My freshman year I got a 3.77 gpa. Sophomore year however my family went through a really nasty divorce and I got a C in AP World and a C+ in precalc along with Bs in most of my other classes. Junior and senior year I kicked it into got a 4.64 both years (4 AP classes and 1 honors class both years) while maintaining straight As. I am really hoping sophomore year did not screw me over. How do I explain my poor sophomore grades to colleges?
I think you should mention the divorce in your essay and how it hurt your ability to focus on your classes that year. Maybe write about what helped you get back on track (for example, maybe an aunt gave you a shoulder to cry on or you got a lot of support from your high school friends.) Consider tying in some life lessons you learned from the experience. good luck!
Don’t mention any negatives in your main essay. Your main essay should leave the reader w a positive impression of u. It shouldn’t be an apology or a self-therapy catharsis.
If u really want to mention the divorce, then put it in the supplemental info area.
Do the colleges read the supplemental info? I really want to show them that I am a good student and that sophomore year was just a bad year
If there’s a spot on the application form for supplemental info, they will read it.
On both the Common App and the UC App, there is a spot for “Additional Information.” This is exactly the kind of info that needs to go in these sections. Just be matter of fact (no sob story or excuses). Your upward trend in grades will impress your schools!
I think you should talk to the college counselor at your high school about handling this. To me, this is the type of thing the college counselor can address in their write-up of you for the common app.
The explanation for why your grades tank could also be addressed in your interview.
Colleges absolutely do read the additional info section. BUT, asking your GC to address this in their recommendation would be best if possible. Saying that there were family issues that year that impacted your grades is best coming from the GC – it is way too easy to have it sound like excuses or over-explain if you do it yourself. A brief comment from your GC gets the message across. I would not bring it up in an interview unless asked, and then would also be brief – and don’t use your main essay for it.
Thanks a lot guys. You all have been very useful. I am definitely going to write about it in the “additional info” section.
For example something I could write there would be:
My family went through a rough divorce during my sophomore year. The divorce really distracted me from my studies, and caused my sophomore year grades to suffer greatly.
How low was your GPA sophomore year? Are you shooting for Harvard or for your state’s flagship?
I think you have already overcome it in a very clear manner by doing so well in following years. For many schools, you are very well qualified, so maybe don’t sweat it so much. If you have high ambitions -
I think the best thing would be if your guidance counselor were willing to write a statement like:
X has displayed a lot of maturity and growth during high school including overcoming a difficult family situation (maybe specify sophomore year if GPA is say less than 3).
Maybe go see them, tell them about your worries about that year’s GPA and see whether they are comfortable with that. Discuss your hopes of getting into school-of-your-choice, etc.
Divorce is too personal and honestly, given that some kids are getting good grades while homeless, seems a bit vague to be getting special treatment. If the situation got really out of hand, that is different, but many kids parents get divorced during high school and many are rough.
Having your GC make a general reference to family issues would be better.
Are you on a gap year? It doesn’t look like if from your other threads. It looks like you are a first semester Junior.
@ Erin’s dad I was trying to see if anything would change by saying I maintained straight As senior year. Like I know with my current motivation I can and I wanted to know if it influences any college decisions assuming I do get the grades.
How about you see how you do this year. One step at a time.