Hi I’m assisting my daughter with decision on how to handle her sophomore year dip in grades as she completes her Apps. She has had straight A’s but got 3 B’s Sophomore year (2 of those were 89’s…
) the dip was caused by our school system being closed until March of 2021. And then when they allowed kids back it was only 2 days a week and more disruptive. It was a mess. She had previously been able to do well even with her ADHD and processing speed issues but this year was too much. We had to get her an Executive Functioning coach and worked so hard to keep her on track. I engaged the school to get a 504 in place and took them nearly a year. It was too late and grades suffered. She also became extremely depressed that year. She asked her counselor if she should include this info since Covid question no longer on common app. Silly because 2023 and 2024 still very affected in HS. Counselor said they were told colleges will “know” this 2023 class had some hardships due to school closures. So it’s up to her. They said including a personal statement explaining dip was due to Covid isn’t enough because all kids in same boat. If she includes a statement would need to layout Adhd etc. The counselors also say school are not to hold learning differences against students.
So what to do? Should we explain and include the ADHD and 504 need? She has a very strong SAT and is National merit commended almost made semi finalist. And she isn’t applying to any true reach schools but does need as much merit as she can get. Only one school UNC chapel hill might be a little tougher. We are in state but they only take so many from our HS. Due to school closure year, the B’s caused class rank to slip to top 15th percent. She has tons of AP and dual enrollment credits too. Thank you for your advice. We really can’t decide what is best.
To disclose or not disclose dip in grades reason during school closures. ADHD and depression got 504
So she has straight As in Grades 9, 11 and (theoretically) 12, but 3 Bs in Grade 10, which was almost entirely virtual? I hear your anxiety, but your GC is right: her whole class is in the same boat. Some kids will have struggled more than your daughter, and others less- but your daughter’s grade dip is objectively relatively minor.
Imo, a long explanation as to why she got 2 89s instead of 91s, and how if the 504 had been in place sooner it would have been different and how she got so depressed about the disruption and her marks and and and…can you see how that comes across?
In general, I think that leaning into your strengths is a better bet for applications.
A B is a good grade. I’m not convinced that it needs to be explained as if it’s a bad thing.
I’ve also heard multiple college AOs say in presentations, unprompted, that they really do know that the HS class of 2023 had our learning disrupted by COVID and related school closures. I think the counselor is right that it’s not necessary to note that COVID was a disruption, since that will be assumed.
That said, the combination of COVID with ADHD and the delayed 504 may be worth explaining. That would be the part to focus on, and the ideal tone would be “I demonstrated resilience by getting B’s despite these obstacles” rather than “I’m ashamed of getting these B’s and here’s why it wasn’t totally my fault.” Even then, I’m not convinced that it’s worth it.
This is the issue with society today.
You get a B or three and you are looking for a way to justify it. Why? A B is above average.
But this is the issue and the pressure people are putting on kids today.
Grade inflation.
No - you should not say anything about 3 Bs. Schools are risk averse - they don’t want perceived issues - and honestly, your child has a strong level of accomplishment already - so trying to justify/excuse is not wise.
Good luck.
Your kid and many many others applying to college had the same school closure situations. I would not do this in the application. Perhaps the school counselor can address this in their letter.
But really…these school closures happened in a lot of places to a lot of kids.
And three B grades isn’t awful. Your daughter is likely to get B grades in college too. Really, this isn’t a huge issue.
Maybe if you came to our high school and saw the environment and competitiveness to keep class rank you’d get it. These kids are stressed about every point of GPA because certain state schools will limit the amount of kids from our high school. If. Student drops in rank the state school will nix them from acceptance. Students play the game of grabbing extra dual enrollment classes to push GPA due to higher weighting etc.
I could care less about a few B’s if it didn’t have the potential to make or break a few affordable good school options for her. But mostly because I saw the depression and anxiety she faced everyday while confined to her room and stuck with an inadequate online system and teachers who were thrown into online teaching without training. There were tears most everyday and the depression was extremely bad and we had to work even more closely with her mental health provider. Some days I didn’t think she’d survive it.
But mostly the extremely long school closures were 100% unnecessary. Our school leaders screwed up and the kids are paying the price. The learning loss alone is horrible. We wrote emails, called, spoke at board meetings, protested outside the building etc and still schools kept close. So yes, I believe these kids 100% should have a way to explain how the closures and restrictions impacted them without negatively affecting admissions.
So we’ll need to agree to disagree because I believe the problem with our society is that we sacrificed our kids during politically driven drawn out school closures.
I’m aware the closures happened to everyone. However, not everyone was thrown into major depression, increased anxiety and lacking the focus and executive functioning to produce their usual level of work because they did not previously have 504 in place.
I have several older kids and some younger kids. I’ve been down the college road multiple times already. B’s aren’t bad and B’s happen in college. I’m not a freak about all A’s and didn’t intend to come off that way.
My intent was to give her a chance to explain what factors were at play that year because our kids took the brunt of the failure of adults. Seems like they should still have a way to explain the year. My class of 2021 student did. Why was it taken out of common app before class of 2024 graduated?
I have twins who graduated HS in 2021, didn’t see the inside of a classroom until 5/21, a few hours a week. One did okay, one did not. I think the majority did not. One had straight A’s (except a B freshman year), the other managed a 3.7 but had mostly B’s and a C senior year (and then crashed and burned in college, had only one class in person). Most agree that pointing out the learning difficulties during Covid isn’t the best idea because almost all of the kids were in the same boat.
I hear your anger and frustration at the way school closures were handled in your district/state. I hear how hard the disruptions were for this particular child of yours. I know how hard it is when your child is seriously struggling and you are doing everything you can to help them, and it feels as though the school system is making it harder not easier.
I also have brought kids through hyper-competitive secondary schools, and am keenly aware of how the expectations can weigh on a student (and their parents). I even know the resentment of a parent whose child may not “even” get into the state flagship, when another child who lives in a different zip code with lower marks can, because of state population distribution mandates.
But: your anger and frustration at your child’s experience won’t change that. Use CC to vent your frustration, and maybe even get some ideas.
Your child does have the opportunity to tell her story- if that is the story she wants to tell. As @HazelEnvirons points out, there is a way to write that story in a positive way.
But maybe you could also help her by broadening the idea of what success looks like, by expanding her options and looking outside the ‘usual suspects’ that the competitive students in her school see as ‘good’ college outcomes. UNC-CH is a great option from all perspectives- good school and very affordable! Are there others? Are there wild card schools that are so out of the box they would feel like a win - whether or not CH happens ?
My ADHD son, exactly the same outcome. Dip in grades sophomore year (exactly that same as yours. Overall they still have a 3.8+ GPA which is pretty excellent. We did not explain it on his application because when looking at the dates on the transcripts it is self-explanatory. Also, his overall GPA is strong (and very competitive), and we didn’t want it to come off as looking petty. He did tackle his ADHD in his essay, but nothing about Covid. He had gotten into 6 schools so far (4 competitive programs which required an additional review) and into the schools, he is most likely to attend.
There is no guarantee that colleges won’t revert to online at some point in the next 5 years for some period of time. Do not highlight that your child is unable to adjust to that well.
I would not disclose, especially the depression. Sure, schools supposedly don’t discriminate against students with mental health issues, but the reality is that colleges are so overwhelmed with students with mental health needs that their counseling services are swamped and gridlocked. Given two similar applicants, one whom they already know is likely to require mental health services, and one whose mental health needs they don’t know about, they’re going to take the one whom they don’t expect will need the school’s counseling services.
I agree with other posters - emphasize your strengths in application.
I can attest to the pressure that is wrecking havoc on our kids. I have a college sophomore who just took a leave of absence yesterday because she can no longer cope with the unrealistic expectations. in her plea for dropping out she told me it began freshman year of high school and has not let up and she can’t do it any longer. Her younger brother is a sophomore in high school and he’s asking me daily if it’s ok that he gets B’s and not getting honor roll. To be clear in our home we do not set grade expectations, but the high school really cranks things up, and then of course kids talk about grades and scores all day long at school. This madness needs to calm down. I’m trying everything in my power at home to create a safe place where one’s value is not tied to your gpa, but I’m fighting a loosing battle and dealing with real mental health issues. I’m sick to my stomach over this.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality at all schools. Not all schools are well-equipped to handle accommodations and may be cautious in admitting students who will need them. This will never be explicitly stated in an applicant’s file, so there would be no paper trail of discrimination.
You may want to read this article before making your decision about disclosing mental health challenges. It is specific to Cornell, but it is the same sentiment many have relayed here about colleges in general:
Mental health challenges are extremely common on college campuses. Your daughter will be far from alone and all colleges have resources and programs aimed at helping students who are struggling. But schools may not want to admit students knowing that they are more likely to struggle.
I understand that this experience feels very unique to your daughter’s situation, but unfortunately it is not. In asking about time spent per application since the post-Covid increase in apps, this is what one admissions director said:
“The other big difference was students were a lot more depressed this year, obviously. Everybody’s more anxious, including students. They’re applying for college which is stressful in and of itself. And so what we found is a lot of students used their essays to talk about depression, anxiety, things like this. To read essay after essay after essay about depression, anxiety, stress — is taxing.“
Finally, you have very specific feelings about school closures. Keep in mind that on some college campuses, professors and staff fought to have closures for as long as possible. My daughter started college in fall of 2020. Because of how the various unions on her campus fought for continued caution, she didn’t sit in a classroom on a regular basis until January 2022. Her entire freshman year was online, and in fall of sophomore year she had 2 online classes, an online research opportunity for credit, and 2 hybrid classes. If some of your family’s feelings about closures comes through in any statement about their effect, it may not come off well to staff that advocated for continued closures. It wasn’t the case at all schools, but it was at many.
I vote for not showing weakness. Highlight her many strengths.
But this is the issue -it happened to everyone. And it can happen again.
If affordability is an issue, with a 3.6, depending on a test score, you can get find aid at many places, possibly cheaper than in-state depending on your state.
"Maybe if you came to our high school and saw the environment and competitiveness to keep class rank you’d get it. "
This unfortunately is at a lot of places - but there’s going to be pressure at lower but especially higher ranked schools. In essence, it’s a choice, highest rigor, chasing the highest grades. I don’t know your state - but if they end up at say Central Michigan instead of Michigan…so what…if they can’t handle the stress. Not everyone needs to play.
College will bring a lot more stress. Tests where the student isn’t given enough time, hours of homework each night, roommate issues, professors they can’t understand, etc. And yes, perhaps school closures.
There’s a fine college out there for your student, an affordable one at that if they want to be at a four year school. There’s no guarantee of success or happiness. Everyone doesn’t have to be in the race - but if rank is that important, not everyone can be ranked high and maybe for this student, they need to be shown it’s ok not to be, not to get into this school. Life is a marathon and if they fall a bit short of expectations here, they have lots of time to recover later.
Bottom line - and taking politics out of it because I know many a kid who has excelled in that environment - people are risk averse, so if you knowingly present the issues they will face in the future as an institution when they are also resource constrained, why would they want to take on that issue?
Perhaps, a less competitive, private for your student might prove better. There are many with merit opportunities, some even match your in-state tuition. And many have more resources to deal with a child like yours. A public school may be stretched, and his situation might become worse. So getting in is one thing, but living there - a whole other thing - because the pressure and stress is not going to get less. And truth is, with the pandemic still here and future strains unknown, we don’t truly know what will hold at the college level. If people start getting very sick again, restrictions could come back - there’s just no way to predict the future.
Good luck to your student - find the right place vs. the place at the top of the rankings.
Having said what i did, i also want to note that both of my kids (college freshman and junior) have had diagnosed anxiety since before the pandemic. The pandemic affected both of them, and both have added depression to their challenges.
On bad days, it can be terrifying for me as a parent. I understand why you feel strongly, even though my approach would be different than yours.
I hope your daughter finds an environment where she can thrive next year. In my younger daughter’s case, her ultimate choice in school was based as much on it being the best fit for her if she were to struggle as any other factor. We knew that being able to best address the worst case scenario was important in her situation, and I am grateful already that she made the choice she did.
I haven’t read all of the studies- but I know some parents believe the school closures HELPED their kids academically.
Kid being bullied? The kids who live at the end of the bus route (first to get picked up in the morning-- last to be dropped off- that’s an extra two hours a day!), kid who is struggling with sexual identity and the idea of having to be someone else all day at HS, non-neurotypical kids who found the straightforward nature of Zoom school right up their alley (do the reading, write the essay, do the problem set, done). No need to try and be Teacher’s Pet, “Most cooperative in the classroom”, read the non-verbal signals-- just do your homework-- yay, what a relief!
So yes, the shutdowns were terrible, except when they weren’t.
Agree with everyone else- your D has so many wonderful things to highlight! Highlight those.
Also, there are some kids who not only thrived in the Covid environment but leveraged off it it and made a difference in this world in some unique way that no one else thought of. If I were an elite college those are the students I’d be eager to recruit.
My D was not one of those elite few. And that’s totally fine. I think the majority of teens really struggled during covid and that’s 100% understandable too.
I’m very new to the admissions game (oldest is applying this month), but I have to echo what everyone else is saying. COVID shut downs happened to everyone, and there are going to be unexpected and unfair shut downs in the future, you don’t want to make it seem like your child can’t handle that… and she can, she got 3 B’s. That is still good.
I do sympathize, I also live in a hyper competitive environment area, and it just creates all these crazy expectations and worries that if your kid isn’t keeping up with whoever, they’re going to miss all these great opportunities, and it’s going to set them back or make it harder for them. It creates too much pressure on everyone.
There are lots of great colleges out there, and there are tons of scholarships and aid for high performing students (which your daughter is). Through this board I found out my son is an automatic admit with scholarships to the University of Alabama with $28K/year in scholarships. That makes it less expensive than our state schools. And he has a lower GPA than your child (3.7 unweighted) Did I dream of my kid going to Alabama a year ago? No. But they have an ABET accredited engineering program, I checked out their labs and their professors and they are well equipped and qualified.
Would I prefer that he get into Virginia Tech or Purdue (not to mention Stanford, MIT, etc)? Of course. But if he’s determined enough, he can get great opportunities everywhere.
I guess what I’m trying to do is reassure you that your daughter is going to be fine. She sounds amazing, and she clearly has a parent willing to fight for her. That’s awesome. Now, make sure you don’t feed her anxiety that everything is soooo important right now, and that if xyz doesn’t happen right now it’s a disaster. I don’t know if I’m capturing your mood correctly, so please forgive me if I am…
With your daughter’s grades, she’s going to get into a fine school and she’s going to qualify for merit based scholarships. She should concentrate on turning in her applications this month to increase her chances.