<p>I am applying to my number one choice ED and if I get deferred or rejected, then I applying to Wellesley EE (Early Evaluation) in Januar, and because of my grades last year, I am writing a special circumstances portion to submit suplementally to this college through the common app. Basically I had a lot to deal with last year. My father has been terminally ill for the past eight years with Kidney Failure and he survives by dialysis home treatments every day for four hours after work. I have a genetic disease of Polycystic Kidney Disease. My mother is sick as well, and she has suffered from severe clinical depression and anxiety issues almost her entire life. She has been institiutionalized three times since I was born. A few years ago she was institutionalized for twor months. Last year, my father was in the hospital from time to time, and nearly passed away. My stepmother also was hospitalized last year as well with pnemoneia ( i know i spelt that wrong), and she nearly passed away as well. So it has definitely been a tough experience for me, with trying to focus on my school work and not have to worry about the situations outside of school. It was also hard last year, because my mother had constant death threats that she was going to kill my father and stepmother (I know this sounds exaggerated or unrealistic, however I am completley telling the truth). Last year my grades suffered dramatically. I went from getting A's and B's in honors classes, to getting a C in AP World History Last year, and also a "D" in honors chemistry and "D" in British Literature (I had that course for a half a year). So clearly I need to explain myself from last year. Basically everything came to a boil and I was so stressed out that I nearly gave up. Now, however, although my parents are still sick, and I still have things to deal with, I have grown so much from last year. I am taking all honors (No AP's this year do to scheduling conflicts which I am explaining to the college as well), and I have A's, A-'s and my lowest grade is B+. I am trying to prove that I am capable of suceeding and that I have grown so much from last year. My GPA from 9th to 11th grade is 3.5 out of 5.0 and my class rank is 190 out of 349. (This is an AWFUL rank, however I go to the 25th best public high school in my state, and 117 kids have over a 4.0, so my grade is full of overachievers). I am also one of the only african american students at my high school. My extra-curricular list throughout high school is very very involved (especially more in 9th and 10th grade, and this year). Do you think that my grades will be looked down upon from last year if I explain my situation to college? My grades have improved DRAMATICALLY since last year. My guidance counselor is also explaining my situation, and so is my teacher who is writing my rec. I am applying to a top 15 school ED. I am also going to do an on campus interview at Wellesley (I live 10 miles away from campus), and I have clearly visited many times since I was a little girl due to the close proximity.</p>
<p>I think you’ll have a chance if your extracurriculars are really great and you have good test scores. Seeing improvement in your academic record really, really helps, so I’m glad you’ve done that. I think explaining your special circumstances is a good idea–I personally wouldn’t go into too much detail, like describing your mother’s death threats, unless it’s in your essay or something like that. Just keep it short and to the point. You don’t want admissions to feel like you’re trying to trying to pull at their heart strings, so to speak, but you have enough issues that you really don’t need to get into the gory details to impress the seriousness of the situation on them.</p>