<p>Hey CC! I recently submitted the common app to my reach schools including Stanford, MIT, UChicago, and Princeton. As you can probably tell from my username, my GPA isn't really top notch for these schools, but I have an upwards trend (9th = 3.5UW/10th = 3.687UW/11th = 3.875UW/12th(1st semester) = 4.0UW/Cumulative = 3.72) On the additional information sections, I attached an "essay" ~3/4 page long explaining my trend resulting from personal growth and overcoming of a personal obstacle (parents who would constantly berate me). </p>
<p>However, in retrospect, I'm beginning to wonder if that was such a good idea. I mean the Additional Info section is meant to explain any inconsistencies in your transcript/academic history, but from what I've read online, it's recommended that you only do this for grades C or lower (I've gotten many Bs but no Cs) and to keep it short if you do (I'm not sure if 3/4 page double-spaced is considered "short"). Will colleges look unfavorably upon this? I know I'm probably freaking out more about this than I should be, but I just wanted to hear others' opinions on my situation. Any advice is appreciated!</p>
<p>Anyone who is “freaking out” about the likelihood of being accepted at Stanford, MIT, UChicago, and Princeton has an unrealistic outlook on their chances to begin with. </p>
<p>Let’s be blunt: a 3.72 GPA, whatever the reason – likely will knock you out from consideration at those extremely, extremely competitive applicant pools. </p>
<p>Your explanation won’t be looked at unfavorably per se – the GPAs of the other applicants will smother your academic record – and this likely will be the cause of your not being accepted unless you have other startling factors in your application.</p>
<p>There’s nothing you can do about the ‘additional info’ essay at this point, so why ask?</p>
<p>Also, Stanford doesn’t include your 9th grade GPA in their calculation of your GPA so academically at least, you are certainly in the ball park.</p>
<p>I would not worry. I have heard of people explaining upward trend. I heard that at Brown too.
I do not think Princeton looks at freshman year either.</p>
<p>@T26E4, I’ve applied to all these reaches knowing their extremely competitive nature. I fully expect across-the-board rejections, yet I believe in the holistic review process. I figured that even the vast majority of applicants with a 4.0UW will be rejected anyways. Although I recognize a sub-par GPA will greatly hurt my chances at admission, I hope my other achievements/test scores/recs/essays will assure the adcoms of my academic preparation. I’m not “freaking out” because I think it will take away my “expected” acceptance, but rather because as a prospective candidate who needs the rest of his application to be perfect, I want to portray myself in the best light :)</p>
<p>@M’s Mom, This thread was primarily to calm my nerves. But, I still have future applications to submit and I was seeking advice on whether or not I should submit my “essay” in the additional info section for those. If I do, should I abridge it? On another note, without my freshman year factored in, my GPA UW is ~3.825, and my W is ~4.225. In my research, I’ve heard mixed reports about whether or not Stanford and Princeton consider freshmen grades in their calculations. I hope they don’t.</p>
<p>I think that it is a very bad idea to submit any essay which brings out “dirty” laundry such as “parents who berate you”. At best such essays pull the discussion away from why you are a strong candidate – academically, someone with leadership potential, someone with deep intellectual or artistic or musical ability, someone who is an asset to their school and (by implication) to the college etc. – into the rationale of why your numbers (which from a big picture perspective are fine) could have or should have been stronger, and all this by berating your parents in a public way.</p>
<p>@fogcity, that’s what I was afraid of. Although it is true that my parents constantly insulted me, I tried to focus on my personal development and how I overcame that obstacle in my essay. My intention was not to berate my parents in any way, but rather to focus on my personal development and my current academic mindset over the years. I tried my best to not make the focus on the “dirty” laundry, but rather how I overcame adversity and matured as a result. I can see how it would come off as immature though. I just hope the adcoms are understanding.</p>
<p>I would not include it on future applications. If you have information that is a “non-dirty laundry” explanation (and does not sound like excuses), tell your guidance counselor so they can share it with the colleges. I assume you have some matches and safeties you would be happy to attend, too.</p>
<p>@intparent, would you recommend me not to send an any additional information at all explaining the problems that afflicted me during 9th-10th grade and the growth I’ve experienced since then?
I asked my guidance counselor if he could note my upwards trend in his recommendation, but I didn’t explain the exact details behind why I didn’t perform my best in 9th-10th grade.
I have several matches and safeties that I would be perfectly happy to attend, but I applied to ~5 reaches anyways.</p>
<p>I agree with inparent. Do not include the additional information essay if it’s about parents who berate you and ‘overcoming’ their criticism as a ‘personal obstacle.’ It sounds like excuses. Of course, if child protective services was involved, you ended up in foster care, and you’ve overcome serious emotional and/or physical abuse, then I withdraw my comment. In that case, your guidance counselor should be made aware of the situation and should comment on it in their recommendation.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t want to draw attention to any “dirty laundry”, but wouldn’t it be important to notify colleges in some way that there were genuine family issues that affected my academic performance?</p>