I was first told (at the time, a sixth grade dropout) by a doctor at Mayo that I also had it in me to be a doctor. From that time, I began self-teaching math, history, language, etc. roughly 18 mo ago, I was about to turn 19, I think.

It takes some time to teach yourself everything from 7th grade and up to test for the GED, then placements, then CC. I worked full time for the first few months, which delayed things.

Again, thanks for your advice :slight_smile:

Have a great morning!

14

But also, the article I linked says that both of the schools I mentioned will give me free tuition if otherwise accepted (my family makes 54k, free tuition under 60k). It should be free, therefore scholarships would be irrelevant. I hope I’m not missing something.

One last thing, I’ll apply at the end of this coming semester, after I retake the ACT/SAT.

15

Don’t go by the article. Try the schools’ net price calculators.

http://finaid.cornell.edu/cost-attend/financial-aid-estimator
http://admissions.dartmouth.edu/financial-aid/cost-attendance/net-price-calculator

Other schools have them as well.

16

Wow you have a touching and heartwarming story. Here are a few other points to consider

Did you look at Columbia school of general studies? Or Penn LPS? They cater to non traditional students like yourself.

Would you feel out of place at school with kids 4 -5 years younger than you?

If you are interested in Theology/Divinity why not Duke?

17

Honors classes are great. Go back to my earlier post about looking for missing pieces in your transcript. For example, if you have no math credits yet, statistics is better than sociology. You want your overall transcript say “broad foundation for future studies.” Within a particular category though, go with what interests you. If you need a science class, it doesn’t have to be chemistry just because that’s the hardest one. You can take science in a field that interests you where you will do well.

Your plan to apply at the end of second semester (you meant late spring/early summer?) is not in sync with the admissions calendars of many schools. Go read the websites on your college list and make a chart of the deadlines.

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As far as I am aware, transfer applications are usually due in early March. OP, just be sure you have your timetable correct.

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sgopal2, thanks for your reply.

Yes, I checked out CGS and it is my third choice. First in terms of where I’d like to go, but realistically (a word I don’t normally enjoy using) I have far better (although still small) chances at Cornell or Dartmouth. And Duke is great, but I have a very specific form of Christian theology/philosophy that I want to study, either at the above schools or at Notre Dame. If I could study under Alvin Plantinga, I’d be extremely happy.

I’ll be fine studying with young cats.

Also, thanks UCB, I’ll check it out.

Much appreciated guys.

20

At the end of spring semester I plan to retake the ACT and wait for results, sit and twiddle my anxious thumbs, and then apply in sync with the graduating HS classes that year.

Thanks aroundhere, I understand what you mean. I need to present myself as a well-rounded student.