<p>I went from mediocre grades in hs (2.7 gpa) went to college where I failed two courses and dropped out of two others my first semester because of inability to pay for the textbooks. Missed my finals the following semester because the public transportation drivers in los angeles went on strike and I knew no one with a car. My teacher died and everyone in the class received a w because of it. Took time off to work with my father putting up roofs in los angeles buildings to pay for school expenses, to now being admitted to UCLA (hopefully pending re-evaluation). Either way I am the first to attend college in my fam at the age of 21.Englsih was not my first language (mother from mexico, father from argentina) and slept on the floor of my living room with two older brothers 'till the age of thirteen. If I can do it believe me anyone can.</p>
<p>I couldn't afford a private college out of HS and Penn State didn't appeal to me at all. I worked for a few years, applied to some schools that gave me a scholarship, transferred to Penn (with loans and generous FinAid) and now I'm finishing my degree.</p>
<p>I was bored, lazy, and socially inept in high school and failed pretty much all of my courses my freshman and sophmore years. I became tired of all the petty bullshlt that went on at my high school, so I dropped out at the age of 16 and started going to community college. I'm currently 18 years old and will be attending UCLA in the fall to study philosophy.</p>
<p>nothing to heart warming but it makes me feel somewhat better about myself.</p>
<p>I was pretty bright growing up and always one of the smartest kids throughout grade school but then everything changed in middle school. I felt lost, unmotivated and I thought never studying and playing dumb made me look cool. It didn't, and I continued to struggle throughout High school. I had under a 3.0 entering junior year, when I finally somewhat saw the light and decided to make a change. I got a 3.3 that year, and started taking AP classes and pulled off a 3.8, both semesters of senior year. I was accepted to San Jose State and almost decided to go, but decided I wanted make one final attempt to getting into my dream school, UC Berkeley. I worked like crazy the past 2 years at CC, and was accepted to all 4 UC's I applied to- Davis, SD, LA and Cal for engineering. I will be attending Berkeley this fall.</p>
<p>I know my story isn't anything too spectacular, but I just wanted to share that it isn't ever too late to make a change, not if you want it bad enough. The main reason I decided not to go to SJSU was I knew I would always have regrets, and what ifs running in my mind knowing I never tried as hard as I could. I couldn't live with that and now I have accomplished what I always felt I could. The people I knew in high school cannot believe the drastic turnaround I made in my life. They presumed me to be the same idiot I was back in high school, it feels good proving them wrong.</p>
<p>I graduated with a 2.3 academic GPA, including a failed course. Worked my way back up to Umich Ann Arbor before deciding to consider another transfer.</p>
<p>Accepted at Brown and Rice thus far.</p>
<p>This is totally different but...</p>
<p>I started smoking pot in 9th grade...moved on to prescription pills...quit....went back to pot..back to pills...went through a heavy cocaine addiction for a while, stole money, pawned my stuff, smoked pot everyday for a year....2004....my system is clean, I have a wonderful girlfriend who knows about my past and looks past it, and I'm going to UVa in the fall :)</p>
<p>After High School
UCLA- Rej
UCB- Rej
UCSD- Rej
UCD- Rej
UCI - Accepted
UCSB - Accepted
UCSC - Accepted
UCR - Accepted</p>
<p>Financial Aid - $0 (not a perm resident)
The big three UCz turned me down. I could not afford private education. I said **** this and went to CC. Worked really hard. Now I have offers from UCLA, UCSD, UCD etc...I will most probably attend UCSD to study Computer Science.</p>
<p>indie boy, why not UCLA?</p>
<p>I had a rough, unstable life that caused me to NEVER go to school. and as a consequence i failed nearly every class for the first two years of high school. dropped out at one point, and was severely depressed, refused to medicate myself or seek treatment (and never did, got better on my own--so don't ever buy into the "genetically depressed" ******** they'll try to feed you). then i moved around alot with my siblings in search of a better community/school/life in general. eventually found it: by senior year i had a 4.2, was taking APs, college summer courses, president of the philosophy club, member of various other clubs/orgs., etc.
upon graduation my cum. gpa was still a 2.0 though. i went to umass, amherst -- and i'm still here. aced harvard summer school, pres. and founder of the philos. club here, other clubs, 3.865 gpa, honors/upper level courses, etc. i applied as a soph. transfer, but it looks like i'll need another year to prove that i've broken away from my past.
it's been really nice to hear other stories like mine, though. all my high school friends were like night and day: either burn-outs that dropped out, and work jobs now; or, from my later years -- brilliant, rich, well-brought up, kids that skipped-off to the ivies right after high school. although i know it's not really understood by our culture/ad. coms--i feel as though kids like us, who have seen two sides of life, really have an upper-hand in understanding the world, and life in general. </p>
<p>p.s. nahra, loved your story! you totally deserve it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
-i feel as though kids like us, who have seen two sides of life, really have an upper-hand in understanding the world, and life in general.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Indeed, we are much more aware of the "danger signs."</p>
<p>wow, it's so good to hear that I'm not alone here...I was a good student up until 9th grade when all of my friends moved to different schools, and I became friends with a new group of girls who had a lot of issues and probably werent the greatest influence...anyway, I just dropped my school work completely b/c I thought I was so cool (haha), started dating older guys, the whole thing. Argued with my parents constantly, didn't listen at all. Then in Junior year, I'm not sure what happened, but I decided to turn things around...got into MHC where I've done really well...but it looks like I'll have to wait another year to transfer. congrats to everyone here, I agree with janel, I think it makes us more interesting people.</p>
<p>wow all of you really overcame some huge obstacles... good job. I wish you all continued success.</p>
<p>Lived thru a war at the age of 13
Father wounded twice
Grandfather burried in a soccer field
House bombed several times
Relatives taken to concentration camps and executed
90% of my distant relatives are either murdered or considered missing (9 years after the war ended)
My parents lost jobs. Live off of $200 a month. Barely meeting ends (unable to contribute financially to any of my educational dreams)
Came to US with $500 in my pocket. Worked my way up (bartered my services - cleaning, dishing, caregiving - for education)
Earned Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship in the amount of $90,000 for up to 3 years
Named the All-USA First Academic Team Member in Boston, MA in April
...plus some other obstacles (these were major)</p>
<p>Helen :)</p>
<p>Wow, you are all inspiring. </p>
<p>Me: </p>
<p>Gifted child, difficult childhood, "ADHD", runaway, dropout, the list goes on.. ex-engaged, bought my own condo, sold, rented, worked full-time since 16 and went back to cc in Florida at 21. Slow start first semester and didn't know what I wanted to to, picked something a year back and have stuck with it and will be studying Chemical Engineering at UCB in the fall:D </p>
<p>Basically, I can say I lived before I went to school, like many others on here. It is good to see people come up. I am also a first generation college student. </p>
<p>-A</p>
<p>I am 36 years young and when I graduated high school (had excellent grades), I applied, was accepted, and attended Rutgers for 2 years. Can't remember a thing I did there except party and flunk out. Six years later, I marrried an abusive bum, dumped him 3 years later, and got into some major trouble (behind the bum). The struggle of the trouble allowed me to re-assess my life and it was then I realized that my poor choices were partly due to my low self esteem that stemmed from not completing my degree. </p>
<p>In 2003 I made up in my mind to return to school full time (while working full time) and complete my degree. I enrolled in the local community college and I graduated Monday night with my AA degree with honors and as the PTK VP for my school's chapter. I am transferring to UNC Chapel Hill in the Fall to complete my undergrad degree and moving on to graduate study. </p>
<p>What really blew my mind was that even with me flunking out of Rutgers, I ended with a 3.6 GPA for my total undergrad career. I am determined to work twice as hard in order to ensure academic success. Non traditional students are on the increase, which makes transitioning into the college atmosphere easier. More older students are returning to campuses nationwide and are excelling at their studies because of what their life experiences bring to the academic table. </p>
<p>My motto is it is never too late to accomplish your goals until your family is picking out a casket for you. So for anyone considering returning to school to complete their education, I say.........GO FOR IT!</p>
<p>I look forward to going off to school with people like you guys. As for myself, I didn't go through anything tragic. I did well in high school until JR year and just blew my chances of getting into any competitive school. I was the kid who walked into the SAT testing session late. (I walked in while the instructions were being given). I don't know what changed in me. I wasn't deeply depressed - I just didn't feel much emotion. I wasn't happy or sad. I was alive but I wasn't living. I had a terrible sleeping schedule and couldn't control when I was tired or alert. I hated having to get up to go to school in the morning. Looking back on it, a lot of the friends I had made in the previous grades weren't in any of my JR year classes and I didn't want to have to make new friends all over again (I was one of the few new kids in a small, affluent town). I really didn't care for half of my teachers and I just missed the warmth of my home state of Florida. I was glad to graduate and move on in 2003. I started off my first semester at the local CC with a 4.0, got to know a few inspiring professors, and rediscovered my passion for writing and learning. The failures of my past are driving me towards the successes of my future. I'm finally excited about education again and I'm really looking forward to WORKING HARD and having fun at Umich in September.<br>
However, I seem to be going through a "SEINFELDian" effect (if you know you what I'm talking about) - I'm doing well, but my good friend who goes to JMC at MSU is doing horrible now. I'm up, but now he is down. He is extremely bright and has great potential, but he is squandering it with his newfound habits. Particularly, he is hooked on pot. He tells me he is thinking so clearly and everything in the world makes sense to him and he is free from the "strife of life." He's in trouble with the law, homeless, and considering of dropping out of school so he can smoke pot freely. When he started up, I wasn't too worried about it, but now I can't believe the stupid decisions this vastly intelligent person is making. Maybe he'll grow up when he gets a good kick in the A S S by someone or something, but I just don't know what to do about it. nahrafsfa, anyone, any advice? Should I just let it be?</p>
<p>Wow, I have only respect for so many of you and am very humbled in reading these stories. I am a rich white kid who went to one of the best private schools in the U.S. and was p-i-s-s-ed I didn't get into Yale and had to go to one of the best schools in the U.K. for a year and have an amazing time... poor little me. I am happy I got into Brown and SFS, but am far more satisfied knowing that you guys got into these great schools after everything you have gone through. Congrats and continued good work and luck.</p>
<p>I didn't do well in high school. I grew up in an alcoholic family with a very abusive stepfather. In addition, I suffer from Tourette's syndrome and my involuntary "tics" were very severe in high school. And as you know, kids can be very cruel during those years so my grades and test scores were medicore at best. After high school, I had to work a full-time job because my parents really didn't care what happened to me. I worked my way up the corporate ladder and became a district manager for several companies (while going to a community college at night). I was in a car accident two years ago when a drunk driver ran a red light and collided with my vehicle. During this time, I wasn't able to work, so the bank took my car and my home and had my credit cards and back account closed. After fully recovering, I became a real estate agent. I am now at a point where my life feels incomplete without my degree. So, I am going back to complete the last two years of my BA in Economics. I have been accepted into Penn, Georgetown, Hopkins, Tulane, and now....Yale. I don't feel sorry for myself. The things we have all been through are what makes us who we are today.</p>
<p>"The things we have all been through are what makes us who we are today." </p>
<p>well said thomas.</p>
<p>I am going to try to explain this briefly:</p>
<p>I left elementary school (I'm going back that far here) with offers to attend advanced junior high classes- I didn't take it. This choice has affected my life, largely positively since. I started junior high at a charter school with about 15 students including my brother and a couple of friends that I still have today. We were moved around once, sometimes twice a year, and lost teachers. By some miracle, a couple of extremely motivated and dedicated people were hired and eventually took over the school- at this point it was for students in grades 7-12. </p>
<p>In 10th grade, our teachers began explaining that we might have a new building the following year. During previous years, we were accompanied by younger students and were even kicked out of one space (no, we weren't delinquents at all) in the interest of expanding a middle school program- the director of the school told a member of the board, who is also the mother of a student, that she wanted to shut down the secondary program. </p>
<p>In 11th grade, the illusive building never happened- we were still "building" our school. The solution was to take what was basically an office building in Minneapolis, about 25 minutes from home- and to start this school at 7:30AM, resulting in many bleary-eyed carpools. Note that at this point, we were up to about 60 students from our original 15, we grew a little bit each year. The new building was promised, and it was finally coming, but there was still waiting to do.</p>
<p>In 12th grade (which was just last year), we spent the first part of the year in a church- interesting. I finally got really serious about academics and produced three history projects, one of which my teacher has asked me to display to his American History class everytime he has new students. I really had not though about college at all, but I decided that I wanted to enter a Technical college. This decision was changed when I had an internship in the IT department of a local newspaper- it sucked and I loved history. </p>
<p>I not only attended my high school, I also built it.</p>