<p>If a student has a huge upward trend in the last 2 years of college (as opposed to dismal grades in the first two), and they are interested in graduate school, would this need to be addressed or explained in an addendum lest they appear suspicious? Some may think it's funny that anyone would ever worry about having their grades improve but I'm just throwing it out there
It can be hard to write one if it was just a case of maturation and improving their study habits vs something that can be documented like an illness</p>
<p>If your grades, for example, jumped from C/D’s in your freshman and sophomore years to A/A+'s in your junior year and senior years – yes --I think that would require an explanation from your college advisor.</p>
<p>It’s not that drastic, but it is a pretty big jump (3.0ish area to almost straight A’s)</p>
<p>But wait, college advisor? I would’ve thought I would have to explain, not them. How are they going to say anything when they have nothing to do with the grades? Honestly I’ve only met with a counselor 3 or 4 times and it’s usually a different one each time…None of them know me.</p>
<p>You don’t need any explanation from your college adviser. No college adviser wrote anything when I applied to graduate school, and there’s no real reason for them to.</p>
<p>3.0-ish isn’t really dismal grades, also. That’s going from a B average to mostly A’s, and there’s a number of things that could explain that, none of which are bad even if they can’t technically be documented. You could have had poor study habits or time management skills in the beginning of college (perhaps because you’re high school didn’t prepare you for college or you had to adjust to living on your own), but now, you’re excelling. Perhaps, you didn’t do as well in GE’s or other requirements, but now that you’re in your major-specific courses, you’re doing great. Maybe you had some growing up to do in college, and now, you highly value your school work and you’re buckling down to bring your grades up. The point is that whatever caused you to get B’s or C’s before is firmly in the past. You’re ready to take on graduate level work, and your recent grades are more representative of what they can expect from you on grad school.</p>
<p>Upward trends don’t really need to be explained, in my opinion, but if you’d like to explain your poor grades in the beginning of college, you can do so in the SOP or personal statement. Make it brief (maybe, like a sentence), and make sure that it’s clear that whatever caused you to get lower grades in the beginning of college won’t be repeated in grad school.</p>
<p>Every student needs an advocate, especially when applying to graduate school with an uneven record. I would speak with your advisor, or one of your professors who acted as a mentor – someone at the college level who knows you and understands what motivated you to change course. You can always advocate for yourself, but that’s a little bit like representing yourself in a lawsuit – something never advisable, even if you are a practicing attorney.</p>
<p>^If one of your letter writers knows of this (or if you feel comfortable talking to them about it), that could also be a way to address it. They could comment on your academic growth during undergrad or the circumstances under which you got lower grades during your first two years in their letter.</p>
<p>Thanks both of you for your detailed responses. I’ll definitely at least bring it up with a counselor. My future is up in the air right now but I’m asking this because I’m thinking ahead. </p>
<p>I wonder if- in the case of law schools specifically, whether they even accept letters from professors or counselors? From what I’ve researched it seems to be mainly numbers driven (LSAT and cumulative GPA)</p>
<p>Counselors don’t write recommendation letters for graduate school; it’s not like undergrad. Also, I would say that the lawsuit/grad school admissions comparison is not a good one. Actually students ARE supposed to advocate for themselves in their own applications, and in most circumstances it is good for students to explain themselves any abnormalities in their grades (although letter writers can back them up).</p>
<p>However, you don’t need to explain anything. A 3.0/mostly Bs is not bad, and going from mostly Bs to mostly As is a good thing that would not need to be explained.</p>
<p>I think you are overthinking this. I wouldn’t explain it at all, you didn’t do poorly enough to have to explain early grades.</p>