Will My Past Almost Guarantee Admission Into Schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am twenty, and only just ending my first semester of communtiy college. I have a 4.0 GPA, 14 credit hours, and since one of those classes is a very intense A&P class, that is a big accomplishment. My professors have been very impressed with my work ethic, especially since I have worked full-time in addition to class for most of the semester.</p>

<p>The reason for the gap in my education is due to my past. Growing up, my mother suffered (and continues to suffer) from a serious mental illness. She kept us six children home, never enrolling us in school, yet not homeschooling us either. Somehow she managed to not get caught by the state. While she slept or bought hundreds of dollars of merchandise online, my sister and I tried to clean the house and raise our youngest four siblings. Along the way, I somehow obtained a great knowledge in most of the "gen eds" except math. I am at the community college so that I can learn the math, and become more confident in my paper writing skills (until January, I had never written a paper in my life).</p>

<p>My counselor said I am basically guaranteed entry into any college I want (except maybe Ivies, because they don't take CC transfers generally, he says) if I maintain a 4.0 or 3.9, write my admissions essay on my past, and get high SAT scores when I take it. He even told me not to make finances a deciding factor when applying because of all the scholarships I will get. I really love school, but am entirely independent from my parents (though not as far as the FAFSA is concerned), so money is a huge factor in deciding where to go. It would be a dream come true to be able to go to a great school as opposed to the local state "party" schools. </p>

<p>This all seems too good to be true. I know my counselor does this for a living and is therefore knowledgeable in the area, but I can't help but second-guess him. Can someone please tell me if it is worth getting my hopes up, and sort of "break down" what my counselor is saying? Do I really have almost "guaranteed" entry? Short of hopefully joining Phi Theta Kappa and hopefully being a leader in it, I won't really have an ECs. I am also not a first-generation college student, as my dad has two associates degrees, and a bachelors.</p>

2

<p>There is no such thing as “guaranteed admission” to colleges anymore. Wipe this thought from your memory; it’s completely and utterly wrong. </p>

<p>However, to say you’ve got a SIGNIFICANT leg up on your comm. college colleagues looking to transfer (and to some degree, even some of the advanced EC holding ACT/SAT loaded upcoming undergrads) based on your previous situation alone. However, all of this is pivotal on one (technically, two) things. First off, your SAT/ACT score. I’m not sure where you’re aiming to go, but if you really want to sell yourself, as well as show that you’re willing to take the challenge associated with a high school, you’re going to have to aim for a MINIMUM 31+ on the ACT or a 2200 on the SAT.</p>

<p>Secondly, and more importantly, YOU MUST LEARN HOW TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY! When I say you must, I’m not joking. Your BIGGEST pivotal point lies within your ability to completely and utterly sell your story to the AdComs - if you can really, really, REALLY do it, then you’ve got yourself in a nice position, but if you can’t do it, you will NOT make it. I’ve never seen (or heard) of something as polar as this, but in my opinion, that’s what’s going to make or break you.</p>

<p>Also, on a side note, what do you consider to be a “higher” school? Specific names would be nice, as I (and other posters willing to extend a hand to you) could help you better with this knowledge.</p>

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<p>Who do you think cares about touching stories? The Ivies. If you’re not guaranteed into them, your not guaranteed into anywhere. Will a public university care significantly? Doubtful.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much, GenApo. Writing is my strength, so if I spend a lot of time on my essay I am sure it will be great. Especially if I get those in the tutoring lab at school to review it, because I am not above getting second and third opinions to review something, especially that important! I don’t mean to sound conceited. Trust me, what I have in my knowledge of writing and English, I lack in my knowledge of math, though I work hard every day to change that!</p>

<p>To be honest, I am not sure what I consider a “higher” school to be yet. I absolutely cannot stand the community college environment where many of the students are unmotivated, lack ambition, or will likely never graduate. I am not going into a STEM-field, but a university where research and/or academia are valued is extremely important to me. I simply love to learn, and I have no close friends in my area due to several things, so am looking forward to transferring so that I can be with like-minded people.</p>

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<p>You needn’t be negative or condesending gameofthrones1 (if that wasn’t your intent, sorry. Your “tone” comes across that way in this, and many other posts). After all, no one is ever guaranteed into an Ivy. You can be pretty sure you can get into any other type of school, but not the “top” ones. Remember the whole “crapshoot” controversy of 2013? :slight_smile: And my plan is to go to somewhere between a public uni and an Ivy. I was told life experience counts in many private colleges.</p>

6

<p>I see! I have no doubt that you’re well-versed in English. You don’t come off as conceited at all, I just really hope that someone who has the motivation (and the situation) can succeed (basically, I want you to go somewhere! Comm. Colleges aren’t that good!). Do whatever you can to write that essay; it’s extremely important that you make it, as mentioned before, but you probably already understand that. </p>

<p>If I were you, I’d aim for private schools. Although gameofthrones might come off a bit asinine, he does have a point; public schools are made, primarily, to serve in state kids as they are funded by state tax dollars. </p>

<p>I might recommend one university; Emory. They’re a private school with a really odd academic twist; they have a strong focus on liberal arts, but also on hard-line science and math courses as well (no applied science and math, aka engineering, to be found there, though). I recently went on a tour there with a friend; the campus is beautiful, the facilities are stunning, it’s got amazing internship prospects, excellent faculty and departments, tons of help for students, etc. Additionally, it’s also quite generous in giving out aid - those under the 60k income bracket get something near a full ride on their FAFSA status alone. They’re also EXTREMELY focused on the essay; AdCom I talked to there said it’s their general rule of thumb to read the essay first before anything else in the app (as well as prioritizing it first in the personal section of the app). For the hard “stats” portion of the essay, they look at GPA, followed by standardized scores (my mind goes blank on this part; I know GPA comes first, but I’m pretty sure something comes before SAT/ACT stuff, don’t remember what it is though). Nevertheless, I’m not necessarily sure what the standards are for transfers are - you might want to check up on that. I know they won’t flex on GPA (Not your concern, eh?) and are only slightly flexible with ACT/SAT (Work on that area!), but their centricity on the essay combined with their generous financial aid might work in your favor.</p>

<p>However, I don’t know if this is also something true for all liberal arts schools; the only one I’ve ever visited is Emory, so take what I say with your own research regarding liberal arts schools. If Emory’s case is the same for all liberal arts colleges then go find a match for you, but if it’s unique in that respect, then if it means anything, I recommend it. </p>

<p>If you have any other questions, just drop 'em here and I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities if I can.</p>

7

<p>Thank you so much. I have started compiling a list of colleges that have my major. ISU is the only public one in my state that has it, so there’s my safety right there. I am looking into DePaul, Columbia College (Chicago), and a few OOS schools right now!</p>