What should I do?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Going to Harvard has always been my dream since I was in like second grade. I worked so hard to achieve it, but something unexpected happened. All was going well in freshmen and sophomore year, I had set the highest GPA in school history sophomore year and always had a 4.0. I was head design lead of a world championship robotics team, I was a fast-food employee who worked 30 hours a week to help my parents pay for my brother's college, and I helped build 50 or so turbines in India to help filter water for the needy. Anyways, what happened was that in junior year, my parents started to fight. A lot. My dad was abusive his whole life, but this started to affect me a lot junior year because he started to affect my studies. Anyways, he eventually kicked me out of the house in January. I was homeless until a few weeks ago, when my mom left my dad and found me. I was living in the fast-food store I worked at, which was an HOUR away from school. I had no idea how to get to school in the first place. I had to wake up at 5 AM and take multiple buses and trains just to get there. Often times, I would be late and this really messed up my grades. I ended up with a 3.5 UW GPA, and a 4.5 Weighted Average for that semester in high school. Not to mention, I also developed a serious stress ulcer ( I was coughing up blood) that whole time for a few months. I couldn't do anything to stop it; I had to keep working because my dad lost his job and if i didn;t send money, my brother couldn't continue going to college. My question is, should I even apply? I am not feeling good about what happened junior year, and I would really like to go to Harvard, but I am content with other great schools like Dartmouth. DO you think I have a shot at Harvard? (My test scores are well above their average, in case anyone was going to ask).</p>

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<p>OP, I am really sorry to hear about this difficult situation. I am so glad that your mom has stepped up as parent. OP please listen to me. You are showing incredible resilience and determination just by posting your story. Not many kids have to face what you do, and you are carrying a heavy burden. You should not be living in a restaurant. I am sure it must have been really bad if you felt you had no other choice but to leave home. But I do worry that it is not a safe environment, and I hope your mom can find a better living situation for both of you. Are you back home now? Remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!</p>

<p>If your brother is going to colelge – and you are financially contributing to help him continue – I think he should now do his part and step up this summer to help you plan YOUR future. It’s not really a question of, Should I apply to Harvard or not? It’s finding your way as a motivated student to a list of schools that can help you achieve your dream.</p>

<p>You will receive tons of great advice on CC. I will leave Harvard out of the equation right now (I am sure that others will talk you out of focussing on only one school – and one with a 5% acceptance rate, at that). But I want to tell you that you will need lots of support ont his college search, and if you can count on one or two or three people who will keep you on task and on time, it will really help.</p>

<p>Advice about admissions, financial aid etc will be good on CC – keep coming back.</p>

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<p>PS - And no matter how discouraged you get, remember that there are people who care about you.</p>

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<p>I was kicked out of the house by my father. My mother and I are living with a friend in an apartment.
Thanks for the support! Its just been a hard time, and I wanted to know whether it would be a good idea to do Harvard REA or Dartmouth ED. My brother can’t help me out this summer because he has to go to medical school and has MCATs to study for and summer classes to take. </p>

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<p>Thanks for the support! Its just been a hard time, and I wanted to know whether it would be a good idea to do Harvard REA or Dartmouth ED.</p>

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<p>DO NOT apply Early Decision (ED) to any college if you will need to compare financial aid offers, because if you apply ED and are accepted, you must immediately accept the offer and WITHDRAW all other applications, so you will never find out if you would have accepted regular decision to another college or what that other college’s financial aid offer would have been. See: <a href=“Early Decision and Early Action – Counselors | College Board”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/early&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>^ is right on target. ED sounds great and in some cases may even give a slight advantage for admissions…but it can be tricky with financial aid at all but a handful of top schools (I mean, you can count them on one hand!) where all aid is need-based, and it is predictable and it is so generous as to not include loans, parental contribution, etc.</p>

<p>OP I am very glad to hear that you and your mom have a safe place to live for the time being. </p>

<p>ASAP you need to start researching schools. But first of all, talk to your mom and get some concrete ideas about finances. You have to know exactly how much your parents make, how much they can spend on college and if there are any other factors (second home, rental property, business or farm) that you should know about.</p>

<p>Money is first because you have to know what is your best approach. There is no point getting into a school if you won’t be able to afford going there later. Read the threads on College Confidential about need-based and merit-based aid, as they are different. You owe it to yourself to educate yourself so as to not limit your choices later. </p>

<p>Harvard and Yale and Princeton are extremely generous…they are also extremely extremely difficult admits. You can define what you like about Harvard, then craft a list of schools with those attributes. Make sure to include some which you know can reasonably expect to get into / afford, and 2 that are “safeties.”</p>

<p>1) Rename this thread or open another one with a more compelling title so as to get lots of feedback.
“Help homeless student come up with college list” “Motivated but disadvantaged student needs help” or “Suggestions for a homeless Harvard hopeful?” you get the idea.</p>

<p>2) Look into your state university schools ASAP </p>

<p>3) Run net price calculators at every school website</p>

<p>4) Determine your area of interest for study, any geographical limits, and whether you want to go big / small school</p>

<p>5) Post your GPA, SATs or ACT, and the courses you have taken so far in high school</p>

<p>6) Make your guidance counselor aware of the challenges you are facing! Visit him/her as often as possible. Your guidance counselor can get you fee waivers for college applications and will write a letter of recommendation, so make him / her your ally!</p>

<p>7) Enlist a couple of other adults you trust to support you in this process!!</p>

<p>Also be sure to check out Questbridge in case your family income is low enough for you to be considered. The Pre-College deadline has passed but the College Match opens in August. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>For now, my mother says she has some property in her homeland that can be sold and used to pay for my tuition, so I am not looking too heavily into price since she says that with the sold property it can be managed. </p>

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<p>I just want to know whether I have a good, reasonable, or no shot at Harvard. My GPA (Including junior year) is around a 4.6 (Weighted). My SAT is 2360, and I have 2 perfect SAT 2s. I am not concerned with test scores so much. I’m just frustrated because this past year was so hard, and if i have a chance at my dream still. </p>

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<p>You need to read this thread, as what you basically are asking is “What are my chances?” <a href=“Chance Threads - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING ONE - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The best place to start is to look at school specific data. Does your high school have Naviance or some other college application tracking software? How many students from your high school with your GPA have been admitted to Harvard (regardless of SAT scores)? How many to Dartmouth? If you don’t know the answer, you need to make an appointment with your guidance counselor and find out.</p>

<p>If students with your GPA from your high school are being admitted to Harvard or Dartmouth every year, then you have a realistic shot at both colleges, so you have to look deeper. How many students from your high school applied and how many were accepted? What are the odds of gaining admission to either college from the past data available at your high school. That’s the way you are going to find out if you have a good, reasonable, or no shot at either college. If one college tends to accept more students like you from your high school, then you have a better shot at that college. If neither Harvard or Dartmouth are regularly admitting students from your high school, you should begin looking elsewhere, as it’s irrational to think your application will be the exception.</p>

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<p>Definitely apply. If I was the admissions officer reading your app, I’d let you in for sure. You just need one amazing essay outlining your situation and your resilience. </p>

<p>You can also explain the grade drop in an extenuating circumstance section.</p>

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<p>“If I was the admissions officer reading your app” then you read another fifty just like it but some with better scores, some worse. Now what?</p>

<p>The reality for applicants of a school with a 6% admit rate is just not pretty, Melissa</p>