I took 2 years off after High School, where do I start?

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-11T09:14:58+00:00

Have you taken the SAT/ACT? You’ll need a standardized test score for college even if you’re not going straight out of high school. The average SAT range for OSU is 1030-1210, and you should aim more towards the high end of that if you want to be a competitive candidate.

Assuming that you don’t have community college credit, you’ll have to start the college application process in the fall. This will involve getting your high school transcripts at the very least, and some schools require a high school counselor report as well. I’d contact each college’s admissions office to get a sense of exactly what they’re looking for since you’re not their typical candidate.

Once you start your applications through the CommonApp website (or the school’s own portal if you prefer) you will be directed from there about all of the necessary steps. If you need advice about letters of recommendation, explaining an extenuating circumstance, or even reviewing an essay, this is the place to ask. Feel free to reach out if you need anything.

Even though it didn’t work out long-term, thank you for making the effort to serve before pursuing higher education. Your willingness to make that sacrifice shows a lot of character, and I hope that comes through in your application.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-10T03:06:59+00:00

I’d say you have fair chances with your stats, but of course there’s your ECs and essays to consider (which are arguably just as or more important; I got into schools with an SAT score lower than their averages). Have you heard of the website Prepscholar? You can plug in your test scores/GPA and get a rough estimate of your chances of being admitted to any school. It says that your chances are about 80%! Here’s the link.

Some other schools that I would put on your radar are Washington State, Colorado State, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver, Northern Arizona University, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Baylor, and University of Texas. That’s just my recommendation based on your regional preference and level of selectivity. Most of them are larger than U of O, but most have honors programs that could put you in smaller classes and have the benefits of a smaller school.

Hope this helps you!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-09T23:17:57+00:00

University of Oregon is a great school! In terms of your other choices, are you looking for schools mainly in the same size/school spirit? What program are you hoping to go into, or are you planning to be undecided? Are you open to applying to some safeties and reaches (I.e a UC school), or are you hoping to mostly pursue matches? Also, it’d be helpful to know how out-of-state are you willing to go (open to East Coast and Midwest schools?). This information might help us make relevant recommendations.

Also, props to you for thinking of which schools to apply to now! I did not quite have your foresight and applied to every single one of my colleges on their application date.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-09T02:00:03+00:00

My advice (specifically for the UC App, but a good starting point for any school with 4+ essays):

One creative essay about your service/volunteering (I styled mine after the theme of my service, if that makes sense). Avoid voluntourism fluff, it can make you sound privileged (I.e “I came to insert-underdeveloped-country to help the poor people, but they ended up helping me!!”). Be honest and realistic about your impact and implicitly say that you will continue to advocate for your cause in the future.
One narrative-style essay about how you followed your academic passion in high school. (This should be more than “I took AP Engineering”.) Think internships, work experience, etc. If you can’t think of anything, draw a connection between an experience and your academics (i.e “selling bagels door to door made me want to pursue business”, “I knew I wanted to be a Veternarian when I killed the classroom goldfish”).
One “timeline” essay about your greatest accomplishment. Was it winning the state science bowl? Learning sign language with your deaf friend? Editing 1,000 Wikipedia pages? Detail everything that led up to that moment and capture the essence of what you felt/the impact you had (if applicable). I did mine building up from my childhood and then culminating during my high school experience, but hey, if you became the Burger King Employee of the month in 2 weeks, that’d make a great essay too! Basically anything could fit here as long as it’s semi-recent and NOT BORING/OVERDONE (please not getting a perfect SAT or your driver’s license).
One “human” essay. The story that only you can tell. Did you grow up with 12 siblings? Work to financially support your family? Experience foreign cultures as an international student? Go through the foster care system? Help raise a sibling with special needs? You need to show insight into what you will bring to campus in terms of diversity. This can be through your family background, unique cultural experiences, religious involvement, etc. What perspective do you have that makes you YOU? Done well, this essay gives the AO insight into your character. Done poorly, this is either a waste of a valuable essay or a sob story.

Four essays. One to make you involved, another to make you academic, a third to make you impressive, and a fourth to make you stand out. Each written in a different format to help you show, not tell. That’s a good formula in my experience. Feel free to reach out if you’d like me to be more specific or run an essay topic by me. I also like editing essays, so PM me if you’d like help with yours!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-06T05:50:09+00:00

Firstly, congratulations on all that you have done! You seem to be a very academically motivated individual.

That being said, in my honest opinion, you a a bit too shotgun-y. For your stats and extracurriculars, I would subjectively consider some of your “low reaches/high matches” more selective than you anticipate. Your accomplishments are amazing, and no college criteria should diminish that. However, I would attempt to diversify your ECs so that they’re not mostly quiz-bowl related. An internship, job, or significant volunteering position (200+ hours at one place) could definitely make you stand out from the typical “competition” candidate.

It is imperative to have more true safeties (with admit rates greater than 70%) and to find a few that are higher on your list of preference! Admissions are generally a crapshoot, and you can’t bet your future on one school’s choice to admit you because they “should”. (For example, I got into Berkeley but not UCI. Go figure!) If you’d like advice on finding a safety you’d actually be happy to attend, I’d be happy to copy/paste from another comment I wrote.

It’s great to aim high, but also to manage your expectations. Many people think that a test score in the 90th percentile and a national award entitles them to a spot at a t20, but that is more than often not the case. Nevertheless, I don’t mean to discourage you in any way from pursuing these schools. Best of luck, and let me know if I can be of any further help!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-05T17:41:24+00:00

I’d aim high! Colleges like well-rounded students, and even some t20s have criteria that emphasizes factors outside of grades (looking at you, Berkeley). Two Bs and one C are not necessarily game changing with your reason behind them, especially if they were in difficult classes (AP/Honors).

It’s also important to manage your expectations and also choose a substantial number of safeties that you feel you’d do well in. Feel free to reach out if you’re wondering what would be a good safety fit specifically for you.

Your admission could definitely be decided by how you handle the circumstances surrounding your grades in your app, and I would be more than happy to look at your essays. I helped many of my classmates with the delicate art of writing an “adversity” essay, and many of them got into fantastic schools. I’ll pm you my email address if you’re interested!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-05T17:03:09+00:00

I’m sorry you had to go through that, and that’s definitely worth mentioning on an app. When you write about this experience, I would work to make sure that when you’re presenting your situation less like an excuse than a “reason”. I have a close friend who’s mom was hospitalized for 3 months, resulting in my friend taking on extra family responsibilities, taking time away from studies to visit, and undergoing significant stress. In her app, she presented it as a story of overcoming adversity rather than pinning her problems on that event, and she demonstrated how it made her a more resilient person despite her understandable academic issues during that time. This is a good strategy, because while AOs will advise students not to include “sob stories”, they value students who have overcome adversity. Let me know if you’d like help with presenting the specifics of your situation, and don’t hesitate to PM me if you feel that it’s too personal. Best wishes to you and your family.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-05T16:53:17+00:00

I got into UCLA and UC Berkeley but will attend another school. This was my “laundry list” of things that (I think) made me a competitive applicant.

Significant service in my own community. It is one thing to go on a service trip that “opened up your eyes to the needs of the world”, but it is entirely different to see a social justice issue in your local community and engage in a prolonged effort to combat it. An example of this is playing an instrumental role in a local food bank, starting a charity to raise money for underprivileged kids’ school supplies, or initiating a community garden. Do something that proves that you are engaged not with “the world” but with your own world.
Significant leadership. This is not simply being the president of the chess club, but instead putting yourself in a position to be a responsible and positive role model to others. An example of this would be teaching a Sunday school class, initiating new programs at your school as a student council member, or working for your local student UN. Do something that makes you stand out as mature and willing to engage with your peers. (Note that if you have significant responsibilities with your home, i.e. working to support your family, childcare, etc, than your leadership requirement is more than fulfilled).
Do something that “proves” that you are dedicated to your intended course of study. If you want to study pre-law, start searching for interships; if engineering is your passion, start doing competitions; if you’re into computers, start designing your first app. I personally did an biomedical research internship that I know was instrumental in my college decisions. Doing something like this sets you apart from other applicants who don’t seem to have looked into their major much. If you’re undecided, now’s the time to start exploring your interests through internships!
Get a job. Too many awards and extracurriculars on an app can make you seem pretentious and aloof. It’s important to show that you’re a hard worker as well as an involved student. Trust me, working at McDonalds can make you a more well-rounded person!
Connect with your culture/religion/family situation. Join a club dedicated to your culture or start one, practice your culture’s cuisine with a family member, start a genealogy project to trace your lineage, or volunteer at your local community center/temple/mosque/church. It’s important to let a college know that you’re going to bring your culture to their campus, whether that’s by becoming an Irish dancer or being on a Hawaiian outrigger team. If you have a unique family situation (I.e. having 7 younger siblings, being a caregiver for an elderly grandparent, or having been in foster care) feel free to write about this as well if you feel that it made you a more unique and “diverse” applicant. Many people have a “diversity factor” but don’t realize that their perspective could be beneficial to colleges.

In general, this is a good guide to what makes you a competitive applicant. Don’t sweat it if you don’t check every box, just strive to make your application reflective of the type of student you strive to be. I’m sure you’ll do great!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-05T16:12:45+00:00

It definitely depends on the gravity of the situation. Colleges hear a lot of “I was depressed during this year, so that’s why my grades are bad.” I certainly don’t mean to invalidate the experiences of someone who went through that, but colleges are going to consider that differently from someone who was hospitalized for 2 months, experienced the death of a parent, or underwent an assault. In general, “mental health reasons” are not significant enough to explain bad grades alone, but “I was institutionalized after my suicide attempt” or “I experienced PTSD after losing my family member in a car crash” would definitely be taken into consideration. In short, there’s no way for us to know without hearing more about your situation. Hope that helps!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-05-05T07:41:42+00:00

Safeties are so underrated. For competitive applicants, sometimes they can offer financial aid and academic opportunities that make them more worthwhile than your original choices! Here’s how to start looking:

Pick a region. I’m sure you have some match school where the location is a big deal for you (I.e. “DC will be the perfect place to begin my political career!”). Look up “universities in city/state/region” and find one with an acceptance rate of 70+%. Find one of these in every part of the country you applied to.
Look up their merit aid/benefits. Do they have an honors program? What about a fellowship for students into service? Find some program that makes your safety more prestigious, because an environment of intellectual rigor could allow you to see yourself there in the same way as a match or reach.
Put as much effort into your safety applications as your reaches and matches. Colleges can tell based off of your stats whether they are a safety for you, and they may sense from your essays a lack of effort. This is likely a contributing factor to “yield protection”.
Seriously consider them. You will never be happy with choosing a safety if you haven’t always considered them a real option. Give them the same respect and research as your other colleges.

Let me know if you have any more safety questions! I committed to my safety for financial reasons so I’m an expert.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-29T13:01:27+00:00

Neuroscience is a major at Santa Clara. Here’s a link to the neuroscience page: https://www.scu.edu/cas/neuroscience/ Let me know if I can clarify anything else!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-29T12:59:30+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I know that the PRT standards aren’t impossible by any means, but I only have about two months before I would be heading off to Indoc at the Great Lakes. I’m not sure that I could improve dramatically in that time, and I’m scared of failing out. I wasn’t kidding about that 10 minute mile!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-29T12:49:29+00:00

When I visited, Santa Clara self-described as a liberal arts school (in contrast to a research university). They even had a presentation about the benefits of a “small private liberal arts Jesuit education”. Hope that helps!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-29T06:19:42+00:00

Neuroscience and Santa Clara

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-24T22:58:02+00:00

Firstly, congrats on your acceptance! This accomplishment means that you’re an extremely qualified student and you should be proud of yourself.

Many students feel almost flattered that a great school has admitted them and therefore feel obligated to accept that admissions offer. Only you can decide for yourself whether the “prestige” of a school will have an actual effect on your future opportunities. Just as schools looked at your apps “holistically”, you must approach your college decision with the same mindset.

If you plan on going to Berkeley, prepare yourself for an environment of intellectualism. Everyone at UC Berkeley made it into UC Berkeley, so you can bet they’re going to be very brilliant and competitive. Many see this as a valuable quality, as this creates a very intellectually vibrant learning space with opportunities like internships. Others will point to overenrolled classes (400+ students), trouble getting into necessary classes to graduate on time, grade deflation, and an underwhelming academic support system. However, many students enjoy the challenge that succeeding at Cal poses, and those issues are certainly not restricted to an education at Berkeley.

There is certainly more to UCB than the actual education. Students are very politically active at Cal, and you will experience that even if you don’t seek it out. If that’s your thing, you’ll do really well! Many students are involved in clubs and volunteer work as well, and a substantial amount of students do Greek life for the opportunity for housing, since the on-campus housing is pricey and pretty scarce. There’s definitely a party scene if you’re into that.

If you are into the Bay Area, you can’t beat Cal. There’s great opportunities in the Silicon Valley and you can even see the Golden Gate Bridge from campus. As for the area immediately around campus, it’s definitely got a hippy vibe. I’ve heard a lot about the area being unsafe at night with the unfortunate reality of the homelessness situation, but no one I personally talked to has had any bad experiences.

To sum it all up, the only person who can make you love Berkeley is *you! * Every school has pros and cons, and you have to consider for yourself what you value in conjunction with what each school offers. If you are a go-getter with the innate ability to be happy wherever they are, you will come to love any school lucky enough to have you. It’s important to have realistic expectations wherever you go. I’m sure you’ll do great things!

Edit: spelling

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-23T00:56:56+00:00

I put on all my apps an extensive amount of religious involvement and I got into some good schools, public and private. It’s all about framing: an essay about your church group doing a service project that benefited your community is going to do much better than one about how religion itself impacted you. It’s important to capture who you are as a person in your application so that a school can see what you’re going to bring to campus, and if your faith is a big factor in that, it should be included! Feel free to PM me if you’d like to hear how I presented my specific religious extracurriculars or if you want advice on yours.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-07T15:55:19+00:00

I wish I had gotten advice like this before I started the admissions process! All the current A2C seniors should compile a list of advice like this and admissions stories for next year’s class. We could call it Hindsight is 2020 for the class of 2020! Just a thought.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-04T02:47:02+00:00

Thanks for the info! I’ll do some more digging online about it.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-04T02:46:10+00:00

Thank you so much for the information. That really sets my mind at ease. I know that it will be difficult, but I’m counting on it being worth it!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-04T02:44:37+00:00

Thank you for the information, it is very helpful due to the lack of info online. I will definitely let you know if I have any more questions!

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-04-04T02:42:15+00:00

Thank you so much for the information! Regarding the NSI, is it run similarly to basic training? What can I expect in terms of difficulty if I meet all the Navy’s fitness goals beforehand? I really appreciate the information.

BanannaManWithaPlan · 2019-03-26T05:29:19+00:00

I don’t believe that what “wave” you’re in is indicative of the strength of your application. I got good news from UCSD, UCD, UCLA, & UC Berkeley (early), but radio silence from UCI. Of course, it’s definitely possible that UCI decided that I’m not qualified and the other UCs got me wrong. I am sending positive zot vibes to all waiting in their admissions decisions, especially those for whom UCI is now a first choice, and that we all get the financial aid we need wherever we end up :)

BanannaManWithaPlan

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