<p>I recently submitted my ED1 application to CMU, and described extenuating circumstances of mine through the Additional Information section of the Common Application. However, looking back at my articulation of it, I feel that it comes off as slightly pretentious, or almost as if I'm trying to use my circumstances as an excuse for a less-than-ideal trend in grades. </p>
<p>I notified my school counselor about this, and she said that she would be glad to call up the admissions office and elaborate on the details of my circumstances and perhaps clear things up. </p>
<p>Is this worth doing? Also, if she calls the admissions office and explains it to them, will she be talking to actual admissions officers who will eventually decide my application, or just the people working at the front desk? Lastly, when would be a good time to have her call? I don't want her to call too soon as I just submitted my application a couple days ago, and it might be somewhat strange to have her call so soon. I was thinking that it'd be a good idea for her to call around the time that the admissions officers start reviewing the applications and making decisions on them; does anybody know when that is?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Just my two cents-- but it’s always quite risky for such calls.</p>
<p>Why didn’t your GC mention these extenuating circumstances in her recommendation? Is this still possible which would avoid the awkward phone call which as you note correctly, calls attention to something you just want to leave alone at this point.</p>
<p>Personally, why not ask her to amend her recommendation letter and resubmit to your file?</p>
<p>Generally, extenuating circumstances such as serious physical illness (there’s a general feeling that it’s not yet safe to bring up any “mental” illness), care of an ailing family member, family homelessness, or being the victim of a terrible crime are all appropriate topics to note somewhere in the application. You are correct, they aren’t mentioned as an excuse of grades but instead to point to how you overcame an extremely difficult roadblock in your personal life and what you learned from the experience.</p>
<p>If she calls, ask for an Admissions person by name, pick someone on the list. They’re all really helpful. Are you going to the November sleeping bag weekend-- if so, perhaps you can personally explain things at an interview.</p>
<p>The counselor who wrote my recommendation is actually out on maternity leave for the year, so having her amend her recommendation letter is probably not an option. I’m pretty close to her, but either way, I’m fairly sure that she doesn’t want to be bothered/I wouldn’t know how to contact her at this point anyway. I’m supposed to take all issues regarding the college application process to my current counselor. The counselor who wrote my recommendation briefly mentioned my situation in her recommendation, but didn’t really go into detail at all on it/didn’t mention the issue in it’s entirety.</p>
<p>As it currently stands, my mention of my extenuating circumstances in my application reads as if it serves the main purpose of excusing grades, which is something that I don’t want. </p>
<p>If my counselor made a call to the admissions office, I could have her explain my situation in its entirety and how it’s helped me develop character, among other things, throughout high school. It might be awkward, but I feel that perhaps it’s my only option at this point?</p>
<p>I won’t be attending the sleeping bag weekend, and I’ve already had an admissions interview so that seems also out of the question :(. Do you have any suggestions as to which admissions person my counselor should request to talk to?</p>
<p>If your former counselor knew you that well as you said, I’m guessing she has the experience to know to that info was to go into your original recommendation and probably did so.
If you look at the recommendation form, it reads “how long have you known the applicant”, and since the new counselor will write “less than a year”, perhaps her call from her seems odd? What could she say that will sound particularly informed rather than (well meaning) heresay?</p>
<p>Reality is extenuating circumstances are what they are and any information in that part of the application really serves only one purpose – to explain grades. Just let it go rather than making it worse unless you really feel the wording is awful-- ask your new GC (if she has experience). If she’s a noob, forget it.</p>
<p>Did you have a opportunity in your interview to address this already?</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>