<p>My first semester senior year i didn't do that well. I got my first below 3.0 gpa, and no, it wasn't because I was slacking. I made the mistake of thinking that I could handle 5 APs, but with the added stress and pressure of college apps, last minute testing, and family situations I cracked and ended up with 3 Cs..I have heard that you should write a letter to the colleges explain your drastic drop in GPA, but I don't want to come off as being whiny. I just want to explain a family situation which took up a lot of my time that I don't feel comfortable discussing online. So should I write that letter or not?</p>
<p>I mean, it can't hurt you. I'd do it.</p>
<p>you have to write a letter. Most schools require a student to maintain a 3.0 uw, esp if ur applying to good schools. Your admission for any of the schools can very well be rescinded if you dont write a letter, and even if you, they still might be rescinded anyway for such a huge grade drop.</p>
<p>How should I adress my letter? To the dean, or just "to whom it may concern?"</p>
<p>EDIT* </p>
<p>Can someone read my letter? I don't want to come off as being whiny.</p>
<p>What are you going to say? If it's that you took 5 APs, had the pressure of aps and your mother is nuts, well, you're in good company and I don't think they'll care.</p>
<p>If you have something truly unusual to say, go for it, otherwise, realize that this happens to lots of kids when they take on 5 APs.</p>
<p>I wouldn't try and explain away the Cs and make excuses for them, i would say that the grades don't reflect your effort or your work ethic, and that you are truely learning a lot in these classes, are enjoying the challenge. You can say, during the semester, we had a family situation ABC that took me away from school, or whatever, and that you are really working hard and you know that you have what it takes for their school.</p>
<p>thanks citygirlsmom yeah i was just going to explain that i had a family situation that took up a lot of my time and i was supposed to have a 3.0 gpa but my grades in two classes dropped down a letter grade because of homework i couldn't complete..</p>
<p>just don't make it sound whiny or say you "deserved" a better grade, or anything. you'll have to admit it was mainly your fault, but focus on the fact you still learned from it.</p>
<p>Should I email a letter or send it through snail mail? The reason being is that it's hard for to find the adress for all the colleges I applied to (10.)</p>
<p>I think your GC should write the letter and send it by snail mail to the admissions representative for your region.</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation, where I took all honors/adv/ap classes, and had difficulty maintaining my grades. I ended my 1st semester with 2 B-'s, 1 C and 1 B+ (an A in music, which doesn't count.) These classes, especially the C grade, aren't directly related to my intended major (film production), but I know this definitely hurts me.</p>
<p>My reasons are mainly that I selected courses that challenged me, but I honestly also wasn't particularly very interested.</p>
<p>However, another reason has to do with my family. No family member was in the hospital or anything like that, but I really felt significant stress from my parents. I don't want this to come across as a 'world-is-unfair' type of thing, but my parents are really pulling me apart.</p>
<p>They've always had a real serious tension/lack of care for each other - such as my dad yelling curses at my mom in front of me since I was in the 2nd grade... My parents work in the same place, my mom (an accountant) works for my dad who is a CPA, and my mom and dad do not talk to each other at all. If my sister or I is at the office, our mom tells us to ask our dad what he wants for lunch because my mom says she doesn't want to talk to him and that he won't listen. At the dinner table (I know this sounds really cliche), the only sound is the chewing noise made by opened mouths. My dad does not buy my mom any gifts, they do not go out together, on and on.</p>
<p>Since my sister left for college (a year ago), I've been left alone to be the mediator. My older sister has also seemed to not notice the relationship between my mom and dad - I've had to explain to her why they always disagree and so on.</p>
<p>Things have been escalating. Two summers ago, my dad kept repeating something at Disneyland that made my mom started crying until I shouted, "shut up, you're acting like a little kid," (in the middle of one of the ice cream shops - my sister got angry that when I tried to comfort my mom during the night because I was making noise...)</p>
<p>This year, my dad told my mom that we were having guests for Thanksgiving...the night before. My mom told him that it's too late and he should've told her earlier, but my dad replied, "Then they're coming, you're leaving." I spent my Thanksgiving alone in a movie theater because I just couldn't stay at home. I substituted my turkey with popcorn. I'm going to say that my dad is really an a-hole, there have been other incidents just this year, such as my dad not taking my mom to a wedding (she can't drive), which results in my mom appearing very childish or very annoying when she asks me to do things for her that she doesn't want to ask my dad to do.</p>
<p>I've confronted my parents with this several times, telling them that this really bothers me, and that we should go to counseling, but nothing has happened. I've told my mom years ago that she should divorce my dad because things clearly aren't going well for the happy family thing.</p>
<p>Nothing physical has ever happened. I've had physical fights with my dad of course. No talks of divorce or even separation. Is this something I could include in my letter? Because these are some very subtle and small things, compared to something like a divorce. When I imagine writing this in a letter to explain my grades for this semester, I just see myself coming across as whiny and just making another excuse.</p>
<p>What are you really gonna say though? - I can't handle an intense workload in HS... I'm still really interested in your college though! </p>
<p>?????!</p>
<p>I don't want to ask my counselor because i wanted to just mention a family circumstance that hindered me. I had to work 4 days a week helping out my parents at their store since they can't afford to hire help and it's a little hard to concentrate on 5 APs when the prospect of being homeless looms just directly ahead...Like I said, I really don't want to explain this to my GC...</p>
<p>I have a similar question...family circumstances had an effect on my grades for my final semester of junior year, which frankly, sucks. But anyway, my GC told me that I should definitely include it in my app, and that when apps come out, we'll look it over and see where to best explain it.</p>
<p>My question is, even with a legitimate reason for grade drops (and essay exploring how I've grown from it), are they still a detriment to your application?</p>