Dear moderators and administrators of College Confidential, my short experience on your forums so far has been very, very, very disappointing. Your community is absolutely terrible. Please don’t think I am making absolutes. Obviously, there are a number of good posters, but that is the problem with this site. For every 1 considerate member, there are 10 trolls.
I have made several posts on the “chance me” forums. I given all of my information and given the life details in my main post. Keep in mind that I have suffered from deafness and autism at a young age, so I have been disabled for my whole life. That means that my academic stats might not be as good as someone who did not suffer from the same disabilities I have in my life.
Despite all of the details I have given, the majority of your community and members have trolled me. They have not given any kind of serious response at all, none were compassionate, and the majority of the responses were close-minded. One of your members told me that I should lower my standards. My dream in life is to get into a high elite university, and I will do anything in my power to make that happen, even if I have to wait 10 years from now to do that. I take great offense in that one particular post out of all the others.
I will say this once. Until you guys clean up your community and remove these trolls that ruin this forum, I will not only avoid it myself, but tell every person I know to avoid this site and forum as well. These posters all lie about their academic success in an attempt to make others feel bad about themselves. Until that stops, don’t expect me to return.
Keep in mind, the asteriks are supposed to say “t r o l l”. Sorry if that is a violation of the rules, but I am just pointing out the truth. If they could offend me by saying the things they said, I can call them out for what they are. Ban me if you want, I don’t care. They are t r o l l s!
I have gone through your threads and the comments people provided. I did not see a single t r o l l. Everyone there was offering good and accurate advice, even if it was bluntly delivered. Although I sympathize with your struggles, your chances are low with your stats. It’s fine to apply to your dream schools, but you should have plenty of matches and safeties as well, which everyone should have, even those with perfect stats. You can’t criticize other people’s comments either, as you have provided completely inaccurate and mildly racist comments yourself. I fail to see how a comment like “Let me guess, you’re Asian, right?” is in any way a constructive comment on a Chance Me thread.
Based on your comments, you do not seem open to any opinion other than one that is reaffirming your belief that you will get into an elite college. If so, I don’t understand why you would post in a forum asking for your chances. Plenty of people want to get into an elite college and do everything possible, and most fail to get into one. You can succeed in life even without getting into an elite college.
“These posters all lie about their academic success in an attempt to make others feel bad about themselves.”
What evidence do you have of this? Is it really that hard for you to believe that some people do get perfect scores?
I am not most people, however. Most people do not have disabilities like I do. I have written medical records that can prove that I am disabled, and I can easily sue a university that turned me down by judging me on the same standards as everyone else. The truth is, I envy Asians. I wish I had parents like them that pushed me to do well in school. I want to achieve an Asian life. I want to be in a decent elite university with them and show them that I am not inferior to them. I have studied their language, their culture, and their history. I even consider myself to be part Asian despite the fact both of my parents are caucasian.
You do not understand laws like Affirmative Action and Equal Rights act, which prohibits universities from comparing people like me to those genetically more capable. They have to lower the bar for people like me for obvious reasons. That is what you people do not understand. I do not expect you to understand because most of you never had a thing wrong with you your entire life, nor have most of you in this site experienced the same adversity I have in my life.
As for my stats, I never said they are absolute. So far, I have a pretty high GPA. I am at a 3.11 GPA. Keep in mind, most people who have a 4.0 take easy classes. None of them take classes like Calculus, Physics, C++, etc. I have a tough curriculum. I have passed classes such as Calculus, c++ programming 1 and 2, and doing Calculus 2 (arguably the toughest calculus class out there) and Chemistry. I would love to find a person who has a perfect GPA who takes classes I take. There isn’t. That is what a lot of you guys do not understand as well. Those are the factors you guys are supposed to account for when calculating my chances. Not a single person did that. They all just looked at my GPA and said “nope your chances are low.” Literally took them 1 minute to type that up. No effort at all, just t r o l l ing, regardless on if that is their intentions or not.
If I can get all A’s this semester, that will put me at least at a 3.4 If I do get turned down from my universities due to low grades, I can make a special request to my college to make them let me replace my grades from C’s to A’s, which will get my GPA much higher. The thing is, most people here do not know what they are talking about. They are just t r o l l ing to make me feel bad about myself. I am better than that, however. I know I can get into a top university with my grades, because that is what I believe. No amount of t r o l l s can tell me otherwise. I will continue submitting applications from now until the day I die to get into the university of my dreams.
“I can easily sue a university that turned me down by judging me on the same standards as everyone else.”
I admit that I don’t know much about how AA applies to people with disabilities, but I don’t think you’ll be able to prove that they rejected you due to your disability. Maybe it was due to your essays. The colleges you are applying to are insanely selective and will reject people for the smallest reasons.
“I want to achieve an Asian life.”
Ummm, what does this even mean?? As someone who has apparently studied their history and culture so much, it surprises me that you are using such rash generalizations.
“Keep in mind, most people who have a 4.0 take easy classes.”
This is absolutely false.
You seem to have a really bitter view of life. While many people probably have not faced the same struggles as you, no one has had a perfect life. Stop assuming.
@masterchief1994 I know you feel hurt by what others are saying and I don’t want to make things worse. However, I want to give you some perspective.
I have high functioning autism too. I know how hard it can make life. I was bullied my entire childhood- I even switched to a private school in 5th grade and went to the public GT (gifted and talented center) in middle school to avoid the bullies. I was thankful to be accepted to the extremely competitive STEM magnet high school in our area, because I knew I wouldn’t survive at the regular high school. My classes in high school were tough- I was primarily a B student and had what some would describe a mental breakdown junior year, receiving a C+ in physics that year. My SATs weren’t great (didn’t break 2000 which is really low for my high school). But I made it out. I got accepted to my top two colleges with full tuition scholarships (admittedly based on music- however not my main focus or major) and am now attending one as a freshman. Im taking hard classes- last semester I took linear algebra (I took through calc 3 in high school), data structures (CS), a film music course, among other things and received a 3.94 gpa (I had 1 A-, 2 A+, and the rest were A). This semester I am moving on in the CS sequence, am grading data structures, and am the only freshman in my math course.
Im not telling you this to brag or make you feel bad. Im telling you this so you can realize you too can make it out. You just need to set your mind to it. You and I are different than “normal” people- we think differently, we interact differently. If you get your GPA up, of course you have a chance, but your current GPA is on the lower side for some of those schools. You need to realize, though, that schools do not lower their standards for disabilities, (and you would have no grounds to sue), especially HFA, because theoretically, HFA shouldn’t affect ones ability to learn (I know that not to be true because the social implications will affect your academics).
As for people who have 4.0s having easy curriculum, hopefully you can see from above that is not the case. There are plenty of individuals that work hard for their 4.0s, or close to 4.0s, while taking very rigorous classes. It is unfair to suggest that these individuals took easy courseloads, although that may be the case with some individuals.
I wish you the best and if you work hard and get your GPA up, Im sure you’ll be successful at transferring somewhere.
I would suggest you find a forum for students on the autism spectrum. I would,hope there is something out there that would give you some good guidance in terms of colleges, and college applications for students on the autism spectrum.
If you attended a public high school, your school would have been required to help you with a transition plan for post high school. Did they? And what did that yield?
Yes, you have a disability…but you will get much further discussing how you are compensating for your areas of weakness, than using them as a reason why you should,be accepted to very highly competitive schools (which…BTW, are competitive for typically developing students as well).
You are asking questions on a public forum, and people are giving you their honest opinions. I also looked through your replies and am baffled at your description of people. If you don’t like the advice you get, just ignore it and move on. But it’s not fair to call people t r o l l s just because they aren’t telling you what you want to hear.
You need to learn more about the ADA. It is not a free ride or a pass. It doesn’t require schools to overlook or excuse your records. It may have some requirements that the school you are attending provide accommodations to you (extra time on test, access to buildings, translators, aids) but you still have to do the work and are assessed on that work. Colleges you are applying to? No such requirements. If you got a C in math, the school you are applying to will view that as a C in math. They do not have special seats reserved for autistic applicants and only compare you to other autistic applicants. You can say it over and over, but it doesn’t matter - everyone is judged on the same standards, even the Asian kids (in California is is illegal to take race into consideration for admission to a public school).
But if you like rainbows and unicorns…Sure you’ll get into Cal or Stanford as a transfer with a 3.1. I’m sure they’ll give you full scholarships too.
Reading your other threads and responses, I agree completely with the previous poster. Phrases like “lemme guess, you’re Asian” will endear you to no one nor will assuming people “lie about their academic success in an attempt to make others feel bad about themselves.” The former is a bigoted non sequitur and the latter is bizarre paranoia.
Finally, in my adult life, I’ve spent time in numerous online fora. CC is comparatively benign in that there’s almost no drama or acrimony and is more a bastion of civilized redundancy.
Why does it matter to you what CC folks say? I mean, from your threads and replies, you seem to consider yourself more knowledgeable than anybody giving you chances. If your situation is so unique, why trust us bobbleheads to guess your glorious fate? I am truly sorry for the troubles life has brought you, but your bitterness and yes, racism is not the answer. You asked for opinions. You got them.
Besides, if you don’t like those posters, just click to ignore them. Then your little bubble of entitlement, bitterness, and racism won’t be breached.
I do not know why I am being accused of racism. Like I said, I am one of the first people to defend an Asian person from racism. However, stating facts about how they are raised by their parents is not racist, because if you have studied their culture, you would know that I am right. It is not fair to compare me to an Asian, because genetically, I am inferior mentally to an Asian. So why is it fair to put me on the same standards as Asians?
I am not using my disabilities (I have multiple of them by the way) as an excuse for bad grades, but rather as an explanation for why my grades were bad. I have overcome my disabilities, which is why I have a 3.11 at the moment instead of a 2.5 or lower. For someone like me, a 3.11 GPA is like a 4.0 for someone without disabilities. So by my standards, I have a 4.0 based on my own personal abilities and accomplishments. Don’t you think I would have a 4.0 if I was physically and mentally capable of doing it? If I didn’t have disabilities that held me back? I would be a top scholar if I didn’t have the disabilities I was cursed with!
The point is, I have made a comeback. If you look at my recent transcripts, I have nothing but A’s. Universities don’t care about what I got in my first year in college. They care about how I turned myself around and how I overcame the adversity I suffered with my whole life, which is much more interesting and admirable than some Chinese foreigner who came from China with a 4.0 GPA with physics, calc 1-3, and top leader in 10+ EC’s.
@masterchief1994 - when the time comes to apply to colleges, please please have an adult review your essay submissions.
I am afraid that you do not communicate in such a way that would endear you to an admissions committee. This may be somewhat out of your control due your disability; that I don’t know. But I urge you to to have an adult review your essays for tone.
I am not saying this to insult you. I believe that it’s possible that your disability has affected your ability to filter some of your thoughts appropriately, and that your essays might reflect this to your detriment.
Generalizing and acting as if every Asian is a genius and that someone is probably an Asian if they’re smart is a bit racist, even if you don’t mean for it to come across that way.
You can’t just say that a 3.11 is equal to a 4.0 because you have a disability. It doesn’t work like that. Yes, you have a disability so can’t be held to the same standards as others, but a school can deny you if they have good reason to. You can’t be rejected and then assume they denied you because of your disability or as a consequence of your disability. No school has to accept anyone, whether they are perfect and have taken every advanced class possible, or if they have struggled but worked hard in the face of adversity.
Not to be rude because seriously, great job for working so hard. But you can’t just say, “Well I have a disability, so I have to get into a school because my GPA would be a 4.0 if I had a disability.” Yes, you’ve suffered, but that doesn’t make you more deserving of getting into x school than in your words, “some Chinese foreigner who came from China with a 4.0 GPA with physics, calc 1-3, and top leader in 10+ EC’s.”
Let me ask you this, if it’s unfair the reject someone specifically because they have a disability, wouldn’t it be unfair to reject someone specifically because they’ve had few, if any, hardships in their life? Just like you can’t help the fact that you have disabilities, people without disabilities can’t help that either.
I looked at your post history. University of Michigan is a tough, competitive school to get into. With a 3.1, your chances are low, with or without autism. It’s just the way it is. I don’t think anyone was really rude to you at all; they just told you like it is.
**Your mistake was to take the CHANCES forum seriously. **The Chances forum exists as a ghetto to corral worthless “chance me” posts, to prevent the drivel from overrunning the useful forums-- i.e. it’s a digital roach trap. If u had posted threads that addressed specific issues in other than the Chances forum, u likely wd have received thoughtful responses.
If u are willing to postpone college for 10 years just to attend a “high elite” university, then u have seriously misplaced priorities, a sense of entitlement, and are basically just concerned about prestige. Happiness & success in life are not dependent upon attending a “high elite” university.