I find this very hard to believe. If your school refuses to let people to join clubs, why are there clubs then?
No. No. No.
And how would you prove to colleges that you’ve done all this self-studying?
Also, teachers in no way are required or obligated to write a recommendation letter for you. You need to take the initiative work hard, and establish a good relationship with the teacher before you can ask for one. There are other colleges besides the ivies and oxford, etc that are still very good institutions.
If you keep thinking like this, then ** NO ONE ** can help you. Please grow up and take some responsibility for what has happened and then just move on.
What does this mean? “Because the school never let me do things.”
Does that mean that your school offers absolutely NO Extra Curricular activities, and that NO students from your school get into college? Or was it something about YOU that prevented your participation in absolutely every activity they did offer? My school has lots of activities, but not all are open admission. So, for example, you can’t just join NHS. Or the Basketball team. Or any number of activities that invite particular kids who show particular strength in particular areas. But a kid looking for something to join can certainly find things.
I would mention that I’m a CC graduate… before I transferred to a local university and got my BS and MS…They’re not just for losers and the other people you’ve named.
But do me a favor? I’m a woman, someone’s mom. Please watch your language. I find a lot of it borderline offensive.
Anyway in the absence of any ECs at your school, what did you do? My 3 kids – age 15, 18 and 19, all work and have since Freshman year. Any could have gotten a letter of recommendation from a boss. And I’ve written hundreds of letters of recommendation for students over the years, so ECs don’t come into play there either.
If your attitude towards other people comes through in your application, that’s the reason for your rejections right here. Whatever your scores and ECs, nobody wants people to create toxic atmosphere on campus.
Where do you live-- what state? And, while you may have already mentioned it, what are you looking for in terms of a college-- major, location, price, whatever?
Maybe instead of talking about what went wrong, we can help you find some workable options.
But please, do us (another) favor. Be open to the suggestions of people who are trying to help. If you disagree, please do so politely-- I think you’ll get a lot more suggestions that way.
I don’t think your academic record is your problem. If you persist with your current attitude, I think you’re going to find it challenging to accomplish what you want.
What opportunities are you taking advantage of now that you’re an adult? You had an acceptance to American University. What happened to that? Are you working? Volunteering? Both of those could go on applications.
If your parents are abusive, you need to focus on finding a safe place to live. Are there relatives who could help you? It’s probably a good idea to work and save whatever you can. What state are you in? Did you apply to any of your in state publics?
CC’s are awful. St. Olaf is awful (despite being quite selective). How many colleges are not “awful” in your mind? If you are holding out for the schools that reject 70% or more of their applicants, you are a big part of the problem here.
You have to be willing to start somewhere.
It’s not where you go, it’s what you do while you’re there.
my friends—many of whom were valedictorians—who decided to go to community college for free for two years (most, if not all, getting paid by the college) then transfer to a larger university and graduate there instead of spending extra money—money they don’t have which is why, again, they decided to go to community college and get paid to go in the first place—would be deeply offended if they read your comments, and justifiably so. you are so, so rude. community college students do not deserve lesser respect than harvard students. all of my friends are incredibly intelligent.
here’s the thing you need to be told: the world doesn’t owe you anything. drop the “i deserve […]” attitude because it, obviously, hasn’t gotten you anywhere thus far, and it won’t get you anywhere in the future either. i’m a gap year student myself, and i made sure to obtain teacher recommendations because guess what? they’re a required piece of your applications. not getting teacher recommendations is your fault. not doing extracurriculars in high school is your fault. your self righteous and bitter attitude is your fault. work on that, then see how the world around you changes.
OP, some things are not within our control. But many things are. There comes a point in one’s life when you have to draw the line in the sand and say “on that side is the past- the things I couldn’t (or didn’t) control. On this other side is adulthood where I take ownership of my future.” I understand this from having to draw that line as a college freshman. So, what is done is done. Make a plan to move forward given the situation you are in. You may not solve all the issues quickly. Your steps forward may be small at first, but over time you will find you can put distance between what was. I know this to be true. To mature and become the adult you can be, you have to take responsibility from today onward and let the past be in the past.
The fact that OP not only despises many other people but, while being presumably quite smart, doesn’t even realize it’s best to hide this when he posts on social media, makes me think he needs not our admonishments, but a good therapist.
Welcome to the life of normal people. What you need to do is stop setting yourself up for failure by applying to elite schools. Go to a school that will accept you and be happy about it. Move on. School is what you make of it. In fact, your stats already qualify you for scholarships at Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.
After being at CC for one year, you have an established track record and universities don’t ask for your high school records. Transfer to a university and finish your degree. If not, that’s fine. Work at Subway. It won’t be long before you decide to go to school.
@coolguy40 My experience as a transfer student was that after one year of college the transfer school will want to see a applicant’s HS records and standardized testing – the feeling is that one year (or less that a year if one applies mid-year for the next fall) is not enough of a track record to base an admissions decision on. After two years of college they typically don’t look back to HS.
In any event the OP hasn’t been back since posting this and doesn’t really seem to want advice…
Why can’t I get into a good school?!??? I don’t understand!??!?! It must be my school’s fault! no honors/AP classes, no extracurriculars, no teacher recommendations, nothing … I just answered ur question
It’s easy to blame things for failures - whether it is your school, parents, coach, etc. But try looking at yourself. What could YOU have done better? The app process wasn’t particularly fun for me either but something valuable I took away from it is the mentality of self-improvement. You pick up the cards you are dealt and try to make the best of it. With every failure, instead of asking “Why does X suck so much?”, try asking “What could I have done for a better outcome?”