Hello. I am a rising senior in high school. This past semester (Junior Year, Jan-May) I was very depressed due to lots of things going on in my life. I was too nervous to tell my parents and eventually just lifted myself out of it on my own, so I was never formally diagnosed. It severely impacted my grades. I was always a Straight A, maybe a few Bs student, but last semester I got 4 Bs and 3 As. I am super nervous now as that is the last semester they will see on my transcript if I am applying ED/EA… Is there any way I can explain the situation I was in when I am applying, and if so how?
I don’t see many options for explaining it. You had no medical diagnosis or care – self diagnosis doesn’t carry much weight. And who is to say that you wouldn’t run into exactly the same situation in college? That is what a college would be concerned about, especially without formal treatment. Also, revealing mental health issues to colleges isn’t a great way to encourage them to bring you on campus. Normally I’d suggest you talk to your GC and they could refer to a semester of illness without being specific, but again… if you didn’t seek any treatment, I’d assume your GC wouldn’t really feel comfortable doing that.
I think you need to be realistic about finding some schools you’d like to attend and that you can afford where your grades are in line with their student body.
You could put a brief note in the Additional Info section saying that you had personal issues in spring of your junior year that affected your grades, but you are back on track now. I would not say ANYTHING else (no self diagnosis, no other excuses, etc). But I’d make sure you have some schools that match your actual stats, too.
I agree with @intparent. I don’t see a good way to explain this either.
One issue is that university can be stressful for some students. University is academically challenging with hard deadlines, involves your living mostly on your own, and things like breakups and sickness can happen to university students. You don’t want this to return when you get to university.
The medical profession has gotten a lot better at dealing with depression. Depression is also a very common illness. If you had this well treated then you could say so. Getting over it on your own is very good, but does not lead to a full confidence that this is treated effectively and will not happen again.
At a minimum I would agree with @intparent that you need to apply to some schools that are in line with your stats. I also think that you should see a counselor when you are in university if for no other reason than to be familiar with where they are and how to see them if you need them in the future.
Schools seem to vary in terms of whether or not they will look at senior years grades. Some don’t consider senior grades at all (unless a student has taken a gap year). However, I have seen some cases such as this where a student had inconsistent grades and the school did wait to get the first half grades senior year. Definitely try to keep your grades up for next year. It will help in the long run to learn the material well and it might help with admissions as well.
It’s still all A’s and B’s - not catastrophic. Yes, it will take the competitiveness of your “match” schools down a notch; but you will still have good options. And as others have noted, college is stressful, and perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise for you to re-calibrate a little and attend a school where you’ll be above average in ability and won’t have to struggle to do well.
If you want to share more info (home state, test scores, financial constraints, major/career goals, etc.) then people here will probably be able to suggest schools that are well-regarded and challenging, with a great student experience, and still realistic for your stats.
What sorts of colleges? Many high schools will send out a mid-term progress report between the Early deadline and the final decisions.
If all you do is note “personal issues,” an adcom can turn to the GC letter to see if there’s some clarifying reference (and resolution, from the GC perspective.) In your case, the catch-22 is as intparent says. I’m afraid the situation is what it is. But if you truly feel stronger, nothing wrong with applying to the right matches and safeties for the record you do have. Later, you can consider a transfer or how to use grad school to move up a notch.
I don’t think you can talk to the GC about xplaining any of this, after the fact, since there isn’t yet a turnaround. If an ED/EA college defers you, you would have the chance to show improvement, with first semester grades. Even so, with an A and B record, I hope you’re targeting the right competitive level, not just dream schools.
Nor can you put this in the essay, which isn’t for explanations.
Here’s a list of schools attended by the Ceos of the top ten companies in America. You will be fine. Study hard and go to a great school that meets your passion budget and wants you there! And how many end up at pretty darn good grad schools if that is what you would like to accomplish.
Doug McMillon (Wal-Mart Stores) - University of Arkansas (BS), University of Tulsa (MBA)
Rex Tillerson (Exxon Mobil) - University of Texas at Austin (BS)
John S. Watson (Chevron) - University of California, Davis (BA), University of Chicago (MBA)
Warren E. Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) - University of Nebraska (BS), Columbia University (MS)
Tim Cook (Apple) - Auburn University (BS), Duke University (MBA)
Greg C. Garland (Phillips 66) - Texas A&M University (BS)
Mary Barra (General Motors) - General Motors Institute/Kettering University (BS), Stanford University (MBA)
Mark Fields (Ford Motor) - Rutgers University (BA), Harvard University (MBA)
Jeff Immelt (General Electric) - Dartmouth College (BA), Harvard University (MBA)
Joe Gorder (Valero Energy) - University of Missouri-St. Louis (BA), Our Lady of the Lake University (MBA)
I would ask your counselor to address it. If you want to address it yourself, it could be done as part of your essay, if you can speak to what you learned from the experience. But since it wasn’t diagnosed or treated, I would probably not mention it. The risk is that the college will see it as a sign that not only might it happen again, but that you won’t seek help. Obviously nobody around you - people who know you well - saw any outward signs that you were struggling, so it’s reasonable to believe that people that don’t know you won’t recognize them either.
I would not address it especially since you had no formal diagnosis and no formal treatment. Colleges will see it as a reason to be nervous about having you on campus, not a reason to want you on campus. Seek out reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable based on the academic stats you have.
EA/ED schools typically ask for first quarter grades so work to get off to a great start next year.
Sounds like an excuse at this point. You have to make the most of your options going forward.