How much consideration given to major accident which impacted grades in 9th and 10th grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

It needs to be recast as a story about resilience. Essentially: during the two years that I relearned how to eat, dress myself, and walk, my grades suffered, but I learned how to set priorities, pace myself appropriately, and identify alternative paths to meet my goals. Ultimately, I think these will serve me better in life than the 4.0 I likely would have earned if the accident had never happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

It needs to be recast as a story about resilience. Essentially: during the two years that I relearned how to eat, dress myself, and walk, my grades suffered, but I learned how to set priorities, pace myself appropriately, and identify alternative paths to meet my goals. Ultimately, I think these will serve me better in life than the 4.0 I likely would have earned if the accident had never happened.

That’ll be the natural reaction of many people. But it doesn’t work like that. Talk to some experienced college counselors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

It needs to be recast as a story about resilience. Essentially: during the two years that I relearned how to eat, dress myself, and walk, my grades suffered, but I learned how to set priorities, pace myself appropriately, and identify alternative paths to meet my goals. Ultimately, I think these will serve me better in life than the 4.0 I likely would have earned if the accident had never happened.

This. Colleges always like to see a positive trajectory. Kudos to your daughter for all her hard work to get her life back on track. The right school for her will welcome her and she will do great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

A sob story? Really??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

It needs to be recast as a story about resilience. Essentially: during the two years that I relearned how to eat, dress myself, and walk, my grades suffered, but I learned how to set priorities, pace myself appropriately, and identify alternative paths to meet my goals. Ultimately, I think these will serve me better in life than the 4.0 I likely would have earned if the accident had never happened.

That’ll be the natural reaction of many people. But it doesn’t work like that. Talk to some experienced college counselors.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mention it in the essays. Though I think that given it is September 16, you are being a bit presumptuous regarding grades for this year. But I hope she is able to keep that up.

A lot will also depend on test scores so it is hard to give much direction.

AOs will consider it as a sob story. Just put it in the additional information section. But expect AOs to discount the excuse to some extent.

A sob story? Really??

Also excuse? It's a reason, not an excuse. Seriously, what is wrong with many of the people on this thread? Most AOs aren't out to punish people. OP, I hope you find a great school.

[Anonymous]

Like most kids, she'll be admitted to at least one of the schools she applies to, assuming she aligns her credentials with at least one school's admission standards. If her capacity for academic performance is higher than it might first appear, she'll have the ability to do very well compared to the majority of her peers at that school, getting higher grades, honors, etc., which will serve her well in the job market or in applications to grad school. No reason to sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Look at Emory, which sounds like a good fit and doesn’t consider 9th grade grades. Also explain her circumstances- sounds like a really strong and impressive kid. Some college will be really lucky to have her on campus!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the selective schools put more emphasis on 11th grade followed by 10th and some even drop 9th. And for RD the first part of 12th is considered.

Agreed with: 22:11 make sure to mention it in the essays.

GPA and SAT are the biggest factors. So make sure the SAT portion is good.

As per college - you should also post the SAT score and number of APs taken.

+1. This is one of the reasons some schools are moving back to SAT scores. SAT scores are a good predictor of success in college, so if your child scores well, the accident was just an unfortunate event and her GPA during that time doesn't represent what she's truly capable of.

[Anonymous]

Kids on Reddit routinely have top20 admissions success with lower grades due to injury, illness or family tragedy. It's only on DCUM where you hear "don't talk about illness, don't share a sob story, don't use the extra comments space, don't this and don't that..."

[Anonymous]

Yes for sure. Perfect essay material. Look at Fairfield. Great business school.

[Anonymous]

I’m glad she’s doing well today. That is a lot to overcome! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I need to print them out and read it again.

Just to provide more context if that leads to any other suggestions.

DD had 75% of the her liver damaged and needed to be removed, several broken ribs, fracture in her left hand and hairline fracture on her leg.

She was put on so many steroids and other medications. One of the side effects is increased hunger and she gained a lot of weight. She had trouble sleeping due to pain as the slightest movement would cause pain and wake her up.

We are just glad she was able to lead a normal life again which seemed like a pipe dream at one point.

She is very active though at school. She knows a quarter of the HS students in every grade. She would be invited to each and every gathering of students. That is her strength and weakness. Not strong in academics and does not want to spend time studying. Somehow gets involved in every school activity.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I would not expect a SAT score above 1300 and in fact would be happy if she is able to get 1250.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing her story. Life is fragile. Again good luck to her as she finds her place!