Letter of Explanation?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>Hey everyone, I'm a senior in high school at the moment and I visited Reed over the weekend. The prospie experience absolutely blew me away and I am positive that Reed is the school for me. The issue is: my test scores are excellent, but my academic record is terrible. I sincerely believe I have the brain and the personality to fit in at Reed, but I'm fearful that my scholastic record will be too pathetic to even put me in the running. So, I would like to send a letter to the admission office that explicitly describes my intention to go to Reed, and that acknowledges my poor performance (I have no excuses, my priorities were simply not where they should have been).</p>

<p>So, what do the Reedies out there think about this? Do you support the idea or would you advise against it? I realize there's an additional info section in the application, but I don't feel that it will receive the level of attention that I would like it to.</p>

<p>As some of you might have guessed, I've already typed up the letter and I'd be glad to let some of you read it and provide some feedback. I don't plan on sending the letter in 'til January, but I needed to get my thoughts down in words ASAP.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

2

<p>Why not try bringing your grades up as far as possible this semester?</p>

3

<p>Well, that’s the plan. I’m taking a pretty rigorous schedule at the local college and I’m keeping my grades up, but I still fear that it won’t be enough.</p>

4

<p>I would advise you to discuss that in your “Why Reed?” essay. One of my friends, who is brilliant and was in love with Reed, had great stats but unfortunately he is not a good student. He got rejected in early admission last year. I think you should perhaps develop some sort of relationship with the admissions counselor and go from there.</p>