@Ilikeeatinglemon, what does “granted marks” mean? Do you have any grades for 9th & 10th grade or just credits for completed classes?
If say even if you were a high flyer with perfect stats AND grades for all four years you STILL need safety schools in that list. Schools with much, much higher acceptance rates. My S traveled around the world and has the strangest transcript on the planet hence his GPA only reflective of a few years of HS but…he used his essays and question/answer parts of his essays to show how unique he really is. So far accepted at all schools he applied to, (who have given decisions so far) even a few reaches.
And really…saying my life is too busy to check out where I will spend my next four years that will mold me into the adult I will be…that’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face! We spent almost one year “making time”. My son actually took some schools off his list after visiting them realizing they were poor fits for him. There are enough college students who transfer after never having visited. What a waste!
I think you need to step back a step and re assess.
@austinmshauri
Just credit granted marks.
@Rdtsmith
Of course! I have a huge list of colleges I’ll apply to. Some of which have very high acceptance rates. And all of which I’m perfectly fine with attending.
The problem is that I won’t have an interesting explanation on why my transcript is like how it is. I don’t think my experience about how I moved three times, all near finals, would make a good essay.
Personally, I can’t see why “seeing” the college in person would change my attitude towards it. I mean, what can I see that’ll make me hate/love it? I literally only have about tree hours of free time every day, excluding 6 hours of sleep. Because of the nature of those activities, I can’t take any time off without significantly impacting them.
Well tours are so-so but sitting in classes really influenced my view of certain colleges.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18001807/#Comment_18001807
IMO you should just goto a good community college like Santa Monica College. Then transfer to UCLA or try your luck at some Ivies such as Cornell.
@Ilikeeatinglemon: So your GR 9 and 10 transcripts say things like English 9 (1 credit), history 10 (1 credit), etc? If so, my opinion is that colleges will look at the rigor, GPA, and test scores to get an indication of what kind of student you are. Can your GC speak with a college admissions person and find out? Perhaps taking some AP and/or SAT II tests would help too.
This, right here, tells me a lot about your chances. The ability to do exactly that might just be one of the things that makes a standout Harvard or Stanford applicant.
Without grades from 2/3 of your HS record, the admissions committee will put a little more weight on each of your other areas, so they need to be that much better.
How are your test scores?
I mean absolutely no offense to anyone but I despise community colleges. Some would even say that I have a phobia of them. I took a few courses at a community college a while back and I hate them so much. It feels like no one gives a s*** about actually learning things. I know how irrational my fear of them is but honestly, I really don’t want to spend the next two years of my life at a place like that. I don’t want to apply to ivies just for the sake of them being an ivy. It just happens that the schools in like are often grouped in with them.
And plus, if my understanding is correct, community college only teaches freshman and sophomore year. At some less prestigious state schools, I already get maximum legal transferable credit transfer credits because of my APs and community college courses.
Sort of, it just says beside the course “credit granted”. I’m taking A LOT of APs. I’ll also take at least 4 SAT IIs. My course load is VERY rigorous. I’m taking so many AP courses that I’ll have over 60 transfer credits at some college. Most places don’t even allow that much credit to be transferred! Would all these factors make them ignore that I’m missing 2 out of 3 years of the transcripts I have to send?
By the way, thank you for actually addressing my actual question, unlike what most people did.
@JustOneDad
I really should think of a way to write an essay like that. That seems like the only way out I have of this mess I got myself into but I just can’t think of a way to do that. I have no idea how I could spin it like that.
I’m have pretty good extra-curriculars, good enough to make me stand out significantly but I don’t think they are good enough for a school to ignore the fact that I’m missing 2/3 of high school. I haven’t found the time to give the SATs officially but I get consistent 800s on the math II, biology, physics, chemistry, math (SAT 1) and reading (SAT 1) tests and around a 700 on the writing section of the SAT 1.
Schools only give credit for their courses, so when you transfer into a school with passing grades from a previous school but with not enough time to earn a grade there, all you’re going to get is the credit for the course. It’s like that in college too. Your courses can transfer, but the grades generally don’t. I don’t think that will hurt you. You’ll have credit for the courses colleges require ( 4 English, 4 history, 4 math, etc.), plus the test scores to show that you’re capable of the work. That’s what they’re going to want to see. They won’t have an actual GPA from all 4 years of high school, so they’ll want to see extra work to reinforce the GPA that you do have. All those APs and SAT II’s will do that. I’d ask your GC to write a letter for your file to explain why you don’t have a GPA for those two years. With good test scores and your rigorous schedule, I think you’ll be fine. Good luck.
As i see it, you have a few issues here:
- You need to show colleges your grades from 9th & 10th grade…btw, this is an issue for ALL colleges…not just elites…they are going to wonder where in the heck you were for two years.
- I’d let my GC turn in the transcripts…and i’d talk with him/her first. Somehow you got into this school without transcripts…so they have an explanation.
- As others have suggested, I’d frame up one of my essays to talk about those two wandering years…done right, it’s intriguing.
- And get safeties…the 4 colleges you mentioned are impossible for everybody…even people who have 9th & 10th grade transcripts.
not all CCs are the same. some are better than others like SMC.
There was a thread not so long ago by a young woman who attended several schools one year whose transcripts were messed up pretty badly. She had a partial year of one science at the 1st school, a couple of months of another science at the 2nd school, and a few weeks of some science (I don’t know what) at the last school. I don’t recall that she had grades, but she had credits; she just wasn’t sure if she should try to straighten out the mess of which courses she took and for how long. The consensus on CC was to let the GC handle it, which she did. I’d advise @Ilikeeatinglemon to do that too.