Wait a Year or go to lesser choice? Parental Advice Wanted

Parents Forum
1

<p>hello, i was told to post this here and get parental/ alumni advice…i should mention that my family will be in Guangzhou, China for the next 5 years while i’m in college and that my health is now (for the most part) under control due to some recently developed medicines…</p>

<p>Ok, so here’s my problem (sorry that this is so long)</p>

<p>when I was a sophomore I had severe pneumonia and had to go on home bound for a month. My junior year I was in the hospital for a week and a half and missed about two months of school. My family moved abroad this year and I became seriously ill with the same chronic illness i had my junior year and had to go to a neighboring country for medical care….missed a quarter of the school year, and had to withdraw because the American School here couldn’t accommodate my homebound needs. my illness is now under control, but by the time it was i’d missed so much school I had to withdraw from the high school.</p>

<p>Not only that, but my guidance counselor refused to send transcripts to colleges or write recs because I’d withdrawn from the school. AKA, since we weren’t paying 15K per year they wouldn’t do squat.</p>

<p>This made me miss my deadline for William and Mary (my match school) and Berkeley.</p>

<p>But I was able to apply to Georgetown, GWU, U. of South Carolina (home state school), and NYU Stern with the help of the guidance counselor from my old school…and later from another correspondence school I enrolled in (i really wanted to finish high school). I actually applied to Georgetown without a guidance counselor because I wanted to go so badly, and I was hoping that things would be reconciled when I enrolled in the correspondence school.</p>

<p>Before I got sick I was valedictorian of the high school here, editor in chief of the school newspaper, in MUN, Habitat for Humanity, and taking four AP’s.</p>

<p>At my high school back home I was apart of the National’s MUN Team, on the editorial board for newspaper, Sec. of Youth in Politics, VP of the Dead Poets Society, Leo Club, NHS, Latin Club, Founder of an Outreach Chamber group, Crew, and I was participating 8 hours a week in karate. I was a Junior Marshall too in the top 15% of my class in two magnet programs (one for liberal arts the other for writing)….it was a big step for me to leave and live abroad with my family my senior year.</p>

<p>In January I also got an internship at the U.S. Consulate here (we don’t have an embassy near-bye). I love this internship, and it fostered an even greater desire to go to SFS at Georgetown…</p>

<p>My guidance counselor suggested I redo my senior year, however, I really wanted to forge ahead….I didn’t want to let an illness keep me from going on with my life
And at the same time I felt really cheated by the school system here
Aside from refusing to help me when I was ill,
They wouldn’t even let me continue to visit students on campus…and this is really hard as in a foreign country the school here was my only link to kids my age from my country.</p>

<p>I got into my home-state school at South Carolina on a nearly full scholarship (I only have to pay $1,000 per year if I go there) and I got into the honor’s college and a 5 yr undergraduate MIB program….and I just got my acceptance to GWU’s school of business.
I’m still waiting on NYU Stern, but I was recently rejected by SFS Georgetown. Well, I was wait-listed, but the guy who talked to me was kind enough to tell me that there was little chance that I’d get in off the waitlist, he suggested waiting a year and enjoying where I am or transferring.</p>

<p>I’m really devastated by my rejection at Georgetown. I could still go back and enroll in high school and have the senior year I missed out on, but I really want to go ahead at the same time…and I do have a wonderful internship here.</p>

<p>GWU is also very expensive…40K per year or so including everything…and it wasn’t even on my radar screen until I got sick and had to withdraw from school (although I’m beginning to really like the school the more I get to know it…and I recently met business proff. who was traveling where i live )</p>

<p>Someone suggested that I appeal to Gtown, but I don’t know anything about that. Maybe I should just go to GWU (although I’m still waiting on NYU).</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

<p>My stats, other than the extra curricular activities that I stated, are as follows</p>

<p>SAT Verb- 710
Math (my weak point)-650
SATII- Writing 710
History-690
GPA-4.7 (not sure what it is un-weighted)
Top 15% of class back home (In very competitive magnet program)
Top in Class here before I withdrew
Rudy Manke Award for Science
Discovery Young Scientist Challenge National Semi-Finalist
Published through local state university
5 AP courses completed with 4s and 5s on all but Latin (US Hist, Euro Hist, Latin, Psych, English Comp)
currently studying AP Econ Macro and Micro, Gov’t, and English Lit. (4 total)</p>

<p>my grades were hurt a bit by my illness, but frankly I’m proud that I was able to pull them up so much while being so sick. I’ve always had a weak spot in math (as you can see from my SAT score)</p>

<p>what are my chances if i wait a year? transfer? defer? what should i do?</p>

<p>will X-post to georgetown thread</p>

2

<p>First, do you have extended family in SC - that might influence my decision - in the event you have medical issues in the future.</p>

<p>I am a SC resident, I have heard that the international business program at USC is very very highly rated. The honors college is quite competitive by all accounts and draws some talented students. It sounds like GWU is a better fit for what you desire, but USC could work.</p>

<p>Please look into the international business program at Carolina and consider any extended family you may have in the State. If money is an issue I would choose Carolina and plan on Georgetown for grad. (With high academics etc. from USC honors you should have no trouble getting in then). If none of the above apply I would choose GWU. In any event, with 2 good choices I wouldn’t go back to high school.</p>

3

<p>Orangemom. Thanks for the reply.
I’m a genuine southerner…so i’ve got extended family all over the south.
I’ve also got an aunt and an uncle and a couple of close family friends in VA and Maryland…not too far away.</p>

<p>The business program at USC is no 1. in the nation for international business…and i love the honor’s college, but i’m worried that, despite it’s rank, when i tell a grad school or an employer that i’m from Moore, they’ll have no clue where or what that is :-(</p>

4

<p>Go to one of these schools where you were accepted.Chances are slim you’ll get into GTown and your other schools are fine universities. Do well and shoot for a transfer if you still feel this way next year. You may find contentment where you end up and do well so you can apply to grad school with an outstanding GPA.</p>

5

<p>I doubt that another year will make a difference at SFS. You had very good qualifications this time but they were not able to fit you in. The odds of acceptance are very low. it is a very very tough school to get into because so many US and international celebrities and royals want acceptance. The stats do not tell the full story.</p>

<p>So…my feeling is that GWU is the next best thing. THeir international program is highly rated. The Wash DC location draws top drawer professors and lecturers. the NYU International studies program is relatively new though the business school is reknowned.</p>

<p>Also, I worry about your health. Might there be some connection between your high flying successes and the chronic nature of your illnesses? While you will find plenty of challenges at GWU, it might also be less stressful than SFS. Maybe four years of less stress is what you need?</p>

<p>Good luck. May the Gods of Good health keep you well and happy. :)</p>

6

<p>If these are the only two choices, then get on with your life and go to the “lesser” school. Who knows, you might like the “lesser” school so much that you’ll forget why you wanted to go to a much more expensive school that’s much harder to get into.</p>

7

<p>cacophony</p>

<p>I saw a post in the honors college section from BCgoUSC who is currently choosing between USC honors (Moore) and Duke. Try reading that post. I do think if you excell at Carolina you would be able to gain entrance to the grad school of your choice, with money left over to pay that hefty grad school bill.
I wish you luck in your decision (and good health).</p>

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<p>Cacaphony- you’ve accomplished so much in spite of your challenges- congratulations! Moore is a highly regarded school and, for the price and opportunities you’d have in the Honors program, it would be hard to beat. If Stern comes through, realize that NYU is very pricey, also. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>Cacophony, I work with a woman who developed a debilitating childhood illness. After the doctors told her mother that the then child would not live very long, this young girl decided whe better hurry up and finish high school. She was still alive at graduation, so she went on to a local UC. Again she finished early. As she was still alive she decided she better hurry up and get her PhD. She’s still here, has a husband and a teenage son and publishes a ton of papers each year. A slightly better school is not worth giving up part of your life. What happens at college is more up to the student than the institution.</p>