<p>I'm looking to transfer to University of Illinois and Texas-Austin in Fall 2011 into their business program.
I have a 3.53 and they average a 3.8 so my chances are low but I'm hoping they will look at my situation and give a second chance!</p>
<p>I had a rough freshmen year at my current college. Half way through Fall 2009, I felt my life was going away and nothing was going right. My girlfriend of 2 years left me, my parents got in a huge fight and I was in the center of it all, and as a result of this, I fell violently ill. I had these massive headaches, my heart was aching, and I was throwing up constantly. I shut myself off from everyone and everything, stayed in my room for weeks and not going to class because at that point in my life, classes weren't a priority. When finals came around, I knew I had to take them, so I tried my best. I still remember I had to run out in my economics exam so that I wouldn't throw up on my exam and in another exam, I passed out in the bathroom for 30minutes, then returned to take the exam but ran out of time. I managed to pull 4 A's, 1 B and 1 F (2.93GPA). </p>
<p>The personal issues and the fact that I destroyed my college GPA made me fall into depression by the end of first semester. I was emotionally and physically distraught.<br>
During winter break, I took up a full-time job at Costco to get my mind away from these issues. When spring semester came, I decided to take 2 classes because I felt I wasn't fully "conscious" enough to do so and still continue working full time. During that spring semester, I was able to clear my mind and refocus on my academics, putting aside of the fact that I messed up freshmen year.</p>
<p>Do you think I should explain this situation in an essay? I really do want admissions to know that there was a reason why I flunk a class and performed badly freshmen year. However, I don't have any medical or proof that I actually was depressed. </p>
<p>my best friend died and it kinda ruined me. anyway. you should of course tell. the best thing to be is honest, talk about how yes it happened and yes it affected you but it was still your responsibility. tell them its not an excuse, simply a reason. it also helps to try and have a phone interview or talk with someone in admissions. that will make a lasting impression and show its not just words, its somethign you actually feel strongly about.</p>
<p>make sure you tell them, in words or voice, that you really intend to do better. if a college sees what happened, and understands how you still feel about it, they are going to take that into consideration. how was your HS record?</p>
<p>It’s a tough call. You don’t want to come across as making excuses; then again, if you don’t address what happened, a sub-3.0 GPA and a failing grade are going to be staring in the face of an admissions officer. Generally I’d advise against blaming academic shortcomings on something other than one’s own work ethic, but your case seems like an exception. A word of advice about handling the situation: make it clear that you GAINED something from this hardship, be it greater maturity or a higher appreciation of higher education. </p>
<p>If all goes well, you’ll be able to justify the shortcomings of your resume enough to let the strengths shine through!</p>
<p>@HeMustBeMagic. I’ll definitely mention that this was simply a reason and not an excuse of why I performed badly. U. of Illinois has a section to explain “extenuating circumstances that affected your academic record” in 300words, so I’m going to have to shorten it. </p>
<p>My HS record was okay, got a 3.6 GPA and a 1960 SATs. </p>
<p>@TexasEagle What exactly can I say that I have gained something from this hardship? I have always valued education as a priority but I just had never been in that tough situation before. Should I mention that this situation was an unexpected setback from my academics goals but has made me personally stronger and made my will to succeed greater? </p>
<p>Sophomore year, I managed to get a 4.0 GPA, so now I have a 3.5 GPA.</p>
<p>Here is a good example of what Texas is talking about.</p>
<p>I didn’t do so well either, as mentioned before. a 1.93 gpa (sucky I know) but a 3.4 weighted gpa from a college prep school in hs. unweighted it was a 3.8. my act scores were a 28 and i was president of like 4 things in HS, plus i took college classes during high school, so it ended up, if you take out my HS college classes I have 16 credits or so, but once again, I digress. </p>
<p>I told them “i wasn’t ready for college at that point in time, i was immature and i let things that shouldn’t have, become an excuse, at least in my head. I’ve learned a lot from this situation, learned more about myself, my limits, my strengths and the value of goals” tell the the truth, explain to them what you really feel, expose yourself.</p>
<p>This was me too. My second quarter I got F, F, W, P, C. The rest has been straight A’s. My recommendation is to see if you can retake the class or do renewal. Definitely explain though. It shows a strength of character with an upwards trend.</p>
<p>Definitely explain, I did that with my essays in the Additional info. I was a freshman at Penn state this fall and was diagnosed with lupus, came down with stage 3 Lyme disease and wAs in the hospital for spinal taps Nd such and also relapsed with mono and was in the hospital so I explained that as why I’m back at cc for doctors but didnt use it as an excuse for my first semester gpa (3.0) but yeah I say explain but not whine :)</p>
I say explain but not whine :)</p>