Undergraduate record solid but spotty?

Graduate School
1

<p>I did very poorly in high school, so I ended up going to a CC before transferring to UC Berkeley and majoring in Philosophy. I had a 3.9 at the CC (straight As aside from a single B in a math course), and I ended with a 3.75 GPA at Cal after two years, with roughly the same in the major. My GRE scores are 730-V, 770-Q, and 5.0 AW (I'm a little disappointed in the AW, but whatever, I'm not going to lose sleep over it). At this point I believe I have the three requisite letters lined up, all of which are from philosophers, and two of which are from political philosophers. In addition, the strongest letter of the three will be coming from a poli phil professor who is, to my knowledge, recognized in the field. I also have what I believe to be, and what my former graduate student instructor has told me is, a very high quality writing sample that will be of considerable interest to some of the professors in the departments to which I am hoping to apply. Granted, it may seem like I am not in the best position to evaluate my own work, but for the sake of argument, let's just assume that it is, in fact, a very good writing sample.</p>

<p>I want to apply to an excellent program for (poli) phil or political science, hopefully one with a Continental slant.</p>

<p>The problem is that I think my transcripts will raise a red flag for anyone who carefully scrutinizes them. For example, at the CC, I had three Ws (withdraws), and I actually withdrew from Eng 101 twice in a row before completing it. There was also a semester in which I took no classes. Then, when I transferred to Cal, I actually withdrew entirely after just a couple weeks, before I was readmitted the following year. </p>

<p>Now, the truth is that almost all of this can be attributed to the fact that I've suffered from clinical depression since adolescence. In fact, that is the reason why, despite taking AP courses, being on the school's academic decathlon, and doing sufficiently well on the SATs, I barely graduated high school with a 2.9. Moreover, although I understand that the statement of purpose is the place to explain these kinds of inconsistencies, I'm a little worried that it might actually be more to my detriment to admit that I have suffered from depression. I don't want them to get the impression that I'll do the same sort of thing at graduate school. Honestly, I think I've managed to pull myself up by my bootstraps, but I'm not sure how I can convince the admissions people of this.</p>

<p>So, to cut to the chase, should I bring this up in the statement of purpose, or should I just neglect to mention it and hope they don't notice? On my (unofficial) Cal transcript, it just says "Withdraw via petition" for Fall 07, and then "Readmitted" for Fall 08. However, during that year, I took a class for fun at my old CC, and thus any reader who closely examines my transcripts will see that there is something puzzling. </p>

<p>Also, what do you guys think my chances are?</p>

<p>Thanks, and sorry for the long read.</p>

2

<p>First, your high school record has nothing to do with your graduate school applications. Programs will not know that you “barely” graduated. Next, your GPA from both places is good, which attests to your academic abilities. Third, plenty of students apply to PhD programs with Ws on their transcripts (and even an early F) and still get in. And many have struggled with personal issues that have affected their progression through college. Your record at Berkeley will be more closely scrutinized than that from your community college.</p>

<p>It is usually inadvisable to explain mental illness or personal issues in an SOP, with the possible exception of when it affects academic performance – and then only in passing, not as an excuse but as an explanation. In your case, you should ask your academic advisor whether he/she thinks it is necessary; if he doesn’t have an opinion, just leave it out. If programs are impressed with your record but have questions about your record, then they will ask you about it in an interview – if your programs interview. Then, you can dodge the clinical depression issue by saying that you did not begin Berkeley as scheduled because of personal issues that needed to be attended to. By purposefully leaving the reasons vague, you’ll indicate that your withdrawal had nothing to do with academics/integrity but also that you consider it a private matter. Chances are, no one will press. Of course, if they do press you for an answer, be honest, but make a point of saying that your illness is under control now.</p>

<p>Here’s the problem with spelling out your mental illness in the SOP: programs are looking for ways to narrow the pool of applicants. If one or more people on the committee think that you won’t be able to handle the stress of graduate school because of your illness, then they may decide not to offer you spot. Professors are human, and they can be influenced, even unknowingly, by such information, especially when they haven’t met the person it affects.</p>