Hypothetically, could I schedule an appointment with the dean of admission of a university, and get directly admitted that way as opposed to the traditional application route?
Hahaha. Nope.
Hypothetically? anything is possible. But it is exceptionally unlikely.
I suppose that somebody such as Malala Yousafzai might be able to pull that off, given that 1) they would already know who she is and 2) her (outstanding) academic record is already in the public domain and 3) her achievements in her own right (as opposed to those of her family, for example) are extraordinary for a person of her age and 4) the prestige she would bring as an admit would be substantial.
And yet- she will be applying in the usual way. Same as Emma Watson (for whom the above points were also true) did. And Katie Ledecky did (ditto). Notice that I am leaving out usual suspect Malia Obama, who ticks #1 and #4, but not so much #2 & #3 (and who also applied the usual way).
That may have happened in the olden days. Is there a reason that you think that it should happen for you?
Although my SAT/ACT scores are high, there is just an exceptional amount of unfortunate events that caused my low academic achievements & lack of involvement in extra curriculars for a few years. (Bullying, moving around, death of parents, therapy, bankruptcy) and it’s too much to fit into a single essay / I wouldn’t know how to go about it without coming off dreary. So, I would like the chance to explain my circumstances in person.
That will not happen. Deans of Admissions don’t have the time to deal with everyone’s special circumstance. You need to lay things out in your essay or better yet ask your guidance counselor to discuss your unfortunate events in his/her letter of recommendation.
The counselor letter is the place for that kind of context. Be careful about leaving the impression that you are so overwhelmed by personal struggle at this point that you may not be ready to succeed in college. If your 7th semester grades are showing improvement, ask your counselor to emphasize that.
Even nationally known applicants go through the normal process of filling out applications. You MAY be able to arrange an interview with someone n the admissions office, or an alum, depending on their admissions policies. But honestly, that is more an opportunity to learn about the school and highlight you accomplishments and interests. A litany of reasons your stats aren’t good would not be welcome. Your best bet is if your GC puts info in their recommendation. But you need to build an honest list of matches and safeties that match your stats, too.
And the college may want to know if these unfortunate events will hinder your performance at their school.
For nearly all colleges, this would not be a possibility. The GC recommendation is where this sort of problem (extenuating circumstances affecting grades) should be addressed.
However, I have heard of certain colleges (well, one) doing auto-admits. My APUSH tutor attended Bard College, and she was a “direct admit”- she attended a class and had an interview with a professor and was told, verbally, that she was in. She did have to submit her grades/transcripts etc. beforehand though. So there is such a thing as an “auto admit” so to speak, but not what you are describing.