Looking for ways to improve my chances of getting into a good college

[Warpnow]

I'm 17. Homeschooled (sorta), I really educate myself.

When I was a Freshman my dad died. I missed like 3 weeks of school straight. ****** up my grades pretty bad. Not to mention I felt like **** for almost 2 years.

I kind of took my education into my own hands. At the end of next school year is when I would have been graduating from traditional high school. I'll have at least 60 college credits and about a 3.5. My extra curriculars include:

-Finalist in 2 Film Festivals
-Directed my own Television Show which aired on cable in Dallas, Tx
-Ran a class business which, using $50, profited over $6000 in 2 months. When I took over the business it had lost money for 3 months.
-Finalist in 3 speech contests, persuasive speaking once, poetry twice.


You are all bright people from my experiences. Any ideas of how I can improve my chances of getting into a good college? I'm going to apply to Rice, no idea if I'll get in...because my application is going to look very odd. I imagine I can get some pretty good teacher reccomendations. I'm the kind of kid teachers ae impressed with usually.

Any ideas? I don't know if having 60 dual credit hours will help me or not when applying, think it will?

[aysiu]

Read The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg (http://www.amazon.com/Gatekeepers-Admissions-Process-Premier-College/dp/0142003085/ref=sr_1_1/102-7765222-8088131?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183773816&sr=8-1)

[macogw]

You probably won't be able to transfer more than 60 credits. Some schools will go a few over, but my cousin was told by USC that if she turned in any more than 64 credits worth of classes she couldn't transfer there, so she had to leave off a few of her classes and retake them once she got there.

[CautionaryX]

You'll do fine with applying to college. What they really look for is pretty simple:
-GPA
-SAT/ACT Scores
-course difficulty (standard vs. advanced/AP courses)
-class rank
- grades (Senioritis, general trends and patterns in your transcript)
- application essays

This does not apply to all colleges. Also, anything that is listed as 'Optional' on the applications *must* be completed. Some colleges put more emphasis on one thing over another, however the above list is a decent checklist of what they are looking for.

If one of the essay prompts in the application is a free response essay, then write about your dad and how his death affected you - personally and academically. That way the application committee will know why your grades suffered. Don't be afraid to tell the truth. I've been to hell and back too, it sucks.

I'm not a college admission professional, but I'm starting at Virginia Tech this fall. I did, however, work as an aide to my high school's guidance department last semester so I know a little bit.

As for the dual-credit courses - they might be accepted or thrown out completely by the university. Its their decision as to whether or not they accept them.

Good luck!

[Ralob]

SAT's, GPA, and Application Essays are the biggest things colleges look at in my experience. When I applied to college in '04/'05, I was told they take everything into consideration. But considering I got a full ride and my GPA and SATS were good (not great), I would try to "WOW" them with the application. Also? Explain your situation to them if you get the chance. Not only will you clear up any potential confusion, but you will also become more than just a name to the enrollment coordinator. It is always to your advantage to stand out. Hope that helps.

[maniacmusician]

I'm 17. Homeschooled (sorta), I really educate myself.

When I was a Freshman my dad died. I missed like 3 weeks of school straight. ****** up my grades pretty bad. Not to mention I felt like **** for almost 2 years.

I kind of took my education into my own hands. At the end of next school year is when I would have been graduating from traditional high school. I'll have at least 60 college credits and about a 3.5. My extra curriculars include:

-Finalist in 2 Film Festivals
-Directed my own Television Show which aired on cable in Dallas, Tx
-Ran a class business which, using $50, profited over $6000 in 2 months. When I took over the business it had lost money for 3 months.
-Finalist in 3 speech contests, persuasive speaking once, poetry twice.


You are all bright people from my experiences. Any ideas of how I can improve my chances of getting into a good college? I'm going to apply to Rice, no idea if I'll get in...because my application is going to look very odd. I imagine I can get some pretty good teacher reccomendations. I'm the kind of kid teachers ae impressed with usually.

Any ideas? I don't know if having 60 dual credit hours will help me or not when applying, think it will?
Wow, you're already doing pretty good.You sound like someone that doesn't like the constraints of traditional schooling and loves to do independent work, and work that you like. I think you'd be a perfect candidate for Hampshire College. They love kids like you, and I can almost guarantee that you'd get in with what you have right now.

All you really need to now is get those teacher recommendations and take the SATs. Maybe take them twice, to ensure that you get a good enough score. Teacher recommendations are pretty important.

The most important thing in any college application is your college essay...

[Tundro Walker]

From my experience, good grades and exceptional scholastics/extracurricular activities helps in lower level college. But for graduate programs and such, it's usually who you know that makes the difference. When I was thinking of going for Physical Therapy degree, that was the case at least. You had to excel at all the curriculum, but in order to get into the program, you had to have a very high referral from someone teaching the program, someone who had graduated from the program and had been in practice for at least 5 years, or from a currently practicing PT in general (not necessarily from their program) with over 15 years experience. That meant a lot of voulenteer internship with one of those 3 groups in order to "get in good".

Side note, in Texas, I didn't even take the SAT. They had a test called the TASP (? can't remember) which I took as a college entrance exam. By taking it, I was allowed to place out of a lot of the rudimentary classes, and go right to advanced classes (which the PT degree focused on). To this day, I still haven't taken the SAT, and I'm thinking of going back to college for a different degree. I'm kinda worried they'll make me take it, and I'll probably bomb since I'm a bit rusty on some things (like math...it's not like I use the quadratic equation every day in my life...hehe)

[kamaboko]

From my experience, good grades and exceptional scholastics/extracurricular activities helps in lower level college. But for graduate programs and such, it's usually who you know that makes the difference. When I was thinking of going for Physical Therapy degree, that was the case at least. You had to excel at all the curriculum, but in order to get into the program, you had to have a very high referral from someone teaching the program, someone who had graduated from the program and had been in practice for at least 5 years, or from a currently practicing PT in general (not necessarily from their program) with over 15 years experience. That meant a lot of voulenteer internship with one of those 3 groups in order to "get in good".


I know people that have graduated from nursing programs, and those still trying to get in. What you said seems to be par for the course. One must get A's in all the pre-reqs just to get their app looked at, but for serious consideration one has to grease the wheels. I have three degrees and my brother is a college prof. Having been through the grinder, I think it's all BS. I tell students the following: save money and go to a local community college, then transfer into a nearby state university or college. The expensive ivy degrees or private universities aren't worth the paper they're printed on. I've got one. In the end it all comes down to performance and an expensive college doesn't teach that. Either you have it in you, or you don't.

[fifth_rune]

always ALWAYS do an interview with a private school.

[DrRootabega]

Be as well rounded as you can. Band/Orchestra is always a plus. Also, having a good idea of what field you want to go into is very attractive, especially if you're a prospective physics major applying to a small private liberal arts school.
Another thing to think about is to not try too hard. Let yourself show in your app. Don't try to build up a stellar exterior that is completely alien to you. They will know.

[era86]

As far as an entrance essay, I found that if you write about a social issue and how you have taken any part in making social change (not extreme social change or anything), they tend to accept those applicants. World leaders make money for higher education institutions!