my dream school is barnard and im applying ED in a few days. My essays are solid and i am super heavily involved in ECs and have the highest leadership position in most of them. im a good writer and have a lot to talk about. my grades weren’t amazing at the beginning of high school. half way through high school i was diagnosed with adhd. after getting my diagnosis i began pursuing a full IB diploma. all of the classes i took in my junior year were IB/the most rigorous course load my school offers. I got straight As both semesters of my junior year in all ib classes and tested in one class and got a 6. there was a massive upward trend in my grades. im taking all ib classes this year. bc of my worse grades in freshman year before my diagnosis, my unweighted GPA is 3.63 and my weighted GPA is 3.86. i did not take sat/act bc of covid. for more context i am the daughter of immigrants, first generation american, hispanic/latin american, queer, disabled, and with political interests and stem interests. how much of a shot do i have?
@dr4gonf1y - Here are a few thoughts:
Barnard had an 11% acceptance rate last year and took in a good % of students in the ED round. As you know, it is a very competitive admit and if it is your first choice and the finances work out - go for it!
Does your current HS have a track record with Barnard? Did you attend the info sessions (via Zoom) with your area rep and follow up with questions/thank-you? Did you do the optional interview?
With the Barnard supplements, there are several opportunities for you to tell a part of your story weaved within the prompts. I think the additional information and the counselor recommendation letter would be a good spot to talk about your ADHD diagnosis. In my opinion, you need to address your lower grades in 9th grade and having it reiterated by your counselor would be helpful.
For the optional essay - did you pick a woman to have a conversation with that aligns with your STEM interests, background etc. - this is one place you can tell more of your story with your choice of conversation subject. Same with the Bold Question essay - great place to let them get to know you and even highlight something you have done in your clubs/extracurriculars that fit this prompt and merge into your time at Barnard. Hope this helps !
Good luck 
You seem to be a really motivated and intelligent student, I think you have a strong chance of getting in. Barnard is all about holistic admissions, so if you mention your adhd diagnosis and how this impacted your grades in the additional info section or somewhere else on your application, they will definitely take this into consideration when reviewing you GPA and grades. I’m applying ED too (submitting Saturday aaaah!) wishing you the best of luck!!