<p>I was hit by a truck at 12 years old and since then have had chronic neck pain and headaches and fatigue. This stuff makes me unmotivated/unwilling and pretty much unable to do sports, at least regularly. I was great at track in middle school but in high school, I did sign up for track but never ended up keeping up with it due to my extreme desire to just lay on a bed and expel my pain and fatigue.
Now I'm a senior supposed to be applying for schools, but it's really awkward when I have no extracurriculars to report. [As for clubs, I was in interact but honestly I didn't go often at all because literally the interaction was just "who wants to bake cookies for our next meeting?" And I was in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) last year, but according to my friend since I didn't get past districts in my competition I shouldn't report that. I might do the competition again this year but I don't really go to the school meetings, however I would go to the field trip events. So I'm not sure that counts because I'm hardly involved.]
I also need to get lots of community service done quickly, because even though I have done some, I have no proof of service and that kinda sucks. (ideas?)
Basically my question is, should I not even hope to get into colleges that have a strong emphasis on community service? Or is explaining to them that I was hit by a truck and have medical issues enough of an "excuse" for them to let it slide?</p>
<p>by the way my GPA is unweighted 3.57 and weighted 4.33, SAT 1970 (1300 w/o writing, and I’m retaking it next week) so my academics are decent</p>
<p>Your story is inconsistent. Wanting to just lie in bed is not a physical illness. Did you get counseling?</p>
<p>Wanting to lie in bed because of physical illness, a lot of neck pain. I never liked counseling</p>
<p>You have to understand, that if you report it was a <em>choice</em> that you were laying in bed, people interpret it as depression, maybe brought on by your physical condition. You can’t just get a free pass for no ECs if apparently you had no impairment in your academics.</p>
<p>You need to get your story straight and project what happened to you in the best light possible.</p>
<p>For example:
“I was hit by a truck at 12 years old and since then have had chronic neck pain and headaches and fatigue. This stuff makes me unmotivated/unwilling”</p>
<ul>
<li>unmotivated and unwilling are feelings, not physical barriers</li>
</ul>
<p>“and pretty much unable to do sports”
- okay</p>
<p>“at least regularly. I was great at track in middle school but in high school”
- how? do you mean that you were great <em>before</em> you were in the accident? You need to clarify that.</p>
<p>“I did sign up for track but never ended up keeping up with it due to my extreme desire to just lay on a bed and expel my pain and fatigue.”
- desire = feeling</p>
<p>“Now I’m a senior supposed to be applying for schools, but it’s really awkward when I have no extracurriculars to report.”
- you mention no sports, because of physical pain (assuming you just picked inappropriate words that meant it was a conscious choice not something you chose to do)</p>
<p>"[As for clubs, I was in interact but honestly I didn’t go often at all because literally the interaction was just “who wants to bake cookies for our next meeting?”
- there is absolutely no way conveying this attitude would be beneficial to you in college applications</p>
<p>“And I was in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) last year, but according to my friend since I didn’t get past districts in my competition I shouldn’t report that.”
- so you don’t want to list one of your major ECs because your friend says you shouldn’t? you should instead list NO EC?</p>
<p>“I might do the competition again this year but I don’t really go to the school meetings, however I would go to the field trip events.”
- why don’t you “really go” to school meetings? you related that you couldn’t do sports because of pain/fatigue/headaches, is that the same thing about attending club meetings?</p>
<p>“So I’m not sure that counts because I’m hardly involved.]”
- everything counts. mothing is worse than something, even if you weren’t the best at it.</p>
<p>“I also need to get lots of community service done quickly, because even though I have done some, I have no proof of service and that kinda sucks. (ideas?)”
- how can you handle it? you report that you have pain/fatigue/headaches so much that you can’t do sports. then you say that you have one major club and you don’t attend school meetings. yet you expect to do “lots of community service” somehow, with your chronic neck pain and so on?</p>
<p>“Basically my question is, should I not even hope to get into colleges that have a strong emphasis on community service?”
- which colleges are those? most colleges want well-rounded students, who have various interests. i don’t know that many that focus solely on community service</p>
<p>“Or is explaining to them that I was hit by a truck and have medical issues enough of an “excuse” for them to let it slide?”
- “excuse”? what you describe is a bunch of choices.</p>
<p>As far as I can tell, you can’t make up your mind whether you didn’t participate in clubs and other ECs because of your health issues, or because you were too cynical to participate (the “bake cookies” comment, the “don’t really go to school meetings” comment).</p>
<p>You need to look in the mirror. It is not reasonable to do “lots of community service in a short time”, when apparently:
- you’ve not done any community service at all in the past
- you’ve not committed to anything requiring a lot of time since your accident</p>
<p>Either your accident was a huge life changer for you or it wasn’t. I find it really hard to believe that you could get a decent GPA, especially your weighted GPA, but not do any ECs.</p>
<p>So yes, I think your best bet is to get help describing how your physical disability has impacted your ability to participate in school other than academically. With a 1900 SAT score, you need to be honest to yourself about schools you are targeting.</p>
<p>I also wonder if you got accommodations in school or for testing - if you have headaches and fatigue, you should have gotten accommodations.</p>
<p>Without the extenuating circumstances of your serious injury and long recovery, you look like someone who had to focus on academics only and could not spend time on ECs or sports, and now you are regretting it. If you put in 100 hours of community service in 12th grade (I am assuming you are a senior), and have none from previous years, that would look fishy. Did something happen in the past year where your headaches and fatigue were greatly reduced, so you can get in 100 hours of community service before your applications are due?</p>
<p>I am mainly trying to help you from the point of view of college adcoms. You have to get your story straight, and if you feel strongly that your physical disability prevented you from EC participation for three years, it would not make any sense to suddenly participate much more than average.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Just apply to one or more of the many colleges and universities that admit solely on the basis of grades and test scores. Then you won’t have to worry about explaining the lack of ECs. My son has few ECs but was easily and quickly admitted to one of our state universities.</p>
<p>^Exactly. Unless you’re aiming for very selective schools, your metrics point you to a wide array of colleges – the bulk of which do not use ECs as part of your evaluation. Likely, you are looking for a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>Thanks guys… by not wanting to do things I meant like I can still do physical activity but it hurts me to do it. As in I’m not “disabled” but rather impaired. I have good days and bad days in terms of pain. I haven’t gotten “accommodations” because I haven’t asked and I have really learned to focus on what I need to and block out the pain, to an extent.
Is 1900 bad? I thought it was average so I don’t understand what rhandco means.
And when I said “Basically my question is, should I not even hope to get into colleges that have a strong emphasis on community service?” I meant extracurriculars**, not community service.
Also with pain it is easier to sit down and do homework than to do sports, which is why I’ve been able to maintain my GPA…
By the way I haven’t done NO community service, but a lot of it wasn’t for college so I didn’t get proof of service and cannot report it. I meant I have no record of my service so I need to do some with evidence. (a mistake I know)
And the reason I can do community service is because there is a difference between sport activity and sitting down and volunteering as a bakesalesman or something.</p>
<p>Unless your high school requires that a student to file paperwork every time they do community service, most students don’t have records of their community service. If you have been active with one or more organizations, then put your notes together, and find out from the people you know within those organizations if they think your calculations for hours/days/whatever are accurate.</p>
<p>As for your impairment. You need to get real about this now while you are still in high school and it is easier to get a 504 plan written or a guidance counselor’s letter about your situation. You have no way of knowing yet how your condition will affect you once you get to college. You want to be registered with the disabilities office there so that you can get any accommodations that you suddenly find that you need. And if you find that you don’t need any, well that’s OK too. But do get the paperwork set up for the worst-case situation just in case you do need it.</p>
<p>You don’t need evidence of your community service, I don’t know why you think that. Community service is just like any other EC and your ECs are on the honor system. You don’t have to provide proof (unless you get specifically requested).</p>
<p>Most colleges don’t care about your ECs.</p>
<p>A 1900 SAT is a very very solid score, congrats. You’ll have good college options to apply — however, they still likely won’t be the ones that will care about ECs and stuff. You’ll likely be solely admitted based on your scores and transcript. Don’t fret over your ECs. Good luck to you. You’ve overcome a lot and will be a great addition to wherever you attend.</p>
<p>First of all, you don’t need proof of your ECs. Nobody needs proof unless you applying to National Honor Society.</p>
<p>Secondly, talk to your Guidance Counselor and not “my Friend”.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about “I was not really involved”…</p>
<p>For the competition, what did you have to do? </p>
<p>FBLA: Entered local competition with “How to succeed in business without really trying” project
Interact Club: <explain what="" it="" is="">: Raised funds</explain></p>
<p>Just put down your ECs and don’t worry about proof. Don’t worry about how “good” they are at this point.</p>
<p>As far as your accident: Your GC should include something about that in your recommdation letter.</p>
<p>You could also use your accident as a basis of your common app essay…how it caused you to take inventory and put your available energy into yoru academics.</p>
<p>Also there is part of the Common App called “Additional Information” that says:</p>
<p>Please provide an answer below if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application. You may enter up to 650 words.</p>
<p>But talk to your GC about how to handle all of this. You are going on rumors and hearsay.</p>
<p>Seconding all of the above. You definitely need to be getting your advice from an experienced professional (guidance counselor), and you need to determine the best way to present your circumstances. </p>
<p>A common refrain from admissions officers is that they are impressed by applicants who don’t invoke their hardships merely to garner pity, but to show how they have developed their own strategies for coping and thriving in the face of those hardships.</p>
<p>Right now, your description of your situation sounds very like someone who hasn’t really worked those strategies out. Maybe you just need to phrase it more positively - “In the face of my persistent chronic physical pain even when at rest, I chose to focus my limited available energy on academic excellence.” - or maybe you really are still adjusting and learning how to cope with your condition. </p>
<p>You also, quite honestly, need to consider your true readiness for college. @happymomof1 is on point with that one. College attendance can be quite a physical workout even if you never do sports. You may get assigned a dorm room on the 5th floor of a 150-year-old building with no elevator and find yourself climbing a lot of stairs (I did). You may have classes on utterly opposite ends of the campus and find yourself walking 5 miles a day just between class buildings (I did). You may spend 2 hours standing over a lab table craning your neck to find the organs inside whatever tiny creature you are dissecting (I did). I say these things not to discourage you from applying, but to encourage you to plan ahead for the demands college attendance can place on you.</p>
<p>If you think you will need accommodations to help you with the physical strain of college, now is the time to start thinking about what kind of help you will need and researching which schools can best provide it. I know you have done it all yourself so far, but it can be different when you’re away from home, friends and family.</p>
<p>And if you think you really are still learning how to make the most of yourself under your difficult circumstances, you may need to consider that a red flag not only to admissions officers (who will see it as a risk for your ability to adjust to college) but to yourself. If you look at yourself and feel you are genuinely unready, there is no shame in that. </p>
<p>“I chose to take a gap year and focus my energy on all those things I was unable to include in my high school experience.” is a perfectly good story you could tell a year later. </p>
<p>If you also spend that year doing counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or whatever you may need to get to a place where you are still limited by your physical abilities, but not by being unmotivated or unwilling to do things you <em>are</em> capable of, all the better. </p>
<p>I think the taste of Red Bull is disgusting, but on those rare occasions when I drink one anyway, it does indeed “give me wings”. You don’t have to <em>like</em> counseling and/or therapy for them to work.</p>