<p>Say, for example, you have a great college GPA and you want to explain your poor highschool performance in one of your essays. How do you do so without coming off as whiny or making excuses? Assume it's a legitimate reason i.e. medical. Any tips?</p>
<p>Write about how you spent all of high school being addicted to World of Warcraft. They’ll understand.</p>
<p>not a bad attempt at wit</p>
<p>Be straightforward, honest. Admit your previous shortcomings or obstacles (medical) and show how you’ve used those to your advantage now to learn from them and apply yourself to your education.</p>
<p>I talked about how when I was younger (I’m a non-trad student) I began to value my social life more than my education. I essentially outlined my entire path from senior year (when I started to drop) through single motherhood and my current attendance at a CC, indicating that my journey to maturity and learning to prioritize and embrace my love of learning would never have occurred if I hadn’t made those choices and taken that road. I admitted when I had slacked off or had been less motivated, or when I had hit a roadblock, but I also made sure to let them know that those experiences have made me doubly motivated now, that I place a very high premium on my education, and that I would bring that determination and experience with me as a student in their institution.</p>
<p>That sounds like good advice, thank you for sharing. I’m just worried though that even if I stress how I overcame and grew from the situation, they’ll see me as a liability. Or maybe I’m over-thinking things lol.</p>
<p>I totally know where you are. I was uber paranoid that since I was so much older and had so many units completed they’d look at my application and tell me to try University of Phoenix or Kaplan or something. I think it’s normal to be over analyzing ourselves and thinking the worst, but really, if you are honest about it, that’s the most anyone can ask for. If they decide to deny your application for less than stellar stats in high school when you have clearly overcome a few things and applied yourself in college, then maybe it’s not the school for you. Wherever you go should value your experience and determination, not penalize you for every little mistake or circumstances beyond your control. Just my two cents. ;)</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you… I wasn’t going to talk about my health situation from highschool, but it needs some splainin. So I’m hoping that overcoming the medical circumstances & excelling academically will actually be a stand out trait rather than negative. So put a postive spin on it & youre good to go.</p>
<p>Explain your challenge (medical ailment) in a way that does not come off as begging for sympathy. Apply it to show how the event changed your life, either your perspective of life or certain characteristic traits and how you will use these new tools to help you be successful at the university of which you’re applying to; these essays have a whole lot to do with personal development and if you will be a good asset to their university.</p>
<p>There suppose to display you’re courage, strong fight, and drive. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Take it from me, my SAT scores were lousy and I had a high college GPA and I’m at a Top 5 Public School.</p>
<p>This is something only adcoms would know, so I would say call in and just be forward with your issues/questions. To be safe, you could decline to give your name and just give hypotheticals.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone, I feel somewhat relieved. I guess I’ll just have to phrase my essays very carefully.</p>
<p>it seems like the only justified excuses for poor performance are illness or death of a loved one</p>