I am thinking about applying for admission into Ivy-league colleges as a fibromyalgia suffer.

[cma1219]

I am thinking about applying for admission into Ivy-league college as a fibromyalgia sufferer. I am 25 years old. I suffered from it for about 6 years. I couldn’t do anything because of it. I just spent my time fighting it without doing nothing. But very luckily I overcame it.

Unfortuantely even though medical costs are extremely cheaper in my country than in the US. I found out that a lot of people from my country think I fake an illness, kind of bigotry. I am afraid that it could relapse down the line. So I made up my mind to study in the US .I know some colleges like Yale or brown, etc offer admission program for non-traditional students like me. But I mean in terms of the others(like Harvard, Standford), they don’t specifically refer to it. Provided that if I have the same SAT and AP socres as well as oddles of extra curricumlum activities, I wonder if my case could be compelling to any of the college admissioners and get an entry into one of them.

[Hippobirdy]

Very difficult to be admitted unless you’re among top students in home country and full pay, regardless of health. You’d need to purchase US health insurance, too and it might be prohibitively expensive.
What about online college?

[cma1219]

Well I can afford the costs. What I mean is whether my fibromyalgia case could be compelling, if I have the same qualifications as traditional students.

[allyphoe]

No. There’s no admissions boost for having a medical condition.

[cma1219]

It means I don’t experience discrimination either?

[RelicAndType]

To be blunt: your English could use work.

[cma1219]

in terms of what?

[Sue22]

Just basic grammar and spelling. It’s obvious upon reading your post that you’re not someone who’s fully fluent in English.

[cma1219]

Can you pinpoint it? well I can tell that I used suffer instead of sufferer.

[Mwfan1921]

@cma1219

Can you pinpoint it? well I can tell that I used suffer instead of sufferer.

Just about every sentence in your second paragraph has a misspelled or non-existent word, or noun-verb mismatch.

Having a medical condition will not be a hook. Being full pay ($75K per year plus travel plus health insurance) will help you at some schools in the US, but it won’t overcome low GPA and test scores (SAT, TOEFL, IB, etc.). If you share your stats, posters can help target colleges for you. Do you have college options in your country?

[Sue22]

I am thinking about applying for admission into an Ivy League college as a fibromyalgia sufferer. I am 25 years old. I suffered from fibromyalgia for about 6 years. I couldn’t do anything because of it. I just spent my time fighting it while doing nothing. Luckily I overcame it.

Unfortunately even though medical costs are much cheaper in my country than they are in in the US**,** I’ve found ** that a lot of people from my country think I’m faking an illness. It’s a kind of bigotry. I am afraid that it could relapse down the line, so** I made up my mind to study in the US**.** I know some colleges like Yale or Brown offer admissions programs for non-traditional students like me**, but others **like Harvard or Stanford don’t specifically refer to them. Provided that I have the same SAT and AP scores [as whom?] as well as oodles of extracurricular activities, I wonder if my case could be compelling to any of the college admissions offices and help me to gain entry into one of these schools.

ETA-the above isn’t meant to be cruel; it’s meant to answer your question.

Admission to the schools you mention in your post is extremely competitive even for traditional US students with near-perfect grades and scores. If you’re really bent on attending school in the US I’d recommending expanding your search. There is an abundance of fine schools in the US.

[cma1219]

t Well sometimes if I write something in a rush, I inevitably do so.

[twoinanddone]

Smith College has a program for non-traditional students.

[nomatter]

There are a lot of prospective applicants who live with chronic conditions and illnesses. Suffering from an illness, in and of itself, does not present an “interesting case” for admissions to selective universities.

Aside from the general mapping to “Ivy League” with no other discernible hints of seeking actual fit, the second most concerning part of your original post is this:

@cma1219;d-2183060

I am thinking about applying for admission into Ivy-league college as a fibromyalgia sufferer. I am 25 years old. I suffered from it for about 6 years. I couldn’t do anything because of it. I just spent my time fighting it without doing nothing.

That at least implies that you have no resume of qualifications with which to recommend yourself. “I suffer from fibromyalgia” is not a qualification. So, how did you even find fit? Why would “Ivy League” universities find “fit” in you? What talents, skills, qualifications, special or unique abilities, etc… can you offer to highly selective universities as an international applicant.

If you get shot in the head by the Taliban, as child, while risking your life to get an education and speaking out on unjust inequities, then turn international activist (Malala Yousafzai), your medical condition (or the circumstances surrounding it) become fodder for your admission story. It’s not “getting shot in the head”. It’s that she got shot in the head for speaking out as a youth activist, THEN turned to the international stage to continue the message on a broader scale, in spite of the continued risk to her life. She is an activist. She demonstrates a commitment to cause. She’s a risk-taker. She works with international organizations to try to change the tide. She’s not a bullet wound to the head. She’s a very bright young woman with passion, demonstrable purpose, and determination, who gets results. She’s a Nobel Prize laureate, in spite of what happened to her. I’m using this example to demonstrate the difference between an unfortunate circumstance as a “hook”, and just an unfortunate circumstance that won’t help you gain access to extremely selective universities.

Having a chronic illness is unfortunate. It is not, however, a “hook”. What you do, or what you’ve done in spite of misfortune might pique the interest of selective schools. However, it’s probably a good idea to look a little further and a whole lot deeper than the prestige sheets.

[Sybylla]

How will you whip up AP and test scores that are relevant if you left school at 18? Why do you think you are a candidate for such schools? What have you been doing since you left school?
Some chronic illnesses are very much the opposite of a hook. A liability even.

[cma1219]

I can sit them as an independent candidate.

@Sybylla

Some chronic illnesses are very much the opposite of a hook. A liability even.

Can you please elaborate it?

[Mwfan1921]

@cma1219

I can sit them as an independent candidate.

What does this mean? Have you not taken standardized tests? Have you been working since graduating HS, or did your illness prevent that?

[cma1219]

The latter. I just meant it as a subjunctive.

[nomatter]

@cma1219

I can sit them as an independent candidate.

@Sybylla

Some chronic illnesses are very much the opposite of a hook. A liability even.

Can you please elaborate it?

I think the more important question that you need to ask yourself is this-- How are you a game-changer? How have you made a tremendous and measurable impact? It’s not, “I will start if you let me into your prestigious school.” It’s demonstrating that you are NOW making an impact, making a difference, making strides for something greater than self. Then, telling that story in compelling context of “Why Us” for the university that you aspire to?

Very selective universities, such as those in the Ivy League, and Stanford (because you mentioned it) are very adept at sniffing out those who are only looking for name brand, and not fit.

[cma1219]

Well you mean what they need is not only an ordeal I overcame during the hiatus, but a distinctive stint. Well I thought that I can pad an college application with my own story. Don’t you think that is enough? To be blunt, my case itself is extraordinary. so much for it, if you insist on doing so. well without such a career, I think it is enough to fill the personal statement. You have no idea how serious my condition is. Many people suffer from a chronic pain condition. you cannot resist it. some even take their own life. I feel like preaching to you a lot right now. Let’s put it aside for now.