Should I have any hope?

Shalee
Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:29:34 +0000

I wasn’t entirely sure where I should post this…I was thinking the “What Are My Chances” forum, but scanning through the posts, everyone seemed to be providing information that I simply can’t provide right now. It seemed more statistical over there, so here I am.

Short, sweet, and to the point: Should I have any hope of getting into a good college?

In high school, I was a pretty stupid teenager. I don’t mean intellectually, but I shunned responsibility, I had a lot of personal issues troubling me (such as life at home), and after a while, nothing really seemed to matter to me anymore. Namely, school.

And so, school suffered the hardest hit at that point in my life. I’ve just about demolished my high school records: tons of absences, more tardies than I can count, and my Freshman year…I actually managed to get straight 0s by the end of the year. (This was mainly due to the tardies. They took away my credit because of them. Even classes I was getting As in ended up being 0s.) Mid-way through Sophomore year, I left traditional public high school and transferred to a public night school, where the only classes I had were the primary ones: English, History, Science, Math. Overall, I did decently there and graduated in 2008. (But, for some reason, I was never required to take the SATs…)

I’ve spent a few years now out of high school, working a part-time job. I’ve moved out of my dysfunctional home and my mindset is a lot clearer. I’d always planned on going to college, but while I was in high school, it felt more like a requirement than something I personally wanted to do. After spending these past few years away from school, I’ve grown up a lot more and I’ve developed a nearly overwhelming thirst for knowledge. I’ve come to miss being taught new things every day and the thought of being able to study in a field of my own choice really excites me. My perspective has changed nearly 180 degrees from what it used to be. I no longer want to go to college to obey my mother or to impress my grandfather or to show anyone that I’m not just a run-of-the-mill loser. I want to go because I have a love of learning and want to cram as much knowledge into my long-neglected mind as possible.

In high school, my judgment was clouded and I didn’t care about the outcome of my actions. But, now that I realize just how much I really do want to further my education and how hard I’m willing to work at it…I’m worried. Have my reckless teenage years destroyed my chances of getting into a nice, respected college or university? Will I ever be able to do better than the local two-year community college?

My high school records are so scattered, that I honestly have no idea what my GPA was. And I don’t actually have any of the records to look back on…only my diploma. How am I to find my previous GPA without those documents? I -do- need to know that in order to apply to a college, right?

And as I previously stated…I was never required to take the SATs. Was that something I was supposed to schedule on my own? Can I still schedule an SAT test now that I’ve been out of school for years?

It would be absolutely humiliating presenting my high school records to a respected school, expecting them to let me in. What if I attended my local community college and did well? Would the higher ranking schools overlook my high school records if I had good college records to present as well?

I just find it difficult to believe that an absent-minded 16-year-old could possibly lay the foundation of the rest of their lives, regardless of whether or not they want to choose a different path later on in life (particularly, after they’ve grown a sense of responsibility and worth).

Anyway…thank you so much for reading. ^.^ Perhaps some of you might have some advice to lend me? :)