<p>Alright! So, I've just about finished sending in all my seattle university nonsense, but I have one thing left: The Common Application essay.</p>
<p>In the essay I wrote for the supplementary application, everybody I showed it to thought it was beautiful, and that I would get in for sure, etc.
Now... here comes an essay that is just very daunting. I don't know what approach to take. I mostly don't know what approach to take because of my transcript. I don't have horrible grades, but due to a lot of "issues" my GPA dropped down to a 3.3 unweighted (3.4 weighted) cumulative over the span of my freshman - junior years. Basically, first semester of 9th grade I earned a 4.0, and the last semester of my junior year... a 2.8.</p>
<p>I've gotten way back on the ball now; my grades are much much higher than they were last year. So I am wondering what to do with this other essay, basically. Do I go the standard route -- talk about my experiences in a Peruvian orphanage, how it changed me, etc.? Or do I go a more personal route? Even touching on issues with self-worth, and a horrible experience freshman year, and how the people I've met over the course of the past year or so have helped me realize a lot of things/helped me get through it?</p>
<p>I guess I'm afraid if I go more personal the University will consider me unstable or something, or that it'll just be crap. But that if I go more standard, there will be a lot of guesswork. "Alright, so she seems great but what's with the grades?"</p>
<p>Or should I just go with the additional information section and give them the gist of what caused my grades to fall?</p>
<p>This is coming out very muddled and lame, but the deadline is in 2ish hours, so...</p>
<p>Any advice?</p>