<p>I'm not going to act like I've had a privileged and good upbringing, I have had it rough (not looking for sympathy, just telling it how it is). In my college essay, how much detail should I go into to make the college understand that the reason my GPA is somewhat low (had a 1.6 in freshman year; all other years have been 3.8-4.0, yet the overall cumulative leaves something to be desired) is because I had a rough time and it was a lot to handle? I'm talking parental custody court battle for 4+ years (onset suicidal thoughts/depression from it), a horrible childhood, etc. How much do I include to make them feel pity but not seem too needy?</p>
<p>Don’t tell them directly. Tell them subtly through a story. Make it eye-opening but not jarring. You don’t want to label yourself as loony but a strong person who got through it all. Is there any event in your life that can relate that?</p>
<p>Id probably have to sit down with my mother and brainstorm everything that’s happened since there’s been so much.</p>
<p>You might also want to let you counselor know about your difficulties. The way ove heard it, the essay should be positive and should make the reader feeling good about you (like you have mentioned) but the whole background information about grades, depression, and stuff should be conveyed through the counselor recs-they do all the explaining.</p>
<p>Do you mean my current high school counselor or the college counselor? Sorry for the confusion!</p>