<p>I wouldn’t say that Barnard doesn’t look at SAT scores. Rather, they don’t see them as a defining characteristic that decides whether or not a person will do well at Barnard. However, if they notice an area of weakness that is then made up for with SAT scores, they will take note (of course, not an adcom, but that seems to be the point of looking at a person holistically – to not let any single factor be significantly more or less important than the others)</p>
<p>Well last year I got an 80 in Math, and that’s what killed my GPA.I have in the 90’s this year,though, and got a 700 on the Math SAT section. Also, I got bad grades (B’s) in computer/technology classes that are a school requirement, but I am extremely bad with technology, and don’t want to go into that when I get older.</p>
<p>To the OP & everyone else: </p>
<p>I began struggling with a severe eating disorder in sixth grade and kept it under control until mid-sophomore year, when it grew out of control. By last November, I had slashed my BMI to 15.6 and my GPA dropped drastically (from 4.0 sophomore year to 3.0 junior year, UW). However, I worked through it and am currently working on recovering (at 17.4 BMI) while improving my grades (currently at 4.0 UW for second sem jr year).</p>
<p>The thing is, I never discussed this with my guidance counselor, pediatrician, parents, relatives, friends, etc. My friends guessed at it but I was good at denying it, and for the most part I denied that I had an ED too. So this is not something that everyone knows about, although the rumor mill certainly fed into everyone’s suspicions.</p>
<p>My point - although I had this problem, I don’t feel like I can use this to justify my drop in grades and honestly do not know if I should even mention this. It’s really a part of my life I want to get over, and bringing it up in my application would only dredge up unpleasant memories. </p>
<p>Should I, like the OP, use my illness (in this case, an ED) to explain away my lower 1st semester GPA? Or should I just pretend it never happened?</p>
<p>PS: I know many people tend to dehumanize those with EDs, so please try not to judge. It’s hard for me to deal with still, but I don’t like to bring it up for “pity points” with the adcom.</p>