WIll this hurt me for RD?

<p>I wrote a special circumstances portion to submit suplementally to this college through the common app. Basically I had a lot to deal with last year. And I’ve had a lot to deal with my entire life. My father has been terminally ill for the past eight years with Kidney Failure and he survives by dialysis home treatments every day for four hours after work. I have a genetic disease of Polycystic Kidney Disease. My mother is sick as well, and she has suffered from severe clinical depression and anxiety issues almost her entire life. She has been institutionalized three times since I was born. A few years ago she was institutionalized for two months. Last year, my father was in the hospital from time to time, and nearly passed away. My stepmother also was hospitalized last year as well with pneumonia, and she nearly passed away as well. So it has definitely been a tough experience for me, with trying to focus on my school work and not have to worry about the situations outside of school. It was also hard last year, because my mother had constant death threats that she was going to kill my father and stepmother (I know this sounds exaggerated or unrealistic, however I am completely telling the truth). Last year my grades suffered dramatically. I went from getting A's and B's in honors classes, to getting a C in AP World History Last year, and also a "D" in honors chemistry and "D" in British Literature (I had that course for a half a year). So clearly I need to explain myself from last year. Basically everything came to a boil and I was so stressed out that I nearly gave up. Now, however, although my parents are still sick, and I still have things to deal with, I have grown so much from last year. I am taking all honors (No AP's this year do to scheduling conflicts which I am explaining to the college), and another problem is that I have an A in Honors British Literature, a C+ in Honors Physics, C in Precalcculus, C in Spanish 5 honors, and a C+ or B- in Honors Sociology. This is only the first term, and I plan on getting nothing less than solid A's for the rest of the year. Will this be overlooked from this term, if I perform stellar next term? I am trying to prove that I am capable of succeeding and that I have grown so much from last year. I also want to point out that although my grades have not been stellar, this is not an indicator of my academic potential. I know I am capable of succeeding, which is why I am applying to this school. My GPA from 9th to 11th grade is 3.5 out of 5.0 and my class rank is 190 out of 349. (This is an AWFUL rank, however I go to the 25th best public high school in my state, and 117 kids have over a 4.0, so my grade is full of overachievers). I am also one of the only african american students at my high school. My extra-curricular list throughout high school is very very involved (especially more in 9th and 10th grade, and this year). Do you think that my grades will be looked down upon from last year if I explain my situation to college? My guidance counselor is also explaining my situation, and so is my teacher who is writing my rec. Also, I have gotten a 1720 on my SAT, which I know is not great.</p>

<p>I know that by my grades it must seem that I am not into learning. However, grades aside, I feel that I really demonstrate the analytic thinking and love of learning that Uchicago students possess. I was fortunate to have my extended family take me to visit Uchicago last year, and I simply fell in love with it. The visit seemed to really seal the deal. It immediately felt simply magical, and I cannot say enough great things about the campus. My writing is extremely strong and I have excellent recs in which my teacher/GC really advocate for me. The only problem is that my mother doesn't want me to apply, because she feels that I would never get in and that it's like a Harvard in terms of selectivity. I just hope that they can see my thought process and intellectual capacity and my strong voice through my writing and see past my grades.</p>

<p>well, put yourself in the situation of an admissions counselor. How do you think they’d feel? I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just saying because they have a hollistic admissions process where they take all of this into account and weigh it against your scores/numbers.</p>

<p>I’m sorry but the admissions process isn’t a perfect system. Maybe an admissions officer will like you and speak up for you, but I’m going to say probably not. Sorry man.</p>

<p>If you saw one C on a report card, an admission officer could say that “he’s not so good at ______.”</p>

<p>If the admissions officer took a look at your report card they would probably say “He has four C’s in non-AP classes, I know applicants who we will deny for having 4 B’s in AP and college classes. Wait a minute, HOLISTIC REVIEW! Maybe his school is extremely hard. Let’s check his class rank to see how he compares to his peers. Oh.”</p>

<p>By the way polyosophy, I am “she” NOT a “he”</p>

<p>I apologize for the gender error and for the harsh words. I know you probably work hard and have a hard situation, but I was trying to be honest.</p>

<p>If you are accepted it’ll mean that they are confident of your potential. Your grades and test scores are in the lower 25% of admitted students so, right now, you should find out what services the University has available to help students catch up and be ready to take advantage of them from day one.</p>