Additional Information - A Place to Make Excuses?

<p>I'm getting ready to submit my Commom Application to a handful of colleges ranging from Pepperdine to Johns Hopkins to Harvard. I haven't really considered the additional information section until now and I'm not sure if I should fill it out.</p>

<p>I am a Senior in highschool who is from a small, rural town. We have one highschool and it's not the greatest. I took advantage of all of the AP classes offered there, was involved in a few clubs, and I started two of my own clubs. I felt like my credentials were solid, but upon reading posts from other CC users, I realized just how limited my school's offerings were. We don't have the opportunity to study Latin and recieve national Latin test awards. We don't have a lacrosse team, a math club, a debate team, or a model UN organization. We have very limited club offerings and incredibly low funding.</p>

<p>I feel like I did the best I could in highschool, and when opportunities weren't given to me I tried to create those opportunities myself by starting my own clubs or by studying on my own. By my knowledge our school has sent only one student to an Ivy League university in the past twenty years. Most of our top students, even our valedictorians, tend to stay in-state and many people feel lucky to go to a Community College.</p>

<p>Is this something I should mention in the additional information section? Or will it sound like I am making excuses? I just want to get out of this one-horse town.</p>

<p>Presenting this in the way you describe won’t help your app, but you are right in wanting to convey to the adcoms the fact you come from a community without great resources. </p>

<p>Your counselor has provided information in the school report about the number of APs available, etc. You can show that you are a superstar within the context of your school and community through the various portions of your app without spelling it out in the additional info section. Make it clear you were a founder, a leader and a go getter in the activities and essay sections. Ask your recommenders to explain how you stand out and are ready for bigger challenges than your local colleges would offer.</p>