I am a current junior who is just now, in their second semester of junior year, being diagnosed with ADD. I have had decent grade performance the past two semesters, but my freshman year and the start of sophomore year grades are nothing but average. Is this something I should include in the “additional information” section? My GPA is probably the worst part of my app (I have good extracurriculars I am passionate about, and I have already prepared some nice essays, my ACT is a 32 W/o accommodations, should be going up soon even without accommodations), and I think that my struggle with ADD has been a large part of why my grades have suffered. Would it show that I am a hard-worker who will perform as well as I am currently in high school, or will it sound like a whiny private-school kid who got meds to perform better academically? NOTE: please don’t move to learning difference and challenges, this is more about the admissions perspective.
Short answer: yes, you should include it.
Long answer: colleges evaluate applications holistically, and every piece you include helps. The additional information section is DESIGNED for situations like this. If you don’t include the information and your grades improve now that you’ve been diagnosed and are getting necessary treatment and accommodations, it will look like an okay upward trend. If you do choose to disclose, your transcript has a different story. Now you were doing the best you could in spite of an undiagnosed learning issue, and the upward trend is reflective of your true potential.
You probably should disclose. But be aware that it may not make a difference in how they view your application, and since you are competing against students who did well in those years, be sure you have matches and safeties you would really like to attend. as well.
thanks so much! I’m scared of it looking like I got diagnosed strictly for academic performance, which is not the case. My gpa was not complete trash, I have a 3.7 UW/ 4.0 weighted which is already decent. I stalked your profile a little bit, and Penn is a school im highly considering. do you enjoy your time there?
Yes, very much! I also think it’s a very ADHD-friendly school, in that you’re usually doing a little bit of everything (the opposite being Cornell College in Iowa, where you take one class at a time, which is my worst nightmare). The classes are difficult and require a lot more work than high school, but once I started medication the work was doable.
With this diagnosis, I’ve revamped my college considerations. I’ve thrown out Uchicago because of the quarter system, and Upenn and Columba are my first choices. I think you and I are similar in a lot of ways (again, sorry for stalking your profile), and we are both LGBT kids really interested in the arts. I play french horn in two very impressive extracurricular bands, along with orchestra pit (which at my school is the definition of hell) What would you recommend highlighting in a Penn application? Also, can you back out of a Penn ED if they don’t meet your financial need? I’m scared I won’t get a good financial aid package but I really want to go there. Did you submit a fine arts supplement?
- Highlight your passion and skill in your chosen field -- top schools like Penn want to see that you're generally above average and exceptional in one or two things.
- Yes, financial aid inadequacy is the one way to back out of ED. You can also call the aid department and try to haggle; that's what my mom did last year.
- I submitted a research paper; I don't know too many people who submitted fine arts, and most of it was writing. I'd recommend getting one of the band directors to write your supplemental letter of recommendation as an additional way to highlight your musical ability.