The process of growing up is a difficult one for anyone. The college application process is long and tedious. It is scary for every high school junior or senior. The addition of a brain injury complicates the process.
Brain injuries affect their humans differently. My brain injury made it, so I needed to fight to receive extra time on admissions tests. But still, my scores did not reflect my work ethic. It was very frustrating.
I needed to rely on other parts of my application to get in. I went to a small high school, so my references knew me very well and I was lucky, but some kids do not have the support that I had. It is crucial for them to find someone who can help them through this transition.
Submission of college applications
The worst part for me was once I hit submit. I couldn’t change or improve my application. I just needed to wait. As the letters poured in saying no while all my friends were getting accepted I needed to lean on my support system often.
It was a process to find schools that accepted me based on other stuff then my test scores. It is important to know there are options. Just because friends and classmates get into amazing schools doesn’t mean you are in trouble.
There is always a way to get to what you want to do. If college isn’t an option at first, there are other ways. There are gap year programs and community college to start the process that way or go into the workforce and then apply later. It is essential to know what to suggest when feelings are down about getting into schools. It is not easy for anyone, but it can be worse with a unique obstacle.
If you are interested in my story and why I have started this blog, click here.