I have a MAJOR issue and need HELP!!!

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>My major issue is my course rigor…</p>

<p>I could not enroll in AP courses becuase currently I go HS and in 9th grade I went to another school and I was enrolled in the magnet EST (Engineering Science and Technology) but had to leave becuase my dad got a job transfer. At the other school they did not offer AP courses to Freshman they only offered Honors which I took and I took 5 of them and we are required to have 7 classes a year and the other 2 were Hope and Spanish 1, which they did not offer Honors. Then for 10th grade I came to High School but when I transfered here classes had already been chosen so it became difficult for me to enroll in AP becuase the state government passed a class size amenmandt stating only 25 kids per class and those spots were already taken. Also I was forced to take some regular courses because Honor spots had been taken. Now I am in 11th grade and my idiotness enrolled in AP classes but the spots in AP classes went to the CIS (kinda like IB but not as hard) kids first which is a magnet program offered here I would have enrolled in CIS but you have to enroll as an incoming Freshman and there were no open spots becuase if they tried to squeeze me into some of the AP classes then my school faces fines from the school district for breaking state law and now I am stuck again 5 honors classes, the non-honors are Web Design 2 and Team Sports 1. In my school district OCPS we are required to have 8 elective credits to meet graduation requirements and they dont offer AP or Honors in the electives classes offered are like Basketball, Team Sports 1, Team Sports 2, Hope, and Weightlifting, etc…</p>

<p>In addition to, my school is so underfunded they have had to remove elective teachers and are forced to teach a English, Math, or any other core based class becuase we don’t have enough money to hire additional teachers.</p>

<p>Thats why I could not enroll in AP’s but I have taken the most rigourous cirriculm that I could possibly take and I would have taken AP’s but due to a variety of reasons as stated above, I was unable to. </p>

<p>How can I go about communicating this to the admissions personnel at UofC? I know course rigor is important to them, and this situation was clearly out of my hands. I dont want this one issue to hinder my chances of acceptance into my dream school. I plan on spending a weekend on campus and giving a interview which seem like chances for me to communicate that to admissions personnel. </p>

<p>I know some students who have been admitted without AP courses, becuase some of the EA results posts some have posted that they did were not enrolled in AP courses and were still accepted, so I know it is still possible but I am crappin my pants. </p>

<p>Please HELP!!! :(</p>

2

<p>Have you guidance counselor explain your situation and you will be fine.</p>

<p>Rule Number One for Applying to Colleges:</p>

<p>NEVER FREAK OUT! There is no point. Admission officers are people too. They will understand any issue you may have.</p>

3

<p>Anon1993 I will definatley do that but my counselors here basically hate their jobs and are so bitter. Last year I had friends who were applying to Harvard and told the counselor to send their transcript to Harvard and she never did. Is there any other solutions besides guidance counselors?</p>

4

<p>Write a letter to them? I think they would look at that as taking initiative which would be a plus.</p>

5

<p>That’s an awesome idea. Ohisee thanks</p>

6

<p>There is a section in the common app for additional information - you could potentially use that space to talk about your special circumstance. I don’t think they will hold it against you granted that you didn’t have much of a choice. For added effect, have your school counselor explain the situation in his/her letter too.</p>

7

<p>Its probably unnecessary to say this, but if you do address this in your app yourself, UChicago2016, make an effort to tighten up your story–your post is way too long–and whatever you do, don’t come accross as whining. This won’t be easy, which is why having the guidance councelor address it probably a better plan.</p>

8

<p>For what it’s worth, my daughter had a version of this problem, too. She transferred in 11th grade from a high school that did not offer any AP or honors classes (in fact, it was a great high school, and legitimately took the position that its classes were better than AP classes) and did not rank students, to a public school where EVERYTHING was APs, weighted GPA, and class rank. The grading scales were different, too. When she transferred, all the AP classes at the new school had already been assigned. As a result, in 11th grade she was ranked close to the middle of her 550-student class, and was only taking one AP class. She also wasn’t in line for any kind of EC leadership position.</p>

<p>In addition to which, her guidance counselor was a highly bureaucratic so-and-so, who would not acknowledge knowing anything about her old-school courses. So he was refusing to say that she had taken a challenging curriculum, because of so few APs ever.</p>

<p>The good news is, she got into the University of Chicago anyway (and some other good schools, too, although a number rejected her as well).</p>

<p>The somewhat less good news is that it took a little effort and goodwill on the part of lots of people, and some luck, too:</p>

<p>– She had very high test scores, among the highest in her class, which got the attention of the school administration
– She also won a number of state and regional writing competitions
– A vice principal essentially manufactured a leadership position for her
– The principal ordered the GC to tell colleges that the school had prevented her from taking the most challenging curriculum in 11th grade, to highlight that her low class rank was based on her grades at the previous school, and to say that she was expected to graduate in the top 10% of the class anyway.
– She was allowed into 4 AP classes in 12th grade
– She got an additional recommendation from a teacher at the old school that emphasized how much she had challenged herself there<br>
– She came across as very much a Chicago-type person
– This was a while ago, when the University of Chicago EA acceptance rate was not far below 50% (and she applied EA)</p>

<p>In other words, it kind of took a village, and the village’s efforts weren’t universally successful.</p>

<p>Your life is what it is, and you have to work with it. Don’t burn bridges with people at your school. Poke around and see if you can get some of them to help you.</p>

9

<p>Self-teach a few AP classes and take the exams. If you do that, they’ll admire your initiative, and also you won’t be so far behind.</p>

10

<p>I skimmed that monstrous whiny paragraph. What’s important is that you took the hardest courses that were offered to you. If you simply could not take any AP’s, for one reason or another, make that clear and that will level the playing field with all the other applicants. Good test scores and essays to offset this minor disadvantage wouldn’t hurt either.</p>

11

<p>a more concise version of what you just said (i.e. along the lines of what you’d say in the additional info section): “Florida state law requires my school to cap enrollment in AP classes at 25. Traditionally, these spaces at my school are reserved for magnet program students. I would have liked to enroll in this program, but because I transferred in 9th grade I was unable to do so; consequently, I have been mostly prevented from taking AP classes due to rigid enrollment restrictions, though I have otherwise taken the most rigorous classes available.”</p>