@thomasjonessw0g - Being homeless is not a pleasant thing. It’s saddening to think that you’d wish to be homeless just to gain an advantage in college admissions.
^ @thomasjonessw0g Um, no…
You wish you had the impressiveness boost of having risen above a tragic event or overcome tremendous challenges. Or you feel that only something really heart-wrenching will make you stand out enough to be looked upon with instant favor in adcoms’ eyes. But those kinds of stories resonate with people because they’re so rare. It’s not fair, but so many people have to deal with continuous or repeated episodes of homelessness, and all the accompanying stigma, uncertainty, stress, health risks, and hindrances to a good education. Even if someone were lucky enough to get out of that situation and make it to the point of being competitive at top colleges like OP did, no one would think, “I’m so glad I went through all this, because it makes for such a great essay!”
I figure that you were joking. Still, I hear people saying, “You’re so lucky that you had a serious illness as a child” or “What am I supposed to write about if I’ve never gone through any hardships?” or even “I wish I were Black / Hispanic / some other URM” a lot, and it bothers me because it’s not very fair to the people at the receiving end of those comments. So I lovingly (that’s my intention, for real) correct you. OP did an incredible thing by being so academically successful despite what he went through during his childhood, but he’s at that point because of himself and not the experience. And likewise, you seem to be a competitive applicant for the schools you’re applying to because of your work ethic and passions, even without any crazy life story.
Chiming in here. I have booked marked this thread from the beginning because I love this story! I too came from humble beginnings…although not as humble as OP. I got a full ride at a state school way back in the olden days, except for the minimal student loans. .There was no money for my parents to send me. They were immigrants. Daughters are now in college and they too complained about having nothing to write about. I gave them a really easy, cushy life. ( We are full pay except for merit, and I am a single mother,) It’s all good because its my turn to pay it forward . One of my daughter’s made two friends at her school that had tough lives and are going to her college for practically nothing. She told me when it was her turn to tell her story, she was a little embarrassed and basically told them that " I have it easy, my mother had a tough life. She worked really hard to be successful and give me a childhood she would have liked to have." She told me they said said to her that their goal is to be “just like your mother.” I was touched. Good luck to you OP and 30 years from now I am more then sure you too will be paying it forward and writing those checks for your kids.
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Wow that seriously took over 45 minutes just writing down all the usernames and then tagging them. But I would do it twice over to express my sincere gratitude to every single one of you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for giving me hope when I needed it most while keeping me grounded. I am very happy to announce my final results. Before I post them below, I just want to sincerely express my gratitude. This feels like the culmination of a tough road finally reaching its end onto a paved highway. I am incredibly grateful to God for being with me through all of the tough times and for this amazing opportunity ahead of me.
Now onto the actual results! I will first post the results for those of which I asked you guys to chance me and then I will post the actual outcomes of all 29 applications I filled out. I wasn’t confident at all in my abilities which is why my doubtful nature kept applying to so many just for a shot at one.
Here’s the final results of the chancing thread:
-Vanderbilt University: Waitlisted
-Harvard: Rejected
-Princeton: Accepted
-Brown: Waitlisted
-Georgetown: Accepted
-Cornell: Rejected
-USC: Rejected (cinematic school)
-Dartmouth: Accepted
-UC Berkeley: Waitlisted
-UPenn: Rejected
As you can see, I will now have to figure out if I can change my username as I was rejected at Harvard. However, it gives me extreme delight to want to have it be Homeless2Princeton. I can’t believe it. It is a blessing beyond words. The fact that Princeton is even covering the entire portion of costs (our efc is only $1,100!!!) I am so sure that someone up there is looking out for me.
Here are my total results:
Rejected: UT Austin, UCLA & USC (applied both to their film), Stanford, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Cornell
Waitlisted: UChicago, Brown, Columbia, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley
Accepted: Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UCSD, UCDavis, UMiami, UMinnesota, UOregon, UPittsburgh, UWashington Seattle, UKentucky, UAlabama, Mississippi State Uniiversity, SAIC
I am beyond shocked, incredibly humbled, but mostly grateful. If there’s anything I want you guys to take away from this all, it’s to dare to dream. Pursue the passions of your heart with no fear because, honestly, anything can happen.
Signing out,
R
Princeton Class of '19
Congrats! I’ve been stalking you 
and I’m very happy for you! Princeton is lucky to have you. You’re a class act.
@Homeless2Harvard CONGRATS!!!
Congratulations!
Inspiring. Congratulations.
@H1780isjapds I didn’t include you in the post because I just wanted to express that I felt a bit put down by your comment and sincerely felt that there was a better way to have phrased it. However, despite that, I did want to thank you for keeping me grounded. I appreciate it. Best of luck mate!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Yeah!!! “Homeless2Princeton” Wonderful! actually better IMHO. My daughter spent a summer staying at the Princeton dorms when she did a dance intensive with the Princeton Ballet. The atmosphere of the campus and the town is so charming. Better lifestyle than congested Cambridge/ Boston. I am sure you will soar in life. Cyber hugs.
Congratulations.
Again, this shows how Harvard admissions is just unpredictable.
There’s always grad school though.
how did i get waitlisted at harvard when you even got rejected?
Anyhow, a big congratulations! don’t let anyone stop you from achieving what you want.
Wow, thank you for taking the time to thank each of us. That truly shows what great character you have. I’m so happy for you and the great choices you earned for yourself without playing the victim. No matter what school you choose, you will succeed because you have the drive to make it happen. Please update us on your final choice. You are one of a kind!
Congratulations @Homeless2Harvard !!! You definitely deserve to go to Princeton. In fact, it would be lucky to have a student like you. I know I haven’t met you in really life(hell we’re not even from the same country) but I still think that you’re the nicest and most genuine person on this forum. Best of luck for the future! I am officially #Calbound btw
Woah that’s incredible dude. Good luck at Princeton you deserve it and they’ll be lucky to have you.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I’m very, very happy for you.
HomelesstoPrinceton, you’ll do great things, I’m sure of it, so I hope you’ll return some day to post about your orientation session, your first semester, your first year post-college (who knows?)
Haha coming back to this thread after a while and seeing your success. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Hopefully I’ll meet you up in princeton next year haha
I’m really late with this, but congrats!!
Ahhh… they let you change your username.