<p>So, I had a very rough freshman year (2.86 gpa in fall, 3.2 gpa in spring), which has brought my GPA down quite a bit. This was due to my father's death in the spring of 8th grade, as well as a severe case of ADHD that had gone undiagnosed until the beginning of sophomore year. </p>
<p>After my ADHD was treated and I stopped grieving, my GPA went up quite a bit. Sophomore year, I had a 3.8 GPA unweighted and Junior year I had a 4.0 unweighted (4.5 weighted). And, senior year, I'm going to be taking 4 APs. </p>
<p>How do I explain this on my application? I know many frown upon explaining a poor GPA; however, I feel I have a legitimate reason for having such a poor GPA my first year of high school.</p>
<p>Try to explain how you’ve grown from this experience in your application. Adcoms appreciate such individuals. In addition, the upward trend of your grades more than satisfies any doubts universities have about your academic performance. </p>
<p>Now onto SATs.</p>
<p>Oh, my SATs are fine. I had the flu when I took them, so I know I can do better. I have been studying for the entire summer. </p>
<p>Where exactly would one include this information? I don’t plan on writing my essays about it, so would this just be included in a personal statement? I don’t want to sound whiney in the least, either.</p>
<p>Thank you for the reply.</p>
<p>It could make for a good essay, but it’s also probably fairly cliche. Some apps have a “any additional information we should know” box. I haven’t seen an app yet that doesn’t allow for some particular space to include something, even if you have to upload a text document explaining it.</p>
<p>If you find an application where you’re not sure where to put such information, you can ask in that school’s particular sub-forum for advice on where to place it.</p>
<p>I related a decent amount to you, except for the ADHD part. My dad died in July before my freshman year so I definitely know how that goes, especially since it was 100% unexpected and definitely changed my life. I got a 3.5 and a 3.8 fresh, 4.0 and a 3.8 soph, and a 4.33 both semesters junior year and I plan to take 4 aps senior year as well 
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<p>I plan to write about my loss a lot in my essays, and show development and personal growth. This should highlight yourself as a person overcoming a huge obstacle, not so much looking for pity if worded correctly. I’m going to try and talk about how this terrible struggle formed me into a person with a stronger core and has influenced me to be as successful as I can and place emphasis on hard work. </p>
<p>Apps should be coming out soon for certain schools, if they haven’t already for you, so make sure you get your thoughts and accomplishments down early so you have a guideline for writing pieces about yourself. This will prove to be a great benefit as you won’t forget certain facts, and you can just add more as you remember lost thoughts. An example being a chance thread directly mainly towards yourself, not so much looking for anything in return (like mine) <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1184083-chance-rising-senior-ucsb-business-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1184083-chance-rising-senior-ucsb-business-major.html</a></p>
<p>Good luck to you, and make sure you prepare a lot and take plenty of practice SAT tests. My biggest weakness lies within my standardized testing, but I have just started preparing for the sept 10th ACT. I plan to take 5+ full practice tests before this date.</p>
<p>No, if you’re able to elaborate (with concision) as to how this entire ordeal help shape who you are today or how you sought to overcome your difficulties (or similar) then it’ll come off as a great essay. Adcoms love this kind of stuff because it shows that you’ve “lived/experienced” (personal growth) more than the average applicant. I fail to see how this is “whiny”, granted if you use the entire experience as an “excuse” then it may come off as whiny, instead try to show growth.</p>
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<p>Your profile says that you are in California. Well, lucky you – UC and CSU do not include 9th grade course grades in calculating the GPA used for freshman admissions (although you need to have had C or higher grades in courses used to meet the subject requirements).</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Calculating GPA](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/index.html)
[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - GPA Calculator](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)</p>
<p>ucbalumnus- I’m not applying to any in-state schools aside from University of San Francisco.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input.</p>