<p>Alright guys, since I had a 3.8-3.0 drop in my sophomore first and second semester, I think I should undoubtly address it in my UC admission essay for the third prompt.</p>
<p>I have had no big loss of life in my family or divorce of my parents, so I looked harder and realized the reason for my drop - I didn't concentrate in school. HANG ON NOW, bare with me. The reason I didn't concentrate in school studies was because I was too busy trying to "strike it rich." Trying to prove myself to my family, to everyone, that I can become successful. I'm going to write about how this mistake costed me my GPA, how I learned from it and bettered myself, how I learned to set my priorities straight,etc.</p>
<p>Do you think I should write this in the third prompt of my essay? I mean... a 3.8-3.0 drop is VERY HUGE and I think it should be at least somewhat addressed. I can't think of anything else, would this be a decent idea? Or should I just ignore the 3.8-3.0 drop and not write it in my essay.</p>
<p>Yes I would write about if if you could make it work; that is don't make it sound as if you are using this as an excuse. Write about how you were so caught up with achieving the epitome of success that you forgot to concentrate on your studies and therefore your grades dropped. I'm writing about how I got my first C's in high school for my third UC essat</p>
<p>
[quote]
The reason I didn't concentrate in school studies was because I was too busy trying to "strike it rich." Trying to prove myself to my family, to everyone, that I can become successful.
[/quote]
That makes it sound as if you consider(ed) yourself successful if you become wealthy- monetary success over academic success, in other words. Needless to say, that's not really what colleges want to hear (lesson learned or not). Unless you were working 40 hours a week, I would not go that route.</p>
<p>If I don't go that route, how else would I explain a 3.8 to 3.0 GPA grade drop? Wouldn't that be at least better than leaving that huge drop unexplained?</p>
<p>*There are cases where students made poor decisions early in their high school careers and all recommendations point to a more mature student who learned from his mistakes. In these cases an admissions committee rarely finds reason to slow its pace for an in-depth discussion. Other scenarios shed light on more recent lapses and do bear careful scrutiny by the admissions committee; however, hearing in your own words what happened and what lessons you assimilated can assure a committee that great kids can, and do, sometimes make bad choices. More often than not, what influences a committee decision is not what a student did but how she handles it both at the time of the incident and throughout the admissions process. It is impossible to generalize and say that some types of misbehavior are more forgivable than others. Each case is assessed on its own merits, in the context of what is said about the applicant within the folder and, more importantly, what the applicant has to say for himself. </p>
<p>No student wants to add to her application information that is unflattering, highlights a lapse in judgment or jeopardizes her admission; however, I can assure you that a well crafted explanation of the circumstances will serve you far better than hoping the situation will go unnoticed.</p>
<p>In the end, each part of your college application is an opportunity to present yourself in the best and most complete way possible. Despite the fact that you're informing a college of an error in judgment, it is the way you handle the topic that most matters. None of us is perfect and there are real people sitting on the admissions committee who know well that foibles and failings are as much part of learning as exams and GPAs. Don’t underestimate the committee’s ability to separate you from the event. More importantly, don’t sell yourself short; it is an adult skill to assume responsibility for one’s actions and to account honestly for lapses in judgment. We ask you to answer our application question because we expect the best from you. So, too, should you expect the best of yourself.*</p>
<p>Acutally, I'm a little below avg for the schools I want.</p>
<p>My dream is to get into UC Davis.</p>
<p>My UCGPA iS: 3.45 (3.8/3.0/3.1/3.8)
SATS: 1760
SAT II: 590/610
E/C: 400 volunteer hrs, internship, academy of finance, career training, college course, piano.</p>
<p>Avg GPA at UCD: 3.8
AVG SAT: 1800?</p>
<p>My stats are mediocre, definately not good, but definately not bad either.
I think this essay will have a HUGE affect on my admission chances... especially addressing a HUGE GPA drop.</p>
<p>Wait, 2 of 4 of the semesters they count have similarly low GPAs, that's not exactly a one semester dramatic drop. Coupled with a below average SAT, excuses really don't make sense. Essays don't have a HUGE impact at UCs.</p>
<p>In all honesty, I think can can choose between the UCs you can get into now and taking two years at a cc and then going to Davis.</p>
<p>It really doesn't look like anything "happened" when it's 2 of 4 semesters. And your SAT scores don't justify a these grades make no sense defense. Frankly, you just look erratic and your hs looks to have grade inflation.</p>
<p>Bottom line: almost no one who isn't rich, famous or connected talks their way into a college their stats don't justify. Especially a state school where numbers rule.</p>
<p>Wait... I'mg etting response from people to write about it and responses from people to not. So what should I do? Don't forget, it is nearly a one point GPA drop...</p>
<p>you said yourself, you're getting some advice each way. read it, think about it, and decide on your own. no one's going to tell you what to do, nor should you necessarily listen if they do.</p>
<p>stop bumping your threads 3x when you don't get a prescription for how to lead your life.</p>