<p>@ItsJustSchool I’m looking to major in a science or math field but I’d also like an interdisciplinary education with some freedom to take other courses in humanities. Something that stood out to me about Smith is that it’s a liberal arts college with engineering courses, so any others that offer that would be great. I also like that Reed and St Olaf consistently send students to great graduate school programs, which is something I think I want to pursue. Is St. Olaf not regarded as rigorous?</p>
<p>I, too, am happier now that I know you have those three on your list. It’s funny: I’ve been assuming you are male. I gather you are not. 
I would suggest that if you are interested in St Olaf you strongly consider Carleton, also. Carleton would seem to me to be more in line with Smith and Reed than St. Olaf in terms of quirkiness and intellectualism. And it’s a great school.</p>
<p>Make sure you run the NPCs for all schools. Even at the most generous schools, the likelihood is that they will expect you to take out the minimum Federal loans and have work-study.</p>
<p>You would love MIT. Wellesley has cross enrollment with MIT, as well, and there is a regular bus service between the two campuses. HYP are also great choices. Would you feel comfortable revealing your state of legal residence?</p>
<p>Well then I guess I did a good job of hiding my gender(: I am more comfortable with revealing personal information now. I reside in California. My ACT score is 33 so it is below HYP’s and MIT’s 50th percentile. If they accept Feb. ACT scores I may be able to raise it to 34+.</p>
<p>I’ll admit that my first test scores were very low, and, to my understanding, HYP are not "score choice’’ institutions, so I don’t think they are likely.</p>
<p>I’d also like to make clear that only my 9th year grades were changed, not my tenth year ones, which are almost as bad, so I don’t think I’d have much of a chance at Carleton either.</p>
<p>I applied to the Cal Poly’s, but I don’t really like their ‘‘learn by doing’’ approach and that their goal is to prepare students for the work-force. I really want my undergrad experience to be one of personal growth and prefer learning how and why things work the way they do. </p>
<p>Another factor that may be relevant is that my current school very rarely sends students to top schools. The few that I have heard of were only accepted through Questbridge. I’m not sure how significant high school reputation/competitveness is.</p>
<p>Few people are pulled out of their families by DFS, live in a group home for a few months, are repatriated, and go on to excel. Conventional wisdom is that 32-33 is a threshold score that proves you can do the work. Scores above that have diminishing meaning.</p>
<p>If you have taken and scored highly on any AP tests, especially Sophomore year, you would really have a very interesting/compelling story. Even without the AP’s, HYPM is really worth a try.</p>
<p>CSU does not sound like a good fit for you. I just discovered a great gem- the college for creative studies at UCSB. You may enjoy that, and it is within your reach. <a href=“https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu”>https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu</a></p>
<p>From another thread:</p>
<p><a href=“Retaking the ACT if only a junior? - Test Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>Retaking the ACT if only a junior? - Test Preparation - College Confidential Forums;
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<p>One more thing I should clarify: I was not sent to a foster home, not a group home, if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I did not take AP exams. It is my understanding that my school does not allow students to take them without taking the class, though I may be mistaken.</p>
<p>I think you are interpreting my situation as more compelling than it really is. I’m just a student who faced hardship, and I don’t plan to make this the basis for my essay. If anything, I’ll just briefly mention it in the Additional Information section. I don’t plan on writing a sob story and I don’t want to get accepted somewhere out of sympathy. </p>
<p>The program at UCSB seems really great. It appears to be interdisciplinary and very rigorous. I’ll definitely give that a shot.</p>
<p>My mistake, I meant I was sent to a foster home, not a group home.</p>
<p>It is fine if you don’t base your essay around those experiences, but I do think you need to make sure it appears somewhere in your application. That’s necessary context in this situation. </p>
<p>I also don’t think that, should you gain acceptances, you have to go back and provide transcripts you aren’t sending now, since that will seem like you were deliberately holding back (which isn’t what is happening). Instead, I think you should get in touch with someone at the school to mention that your academic career was interrupted, and while you’ve attempted to compensate for gaps since then, you want to make sure that you’re placed in the most appropriate classes given your history. If anyone asks why you didn’t send every single transcript (which they likely won’t), you can truthfully say that your guidance counselor told you not to and/or that because of family circumstances, you attended a couple of school for only a very brief period, and didn’t have any meaningful grades. I really don’t think anyone who hears that a Foster situation was involved is going to be too much of a stickler. </p>
<p>I also want to add that I’m so impressed by how well you’ve succeeded in spite of these challenges. </p>
<p>OP, I agree with those who say that the fact that your transcript shows A’s instead of F’s your freshman year just means that whoever entered those grades into your transcript when you first started at this school was extrapolating from how well you were doing before you were transferred all over the place, rather than from what happened at the end of the semester when you were thrown into unfamiliar classes and forced to take exams on material you hadn’t been taught. IMO, the school that did that to you is the problem here, and the person who decided to overlook those F’s because they rightly concluded that they were not “earned” F’s, did the right thing.</p>
<p>Is this something that would have happened to every student in your situation? No, not at all. Maybe that’s where your angst is coming from – you feel you were given a gift that you didn’t deserve. I would say you were given a gift, yes, but it’s one you DID deserve. You were given a second chance, and you proved that you deserved to get it by not wasting it.</p>
<p>Besides, you should realize that if your transcript did show all those F’s, your guidance counselor would write a recommendation for you explaining that you were transferred in and out of 5 different schools in the course of a year, plus all the other extenuating circumstances, and then would point to your junior and senior grades and say “this is the REAL reflection of what this student is capable of.” And you’d probably wind up with the same kinds of acceptances at your target colleges that you’ll get anyway.</p>
<p>And finally, if what’s motivating you is that you think that if your guidance counselor realized the REAL story, they’d want to go back and change your transcripts, it’s my guess that that’s the last thing your GC wants to do. And I don’t mean that the GC has an interest in seeing the school’s students go to good colleges, though of course they do. I mean that the GC has much better things to do with his/her time – especially right now when they’re probably trying to help all the other seniors with their college apps – than go back through old records (if the school even has them) to try to recreate what your situation actually was back then. That’s detective work that your GC just doesn’t have time for right now, if ever. So you are not doing them a favor by “confessing” – you’re actually asking them to take on a huge task that they really don’t want to do.</p>
<p>My daughter is applying to Reed as well, and don’t worry – if you get accepted and she doesn’t, I’m not going to be over here gnashing my teeth and wishing you ill. Reed is fully capable of deciding on its own who it wants to admit, and in my mind anyone who would grudge you a spot at any school that thinks you’re capable of succeeding there, needs to reexamine their own priorities.</p>
<p>*If I gain acceptance, I’ll make sure the school is aware of my previous transcripts. *</p>
<p>Here, I disagree. If accepted, you do not have to say anything to the adcoms other than your decision to attend or not. They will have made their decision. We’ve talked about presenting your application as best you can, considering the early confusion. If they accept you, they accept you. Move forward, not backward.</p>
<p>Oh, see that AP noted the same and made a good suggestion.</p>
<p>If I don’t send in my transcripts, couldn’t my degree be rescinded?</p>
<p>I found a thread with a situation somewhat similar to mine, and most who responded seemed to agree that the OP should’ve sent in the correct transcripts:</p>
<p><a href=“Unusual Ethical Dilemma - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/138736-unusual-ethical-dilemma.html</a></p>
<p>Also, I really want to give my sincere thanks to all of you. This is something that has been bothering me very much for a while, and it really alleviates my qualms to know that there are people who are supporting me with my college endeavors.</p>
<p>If anyone could recommend some sort of ‘‘safety school’’ that I could likely get into and would be affordable that would be really great. I’d really like that comfort of knowing that I’ll get in SOMEWHERE.</p>
<p>The situation in that thread has no similarity whatsoever to yours. In your case you insist on raging against the machine that made an assessment of you and recorded that assessment. See paragraph 1 of post #70. You are trying to change your transcript from the official transcript to what YOU think it should say. The administrators have filled out a transcript of their assessment of your grades. There is nothing else that you can send, unless you convince someone to change your transcript to your specifications.</p>
<p>With holistic review you stand a good chance of being admitted to UC, even with a low GPA. Have you calculated a UC GPA, by the way? With your standardized test scores, your index may easily be in the top 9% regardless of GPA, and certainly in the top 9% of your school (ELC). Berkeley and LA seem to meet demonstrated need (albeit with hefty loans).</p>
<p>@ItsJustSchool I just calculated it, but am a bit confused about a retaken class so it is either 4.13 or 4.29 weighted. This is only factoring in 10th and 11th grades, and possibly one taken during the past summer.</p>
<p>So there is no chance that if I don’t send in my transcripts wherever I attend and they find out about them that I may be dismissed from school or have my degree revoked after I graduate?</p>
<p>No. There is no chance, unless you start saying things like “I sent in fake transcripts and lied my way into your college.” Which isn’t true, but if you say it like that, people may jump to the worst conclusion.</p>
<p>If anyone somehow found out about some discrepancies and noticed it (which will not happen), here’s what you would say, backed up in writing if necessary. </p>
<p>"Yeah, I know my records are a little muddled. In my first two years of high school, I was enrolled in five different schools while my family was dealing with XYZ, a situation that wound up with me being placed in foster care for a while. I only attended a couple of the schools for a few weeks/months, and never actually went to one of them at all, even though I was officially enrolled. I had been doing well at school A before everything fell apart, and while, some of the transcripts from other schools would have reflected failing grades, that’s largely because a) I was prevented from actually attending by my family situation (be specific here about why you couldn’t go), and b) at times held responsible for material that had been taught before my very brief time in the school.</p>
<p>“When things settled down my junior year, I’m honestly not sure exactly how the school I graduated from came up with a transcript for my first two years. I think it was a combination of giving me credit for self-study when successful completion of a more advanced course in a sequence reflected mastery of the prerequisite course (i.e, giving credit for French I since you were getting an A in French II) and extrapolating from my early grades in school A, the transcript that most reflected my abilities when in a comparatively normal academic situation. While it is true that this has led to some gaps - I didn’t finish some of the courses I started in school A, for instance – I did make every effort to complete the requirements for my degree, and my high school was satisfied that I had fulfilled them. I had no desire to lie on my application, and actually asked my GC what to do when I saw that my transcript didn’t reflect the turmoil of my first two years. She said she wasn’t sure about the details of how the grades had been determined, but that I should just send in the transcripts she herself had access to, reflecting attendance in school A and school F.”</p>
<p>You’re not going to get kicked out of school or your degree revoked over that explanation, which, as I said, is unlikely ever to have to be made. In the meantime, you should be proud of your achievements and not guilty over something that is not remotely your fault. </p>
<p>Don’t tear this apart until you keep yourself out of college entirely. As I said, you have some ethical adults here, giving opinions. </p>
<p>I like AP’s wording- I’d guess that’s how most of us see it. Print the quoted part and save it. Maybe AP will give his/her opinion, but I think the first para could be the basis of the explanation in Addl Info. (We can get to that. But I don’t think you have to say “5 schools.” You can just say, “During this time, I was enrolled in several schools but not able to attend fully. My current hs managed the records they received and will submit my transcript.” If there is a big question, the college will ask the GC- and we are telling you to be in sync with the GC. “Yes, we pieced together Lw’s early records and she is a fine student here.”)</p>
<p>You’ve told us the initial situation was beyond your control. That you did go to the GC and he/she was satisfied. That you do wish to be ethical. That you overcame. That you will return to the GC for app advice. </p>
<p>The linked thread isn’t your parallel. In that case (I only read the first page,) the GC should have told the college and then the college would decide. In your case, you have what amounts to a mystery year. </p>
<p>Some of us have broader perspective than just the one hs the kid attends. </p>
<p>I think that you should <em>definitely</em> say 5 schools in one year. That is precisely what makes the situation to extraordinary.</p>
<p>And no, you wouldn’t be getting in because of a sob story. You would be getting in because of what you have accomplished. The fact that you have accomplished it DESPITE this debacle is significant to colleges that take a holistic look at applicants. Please apply to Carleton is you like it. I actually really think you should throw in a couple of the lottery schools with superb FA, such as Yale. You may or may not get in, but if you do get in they WILL give you enough FA to attend.</p>
<p>Honestly, this thread is ironic in the extreme. You probably don’t realize how often we get kids in here pleading that their poor performance for two years was caused by some circumstance that is shared by many, albeit a sad event, such as the death of a grandparent. Here you are, with a really compelling story, and you think it reflects on YOU!</p>
<p>ARGHH! Please, please do not sell yourself short. </p>
<p>With those grades and test scores, UC is your safety. Check their index to confirm top 9%. Again, you are a viable candidate at any school you choose. :)</p>
<p>@apprenticeprof Wow, thank you so much for that. I’m going to keep a copy of that just as lookingforward suggested.</p>
<p>So on the ‘‘additional information’’ I should include all of the specific/personal details of my situation? </p>
<p>I asked my adviser what the chancellor advised, and she said that as long as the schools were on my transcript, then to list the four most recent schools on the application. But all of the schools are NOT listed on my transcript, so I’m still at a loss of what to do here. Is there anyone I can contact personally to ask this question?</p>
<p>@Consolation Actually what I find ironic is that I feel like my situation would keep me OUT of schools, not help me get INTO them. I mean I basically only really attended schools for a little over two years and my education was very inconsistent, so I would think that colleges would be wary of accepting me. But since some of you seem to believe I may actually have a shot, and I’m sure you all know more about the whole college process than I do, I’ll give those liberal arts colleges and ‘‘lottery schools’’ a try.</p>
<p>Something that has always appealed to me about Yale:</p>
<p>’"Before freshman year, all incoming undergraduates are assigned to one of Yale’s twelve residential colleges. Students remain affiliated with their residential college for all 4 years (and beyond). Yale makes every effort to represent the diversity of the entire undergraduate community within every residential college.’’</p>
<p>Is this the only college that has this type of system?</p>
<p>@ItsJustSchool Is there a process I have to go through for the automatic 9% acceptance? Would I just apply to UCs and if I don’t get in I’m automatically accepted to UCR/Merced?</p>