<p>Back when I was a sophomore in high school, I had a 3.4 gpa and I was hoping to go to one of the large state schools (like university of pittsburgh main or penn state university park). However, by the end of that year, my mom was suffering from mental depression, my younger brother was diagnosed with severe autism, and my parents marriage really went downhill. Ever since they separated, I had to help my dad watch my younger brother during my junior and senior year. I lost so much time over the weekends because of my brother. Meanwhile, a lot of my friends were having fun and going to parties. By the time I graduated, my gpa was down to a 2.75. I ended up going to Penn State lehigh valley. Here is the collegeboard profile:</p>
<p>On the other hand, most of my friends were able to go to Penn State university park. And they liked to party!!! It makes me so furious. It's a really tiny campus with very little to offer. It is TERRIBLE! The school literally has no social atmosphere. My DREAM SCHOOL was Penn State University Park. I even filed an appeal in which I explained my circumstances, but admissions still said no. How do I win in this situation? Normally, you stay at the Lehigh Valley campus for 2 years, and then go to university park for another 2 years. But there is no way that I will be able to tolerate that campus for another 3 semesters (I'm almost done with my first). I really think that admissions ripped me off. And BTW, don't tell me to count my blessings. I already did, and I have very few. I want to go to a status school so badly (something like UVA, maryland college park, pitt main campus, michigan state ann harbor, you get the idea). I still cannot get over the fact that I'm going to a quasi-community college (technically it's a state college "branch campus"). My high school was so much larger and vibrant. What would you do if you were in my shoes? What schools would you want to go to?</p>
<p>If Penn State University Park won’t let you transfer until you’re a junior, I’d start looking into similar schools - they may not be your dream school, but I’m assuming they’d be better than the college you’re at now.
If you could find a school that you’d consider a satisfactory replacement to Penn State University Park, go for it and try to transfer earlier. I’m sure there have to be schools that are similar socially and academically. But if you’re absolutely set on University Park… I guess you could try re-emailing admissions at the end of the year? And ask them to let you in as a sophomore? Maybe get another letter from a teacher explaining your situation and how you deserve to be there? And you’d have to realize that you STILL may have to find another school if you want to get out before your sophomore year.
I hope this helps give you direction a little bit - feel free to ask for an elaboration of some sort. Good luck! =)</p>
<p>I already am looking into similar schools. I emailed the University of Pittsburgh and the transfer counselor said that I should complete 2 years before transferring. Then, there would be no point in transferring. A lot of the other really nice state schools (like maryland college park, michigan ann harbor, etc) look like possibilities, but I still worry myself with the matter. I would have loved to go to university park, but that is definitely not an option. I already asked about it. The part that sucks is that most of my friends are up there. I already did my best to explain it to the committee. I even sent them a psychologists note (from when my parents separated) to confirm those circumstances). But those people still said no. I am furious at that director of admissions.</p>
<p>The thing that worries me the most is that a lot of those competitive state schools want two years of college work in order to not use the high school transcript.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it may be two years before you are able to go to any of those schools that you listed. Well, you may actually be able to get into Michigan State if you did well this first semester. For the most part, the branch campuses are mainly a good way to get a little bit cheaper price on tuition while also allowing people to refine their study habits. Honestly, I don’t know if it is the best thing for you to get into a University Park, Michigan, or UVA right now. If you were not able to get a 3.0 in high school, I think you would have serious troubles keep up academically. I don’t want to tell you that every applicant with low grades seems to think they have some unique situation that perfectly explains why they have them, but most do. The problem seems to be that admissions officers want to see that you overcame adversity and did well, not that you were conquered by it. I don’t think you should count your blessings(I think that’s really cliche, anyway), but you should be damn happy that you can still graduate from your dream school. All of the schools you listed(University Park, Ann Arbor, UVA, Pitt Main) will only accept competitive applicants and you unfortunately are not right now. Study and get your grades up. It will be worth the wait.</p>
<p>Those were just a few on the list. If I can’t get into those, then I will try Bloomsburg or Westchester. There is nothing wrong with my study habits. My gpa was around a 3.4-3.5 while I was a sophomore (and I was in honors classes then). I only had trouble making ends meet when things went bad in my house. How could I have gotten such a high gpa if I didn’t have study skills? Just because many people are bums doesn’t mean that I am. I did not slack off in hs. Other people did and they did not get into good colleges. But I didn’t slack off. I worked my butt of studying. I sacrificed so much to get the grades that I did. I DO think that one of those large state campuses would be best for me. Then, I wouldn’t be miserable all the time. I already know without a doubt that I’m not going to graduate from university park. I will either transfer out or drop out PERIOD. There is a breaking point with adversity. A person can only take so much before it gets to them mentally. I know I’m not the most competitive, but that is because of what I went through. I know that I’m not making excuses for myself. I’m not a bum.</p>