As the title says. I’m going to be joining the honors society next semester (my second semester overall), I have a very high GPA and plan on keeping it that way. I’ve had some research activity completed already and have ideas for more. Will this compensate for my average performance in high school? I had been bullied and was dealing with horrible stages of trichotillomania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania). People would call me intellectually disabled (“■■■■■■■■” but I don’t like the world though) all of the time, and I had my entire algebra class at one point laughing at me, saying I’m ugly. it was bad but, could I make up for my record if I mention the school situation was very bad? how could I best explain it? could I also mention I was in an early kindergarten program, was younger than everyone by a year.
There are plenty of great colleges you can go to. The way you are thinking about college is not very helpful to you. Getting into college isn’t like bartering for an item-and if you don’t have cash to afford the item sometimes you can include something that is worth a lot of money and convince the seller that it is a good exchange. That isn’t how admissions works. I can understand why you may have that misconception but it is better to understand how it does work.
If you have average grades and average scores than you should probably attend a school that has similar students and that requires average scores and average grades. That school will have a range of students from very strong to not as strong. Some of the students will develop into outstanding students who go on to do great things. Others will get great jobs and have great futures. There is nothing wrong with that. You don’t need to explain your grades or your credentials, if by explain you mean excuse them. They are as they are. There are students who were bullied and who still got outstanding grades. There are students who were bullied and dropped out of school. You were bullied and have credentials that you worry won’t get you into the kind of school you want. But if you really want to excel at college, that is unlikely if you attend a school where you are at the bottom of the distribution in terms of incoming stats. On the other hand, if you are in the middle or top, being away from the bullying climate may result in outstanding achievement for you. Isn’t that what you want?
College isn’t all about the name of the college. The best college is the one that is the best fit for you not the one that is highest rated on some scale. Stop viewing college as defining your worth. It doesn’t. It is a place to get educated. It is a place to spend 4 years and develop skills. Choose a school that has a good fit to your academic performance so far and will allow you to grow in a positive direction.
Not sure why this is in the transfer site though. Seems like about selecting colleges. But if the OP is already in college and wants to know about compensating for high school grades by substituting one year of college, my advice would be the same. Both are used to examine your academic history. One does not “compensate” for another but your higher grades show adcons that you can complete college level work.
@lostaccount I see. Thank you. But I am going to complete my AA and then transfer, so I will have 2 years of college completed. I want to go to the universities I’ve chosen because I feel it will give the best education and resources in order to do research.
That does not really change what I said. Your good grades at CC will be seen by the admissions officers. There is no need to discuss your past record or excuse it.
@lostaccount I see. Okay. I feel I could have a shot… my writing is very distinct and I can word things very well. My professors have said I write papers that are nearly on a post-grad level. Maybe if I use those skills on writing great essays about my experiences I can get in… my letters of rec are always very good especially for how hard it is to be close with professors.