Should I explain my NP grades?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I'm applying to graduate programs in marketing and communications. My GPA is fine (3.25 from Berkeley) but I have a couple of NP grades. They don't affect my GPA, but should I explain them? Two of them were because they were classes I wanted to drop, but it was past the deadline and I couldn't enroll in another class to meet the minimum units. The other couple were for student-taught seminars. I missed more than two sessions which caused me to not pass the seminars - this was because I worked 25-35 hours a week during that semester and often had to stay late. I would then miss the seminars because they were in the evening. </p>

<p>I'm not really worried about the NP's because everything else on my transcript is A's and B's, but I'm worried about what happens if I don't explain it. Is it a big enough deal that I need to explain? Or should I just not call attention to it? They will see it in the official transcripts, but they may not care so much (I hope).</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>If it was freshman/sophomore stuff, I would ignore it completely. If it was junior/senior you may want to spend a sentence or two, but not more. You want to keep everything positive unless you feel it would leave the 800lb gorilla in the room.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice! Should I just slip in a quick line in my academic history section then? I don’t want to make a whole new section of it!</p>

4

<p>Personally, I would mention it obliquely, and only in terms of something good - “I am accustomed to a higher work load than the average undergraduate student, as I have maintained a 25-35 hour per week job throughout college. There had been some inevitable conflict between the priorities of paying for and succeeding at my studies, but I feel that I have learned a great deal from these issues of time management that will help me in my graduate studies.”</p>

<p>Do not explain each course, just leave them reassured that it was a result of something else worthwhile (as opposed to my excuse - watching Buck Rogers reruns), and that it will not be an issue in grad school.</p>