<p>Hi. My name is Avery and i’m currently a sophomore in a parochial school. My dream is to go to an Ivy League school, but I have a major problem. I have a horrid GPA. My GPA is a 2.3. See, starting freshman year I got a 3.8 average but then during the end everything backfired. My grandmother was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive and terminal illness. This has affected EVERYTHING. My GPA had bombed because every weekend, from friday to sunday, I had stayed at my grandmother’s apartment from 9:00 friday night, to 2 in the morning monday morning. This has been going on since June of last year, and during the summer, I spent every waking day with her. This was awful because I had to wake up at 5:00 monday mornings for basketball and I had chorus until 5:00 on mondays as well. This unbalance, along with my ADHD, has caused a HUGE focus gap within school. Before this happened, I was a very school focused individual. When I was 9 years old I was invited to take a high school chemistry course with the brightest children that were years older than i was. See i’m trying to make a huge turnaround, and since i’m transferring to public school next year, I see this as an opportunity to hop on loads of extracurriculars and trying to achieve a goal GPA of 3.5. I really would like to pursue an undergraduate in any Ivy League school (Harvard and Yale preferably) but i’m really frightened that this situation has hindered my chances of competing with the best and brightest individuals who haven’t missed a beat their whole four years of high school. If I write my situation to an Ivy League, would they be understanding? My goal is to get my undergrad at Harvard, Go to Harvard Business School for my MBA, and finally get a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) in Harvard as well. I believe that if I have the chance, I will probably work obsessively to be the best, which is what I want to be. This experience with my grandmother is so life changing and of course, family comes first before academics; but is my Ivy League dream still attainable?</p>
<p>You sound like a very thoughtful and caring person. The time you spent with your grandmother will be one of these things that you’ll look back on in twenty, thirty years and be glad that you were able to do what you did. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I think your “dream” is kind of silly. Once you start to seriously research colleges and look at what you want out of the next segment of your life, I think you’ll find that there are too many wonderful universities that all fall outside of the Ivy League. It may be easier to find peers who’re like you at some places than at others, but ultimately, there are bright, highly engaged and intelligent students everywhere. </p>
<p>I also think it’s irresponsible to think of your remaining two years of high school as a prep program for getting into one or two college in particular. Space at any college is limited and in the end, with so many applicants throwing in applications at the few popular places, only a few of the applicants gets picked, so there’s nothing that anyone can ever do to ensure they have a good chance. Rather than aiming for the goal of getting into a college, its’ much better and wiser to be open-minded and use your junior and senior years as a chance to explore, be yourself, and live life to its fullest, so that you’ll find the next two years fulfilling because you’ve accomplished what you wanted for yourself, regardless college admission decisions. Besides, that way when the application time comes and you need to present yourself, you’ll have something to say for who you are.</p>
<p>Thank you so much. This response has eased my mind quite a bit. I really appreciate the time you have taken to respond to this thread. I shall live life to it’s fullest like you said, thank you so much for the input. :)</p>
<p>Hey, I would not give up. Aim for your highest gpa and do many extra curriculars. You never know. Its always good to even try. Apply to many schools though and trust me you will do fine. This is a life experience and we need more people in the world like that. Good luck</p>