Is Brown lenient towards kids who come from atypical backgrounds?

urbanlegend213 · 11-01-2009, 10:34 PM

hey,

im trying to figure out which schools i should apply to and really want to get into an ivy school. My scores and gpa are low(2000sat/90gpa) but im not your average student. i come from an abusive household, my dad was arrested, parents went through a rough divorce, wouldnt see my mom( who i lived with) for weeks at atime, very poor, etc.

im not trying to start a sob story or even asking for sympathy, i truly feel greatful for my situation cause in the end its made me a stronger person. but i am curious if brown or any of the ivies are a worthwhile application for me considering i do have a very weak application (although i have very strong ECs and Recs as well as a really great essay).

silverturtle · 11-01-2009, 10:43 PM

Misfortunate and difficult circumstances are taken in account if the officers know about them; essays are a good medium for this.

crystal91 · 11-01-2009, 10:58 PM

@urbanlegend213: Did you apply through Questbridge?

urbanlegend213 · 11-02-2009, 12:50 AM

my essay is more focused upon the life that i lead in regards to my parents realtionship (the arrest, divorce, lack of parents, etc) and how it was somehting that held me back and in the end its made a me stronger person and more resilient, nto so much a holistic view of all my sturggles

whats questbridge?

urbanlegend213 · 11-02-2009, 01:02 AM

maaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn oh mannnnnn do i wish i knew about questbridge before the applying window closed....that is a great program, are there any others out there like it that i can still apply to? i had no idea these thigns exsisted

fireandrain · 11-02-2009, 09:32 AM

Admissions takes those circumstances into account, but only to a certain degree. Remember that there are thousands of kids applying who have very high SATs and GPAs -- they need a good reason to deny admission to one of those kids to accept someone with lower stats. If you have something they want -- like you are an under represented minority (URM), first-gen, athlete -- then they will overlook some weaknesses in your application. They get applications from people with backgrounds just like yours, but who still maintained high GPAs.

I strongly suggest that you look very seriously at colleges other than the Ivies and the top selective schools. You may want to start a thread in the "parents forum" that asks for advice on what schools to apply to. Putting all your eggs in the Ivy basket with your academic profile could lead to disappointment.

I think it is very impressive what you have accomplished given your family background. I respect that you had to work hard to overcome a horrible situation. But I also don't know that those circumstances will let admissions overlook a 90 GPA.

urbanlegend213 · 11-02-2009, 06:21 PM

fireandrain- i completely understand the fact that im on the incredibly low side of the acceptance range, however im not putting all my eggs in that basket, the entire point of this thread is for me to gauge the responses on whether or not i shuold even bother applying, becuase with all the work put into ivy supplements i dont want to just waste my time...

fireandrain · 11-02-2009, 06:50 PM

I assume that you are applying for fee waivers, so that you don't have to pay for each application.

I don't think you should decide whether to apply to these schools based on responses on College Confidential from anonymous strangers -- so many of the people on here are high school students who have no clue what your chances are because they have no experience or direct knowledge. What parents on the parents forum would tell you is that it is OK to have a few reaches, but other than that to have a balanced list.

I think you might be wasting your time if you are planning to randomly apply to the top 20 schools. If you target 3 or 4 reaches, then I don't think you are wasting your time by writing applications. Of course, I say that having no idea what your teacher recommendations are like, not having read your essays, not having seen your transcripts, etc.

deceivingrose · 11-02-2009, 09:30 PM

I would think that you should only apply if you really really want to go to Brown.
Brown was the only Ivy I applied to because I really wanted to go there. I had a very atypical background too and still didn't get in. But with low stats (~3.6 GPA and 31 ACT), I didn't really expect to either.

zacheryrufa · 11-03-2009, 09:05 PM

I got a 2120 on my SAT, got a 33 ACT, have a 96 GPA, and am missing a leg. One up. (Super Mario 'ding' sound.)

urbanlegend213 · 11-03-2009, 11:13 PM

you win, without a doubt, you win...im still gonna try though lol