College Admissions Essay: Dropping Out Of High School

I would never have imagined that I would be a high school dropout. Although I came from a single-parent household, grew up in a poor neighborhood and even lived in a homeless shelter once as a young child, I knew I would defy the odds. I tested into a gifted and talented program where I learned to speak French at second grade, sing in the chorus in third, and became a concert violinist by the time I entered middle school. I joined chess and French club and became a State-competing varsity athlete in track & field and gymnastics. I took advanced placement physics, volunteered with my church, and had a part-time job on the weekends. I was a star student with great potential for success after my high school graduation, but I never crossed the stage.
Instead of preparing for my SATs and hunting for the perfect prom dress I traveled back and forth to New York City during the spring of my junior year of high school as one-third of a trio pop singing group. I took a leave
Though I was able to make up for the missed coursework from my time away, I was still short half of a credit. I knew I didn’t want to be held back, so I made a choice. I was fortunate to find a cooperative program at a local community college that offered a GED track for students who had recently left high school before graduation and allowed for all general education coursework to apply toward an associate’s degree. The following spring, in 2003, as my classmates were finalizing their college applications, I was enrolling in my first semester of college-level coursework as I earned my GED. Fast forward three and a half years and I was able to earn both an Associate of Applied Science and a Bachelor of Science, finishing one academic year ahead of my graduating high school class. Defying the odds? I’m not sure, but I sure had a memorable experience, unlike anyone I have ever