Highlighting family crises?

Applying to College
1

<p>I was wondering whether it would be a positive or negative to acknowledge personal crises/family deaths in an application. In my specific scenario, it occurred prior to high school. I'm just curious, is it relevant? Will it provide the college with a better understanding of me? Is there a place to do this aside from the essay?</p>

<p>I'm simply concerned about coming off as trying to make excuses for lower grades, etc. I'm just curious if this is something colleges would value knowing about an applicant.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>On the common app, in the “writing” section:</p>

<p>“Include any additional information that you would like to provide regarding special circumstances, additional qualifications, etc.”</p>

<p>there is a 1000 character limit.</p>

3

<p>This is stupid, people shouldn’t even be allowed to put something like that on their app. I’ve had tons of horrible things happen in my family, and yes it hurts, but it doesn’t have an affect on your grades.</p>

<p>It’s just a horrible excuse.</p>

4

<p>If it’s re relevant to your application, ask your counselor to address the situation in the school report. Use your space to let them see what you offer.</p>

5

<p>Include it in the Additional Info section if it’s relevant. If it happened pre-hs, why did it affect your grades?</p>

6

<p>Thank you everyone. I’m not claiming it affected my grades; coming off like that is exactly what I don’t want to do. I was just curious because colleges often stress acknowledging unique circumstances, and I do feel like my situation still has a strong impact on my life. But again, thank you for your input!</p>

7

<p>@ kenzie
you dont know what your talking about, if someone dies in the family this can lead to financial problems and in my case i had to pick up two jobs.
And guess what my gpa dropped becuase studying and having two jobs is pretty hard.
Anyhow im not dumb i have 32 on my act 800 math and 750 physics, but my gpa says otherwise.</p>