Growing up I was always smart. I took great pride in my wealth of knowledge. I loved being the best. I worked hard and got straight As up until freshmen year of high school. It all went downhill from there. I had multiple operations. I had to stay home a lot. The teachers would come to my house and teach me. I wanted to go to school and learn. My grades suffered. Instead of the usual straight A’s, I was getting a mix of A’s and B’s, and a couple of C’s. I scheduled my SATs, and wouldn’t you know it… I needed an emergency surgery on my foot 2 weeks before. I didn’t do that well on the SATs. I dreamed of applying to an Ivy League school, and probably would’ve gotten in if I hadn’t had all of these surgeries. I’m a senior now and will be going back to school this year. How do I fix all of my mistakes? Any advice? Thanks
It doesn’t sound like you made mistakes; it sounds like life threw a fastball at you and you are still trying to pick yourself up. There isn’t much you can do to salvage your GPA at this point unfortunately. You can always take the SAT again this year. Make sure your counselor notes your medical problems in his/her letter of recommendation. And if you end up writing about this experience in your personal statement or essay, don’t make it sound like an excuse. Let the counselor address the issues with your academic performance due to your issues, and instead try to put a positive spin on it.
First off, don’t classify what’s gone on in your life as mistakes. You have been dealt some unfortunate circumstances, but you didn’t make mistakes. You have what you have and now you make the most of it. Maybe not Ivy Leagues, but there are thousands of other options you should learn about. Use your “great pride” in your “wealth of knowledge” to learn about the BEST options for you. Do well in school this year and find a place where you will be happy. There is lots of happiness outside of the Ivy Leagues, I promise you.
There are like 10,000 colleges other than the Ivy League. Find one that you are interested in you and has what you want to study and move on. Sorry you’ve been sick/injured. But don’t look back, just go forth with some new great plan in place. You’ll do well and be happy.
Ok thank you all! Do you think applying using early decision could help me? I wanted to apply to Cornell, Dartmouth and Duke University, but don’t think I’d get in if I apply regular decision. Do you think early decision could help me? Thanks
Given your stats you posted elsewhere, none of those three are in your range, ED or not. You’re presuming a huge boost for ED applicants. You need to be solidly in the range of typical admitted students to be viable. Please don’t look behind but look fwd to the tons of great schools that you’ll love to attend. See the SuperMatch tool on the left side of this page. Good luck
As the posters above said, you didn’t make mistakes. You had setbacks that were beyond your control, and you did the best you could. It’s understandable that you are disappointed with your grades and scores, but you shouldn’t feel disappointed in yourself. I bet many people who have gone through similar circumstances haven’t even been able to graduate on time. You coped well with a tough situation.
As you know, many bright kids with great GPA’s and test scores and amazing achievements still get turned down by colleges like Dartmouth, Duke and Cornell, so no one can really predict that someone will get in no matter how bright they are. There just aren’t enough spaces for all the qualified students. As is said so often on CC, those colleges are reaches for everyone.
Also, I want to point out that, even if you don’t get into those schools this time around, you don’t have to give up your dream. You can adjust it a bit. You can attend college for two years and try to transfer, or you can try for grad school. Many people prefer to go to an elite school for grad school rather than for undergrad. You can have a new goal of distinguishing yourself at whatever college you end up at in order to aim for your dream school a little later.