<p>Thanks for all your well-considered responses. Of course you all are right about retaking a old course (which, incidentally could be done on line). Anyway at the end of the day it would take a whole lot more than changing one course grade to change his class rank much. I have gotten a lot of mixed signals about how/in what format to address his 9th grade bone-headedness as @Modadunn so appropriately put it. He doesn’t really have any teachers who might know personally what a great improvement there has been in his attitude and ambition although he does have some this year and last who think he totally rocks. Would it be appropriate for him to sit down with one of them and fill them in on his freshman fiasco so they could address it in a letter of recommendation? </p>
<p>I totally get using his essay(s) to focus on something positive and unique about him instead of focusing on how and why he screwed up. I really don’t even think his situation qualifies for the “obstacles I have overcome” since they were entirely of his own making (although I don’t begrudge him or anyone else the effort it can take to overcome psychological barriers).</p>
<p>I think that applying EA or ED would be a mistake because his first semester senior grades will hopefully reinforce the upward trend. His schedule next year will be rigorous (4-5 APs) so no slacking off there. </p>
<p>It seems to me that figuring out what is a match school for him academically is going to be a key to this whole process. We don’t have naviance at our school or GCs who know anything a out colleges outside of Kentucky. I think the common data sets will be some help in assessing his matches but ultimately I know the admission process is a bit of a crap shoot. It’s just a matter of knowing which pond to fish in</p>