Should I discuss my...err...history of academic mediocrity?

College Essays
1

<p>I was a slacker in High School. I didn't have terrible grades - I ended up with an 87 GPA and very high grades in various AP courses - but my lack of extracurriculars and mediocre SAT Score (730 Reading, 590 Writing, 490 (eww) Math) limited my choices for college...</p>

<p>Now I've been in my current college for three semesters. I have a 3.96 GPA, and while my coursework isn't as diverse as I'd like to be (mostly political science courses with a smattering of core classes, none of which are math or sciences) I believe that my high grades in several upper level courses are indicative of a general pattern of improvement on my part. </p>

<p>One of the schools I'm applying for transfer to is the School of General Studies in Columbia. The essay question for the application asks me to discuss my academic history/journey. How should I approach my lamentable past? Should I be honest, explain my apathy for High School and everything it represented, and then discuss why I turned around in College? Or should I try to underscore this part of my academic life?</p>

2

<p>Your goal in the essay is to be personal, detailed, honest and revealing. To give an impression of the kind of presence that you'll provide on campus, in class, socially.</p>

<p>Are you sure that discussing what happened two, three, four years ago is going to give the most up-to-date information about you to the AdCom? </p>

<p>In reality, your high school grades are pretty decent anyways and don't appear to require a major explanation--assuming that Columbia is even going to see your high school grades. </p>

<p>So, I'm not seeing any good reason to go into high school grades in any depth. You've been doing great in college, congratulations! Is there a strong reason not to leave it at that?</p>

3

<p>That's a good point...</p>

<p>I guess I could explain my high school grades as a period in my life where I was in a setting that did not push me to my absolute potential academically....</p>