First, to try to explain why they got a bad grade or score. Don’t do it. It will just sound like an excuse. However good the reason is. And it will shine a spotlight on your flaw. Trust me. Let someone like your GC provide context for that C when you were in the hospital.
Second, students use it to add activities they couldn’t fit into the Activities page. But the other amazing students from all over the world found a way to do it. By adding more here, it shows bad judgment and lack of perspective: “Oh, so this kid thinks he can’t be contained by the application. He’s so amazing he needs more space.” You don’t want that.
Remember: During reading season, AOs read so much every day. When you fill up the Additional Info page with 650 more words, on some level, they resent you for making them read more–especially when its material like the items above. On the other hand, the less an AO has to read, the more they like you. That’s why I advise wherever possible–come in under the word limit, don’t water down your Activities by listing 10 when you only have 6 good ones, keep all of your writing as concise as possible–not just your essays. Everything. Your Activity title, description, your course names.
Before the typical commenters and mods come after me for issuing proclamations, let me make the obvious qualifier: Are there exceptions? Yes. Of course. But for 99% of you reading this, don’t make the mistake of filling out this section. Whatever information you want to put here, if it’s that important, it belongs in an essay, a short answer, an activity, an honor, a letter of recommendation.
My son used that section to write a few sentences about each of his two summer research projects. He included explanations that laypeople could understand and a link to his GitHub page for those inclined to read on.
He probably could have deleted two of his activities, but they illustrated his breadth.
One of the rare exceptions. I’d encourage you to use the Attachment feature to upload the childhood picture that inspired the memory too. AOs eat that up.
Again, this is not applicable to every situation. My kid used it to tell the admissions committee what he was interested in studying, and why. His focus had been mostly on music in high school, yet he was not applying to stand-alone conservatories, unless it was in a dual program with an academic university. His primary essay was not about the interest in which he planned to major. He had to give more information about this other interest, or the admissions committee would have said, “Huh? Why does this person want to come here, of all places?”
Do you think I should talk about how I tore my ACL the night before my first AP exam and had to deal with that instead of studying during the weeks I had to take my exams? It really affected me mentally, and I couldn’t focus on studying. I got three 4’s and a 3 on Spanish, which I had to take in person less than a week after my injury. I’m applying to T20 colleges and am worried that my low scores will prevent me from getting in.
My son wants to apply to Stanford, test his luck. Should he use the additional information section to disclose that he has high functioning autism and a learning disability (Dyslexia)? He has a 4.2 after transferring schools sophomore year…I mean I may be biased but IMO he has a very compelling story and is such an interesting, unique kid. He wants to major in engineering, most likely aerospace engineering. Thank you!
I think it can help to write about a disability in the supplementary “other information” section if it is short, concise, and straightforward, and not offered as an excuse but as information. My own kid did it- I think my kid wrote one short paragraph, 4 sentences.
My brother has a long history of many injuries, hospital stays and physical therapy. He explained in this section. Not to “make an excuse” but to shine light on what was going on in his life (constantly for more than 4 years) and how he works through it. How he worked hard through his injuries and kept his grades on a strong upward trend. There is no way a GC could explain the way he did.
Users have given you several examples of ways to use the additional information section. They are not exceptions. It’s baffling why you feel the need to create “rules” and then continue to defend them when people point out their flaws.
The internet is full of people giving advice on this issue. Here is another point of view, just the first one to come up in my google search:
I get what OP is saying, and he isn’t the only one out there saying it: think long and hard about whether you need to add anything to your app. And if you don’t, don’t.
I don’t understand why OP’s posts rile people up so much (seems to me if a person finds his tone offensive, responding just feeds the beast). Nobody should take any internet stranger’s opinions as directives. People should have faith in 18 year olds and their parents to assess their own situation and decide whether the advice makes sense to them.
Thank you, I appreciate hearing that. He did actually write his common app essay and did tie it in to his disability/experience but mildly. (It is more focused on his job as a lifeguard/swim instructor though so maybe he should rework it to relate to his interest) He is working on the Stanford Q’s and how to write a letter to his future roommate. So abstract for him.
He really is such a cool person, I know he’s my kid, but really the way his brain works is fascinating. I actually already told him to listen to Gladwell. That is right up his alley.
It would have been better to title this thread as “list of additional information items to avoid” to get the point across that admission readers do not want to read about excuses for bad grades, etc. but not exclude all possible uses of that section.
“The Best Advice Ever: Never ever under any circumstance use generalities, exaggerate or make declarative universal statements in your essays”
I actually think you provide an interesting perspective. Your tone however does seem to be a deliberate attempt to prompt “traffic”. To that end well done you got me.
Some of your previous posts were helpful (particularly as I was getting up to speed with the college admission process a year or so ago) but your sweeping generalizations in this post and on childhood memories make me wonder about your judgment.
By contrast, I found the College Essay Guy’s guidance on whether and how to use the Additional Information section (thanks, @CateCAParent) to be very helpful.
I think a lot of us can benefit from your experience (even if your views might be contrarian) - perhaps it’s really about how your thoughts and ideas are conveyed.