Non-traditional international applicant (GED, gap years) aiming for any school with sufficient aid

[thumper1]

Here is the poster’s other chance me thread which provides additional information.

Should I reapply to Amherst College?

I applied ED last year and didn’t get in. My application was all over the place because I hadn’t done enough research and slacked off on it until the last 3 days before the deadline, and submitted the supplement after that. It was pretty bad. More importantly, last year my counselor mistakenly printed another student’s transcript in my name because it was on the same excel file! I didn’t notice this right away because it’s been a while since I dropped out, so I wasn’t especially wary about my grades being so low. But this means my cGPA is actually around 4.86/5 instead of 3.4. Should this keep me from reapplying, given that some extra explanation to the admissions office is in order? Will it complicate things and worsen my chances? I’m also worried about how I explained my gap years last year, and whether writing things in a more positive light and not getting all the small details the same might make the application worse. Will they really cross-check this stuff from my previous ap…