<p>My school just finished 2/3 of the final semester and as I am currently a junior, I have begun to research schools, etc etc. Currently, I am facing the issue of living in fear of not getting into certain schools. My high school experience has not been nurturing, and as a result, I have obtained unsatisfactory grades, which is a huge disappointment for me. Anyway, as I begin to think of what I will be writing in application essays, I wonder if I could somehow incorporate my "story" within them. Would it be seen as a plea for understanding of my situation if written successfully, displaying my enthusiasm and passion for learning? Or would it be considered a pointless rant? </p>
<p>Any input would be appreciated immensely. Thank you.</p>
<p>PS: I had a more succinct post, but my computer crashed... Oh well. Let me know in reply if you need any elaboration.</p>
<p>IMO, making excuses for your HS record is not a good use of your essay. Particularly since the reason is that your school is not “nurturing”, if there was a medical reason, death in the family, etc., that would be more reasonable. My suggestion is to instead use the essay to bring out some interesting facet of who you are, something that isn’t necessarily reflected in your gpa or the rest of your application.</p>
<p>Hmmm, thanks for that. Would you say the same if I were to connect both that and one of my EC’s together? Just wondering because something that I did outside of school influenced how I looked at the situation altogether.</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom says if you have to ask, don’t do it.
A better option IMO would be to inform your GC about your situation (if he/she doesn’t already know), and have him/her tell your prospective colleges. It always looks like complaining when a student tries to explain himself; the same would not be said of an adult mentor, who would be able to provide more meaningful context against the backdrop of your specific situation.
By extension, if you feel awkward trying to explain your situation to your GC, then I’d recommend not going that route at all.</p>
<p>As entomom stated very aptly, your essays are better used trying to convey positives about you than negatives about something that was out of your control.</p>