Senior year is approaching and that too super super quick. I’m interested in either Georgetown EA or Cornell ED (but I am leaning towards Cornell because I really like the ILR program despite what a beauty the Gtown campus is) and I’m a decently okayishly strong applicant. Not gonna go into detail with stats, but I have a 3.8 UW, 4.5-6 W GPA, a lot of extracurriculars and will have good recs.
Here’s my question/situation-
I moved to my current high school from India, and it was a process to transition to the very different American education system (I’m not an international applicant BTW, I’m from America and have citizenship but lived most of my life abroad). To add to that, my parents were in the process of immigrating which took almost three years, and I often had to take weeks off of school to accommodate their travel due to visa troubles etc. etc. This had an impact on my grades! To add to that, my sister was actually diagnosed with various health problems, and it was draining for my family and I (it sounds rough, it kinda was, don’t worry, we’ve been okay). You know that little section on college apps to discuss extenuating circumstances? Should I write about this (I will probably touch on the topics a little in my essay)? I would like it to reflect that I worked hard through adversity.
@happymomof1 Thanks for your quick response! I have already talked to my guidance counselor, and he said he would include it but also suggested that I should write this in that section because I should provide my version and my account of the circumstances.
Has anyone had any experience with how they’ve discussed factors like this? Please comment!
If I was a person in college admissions, I would want to make sure I would admit someone who could succeed.
From what you said, I see a person with a 3.8 UW, 4.5 W GPA who did that while still taking off time for immigration and a sick sister. That seems like a person who has chosen challenging courses and is doing well in them despite family issues and would succeed at my college.
The only question I have is that are you having problem with your grades this year or is it just over the past 3 years?
If over the past 3 years, then a 3.8 is really good no matter what!
So I would mention the extenuating circumstances…not as an excuse, but as evidence of how well you did
@bopper Thanks for your kind comment! To answer your question, my school actually doesn’t factor freshman grades into their GPA (top 5 high school in Massachusetts that doesn’t rank students and is known for its rigor), and in my 9th Grade Advanced Math class I received a B-. I actually took nearly a month off for school during 9th grade, and I know that it impacted my grade! 3.8 is really my sophomore year GPA, but I am expecting my GPA to take a little dip this year because I have taken 3 AP classes, an advanced language and all honors classes. I think my GPA will probably be a 3.75 with Junior grades but my weighted (which my school doesn’t calculate) would probably go up actually.
My school will still send my freshman grades, so I will definitely mention the circumstances. I hope I have a shot!