<p>i'm going to be applying as a transfer student next year to some competitive schools.</p>
<p>my 1st semester gpa was terrible (2.0), due in part to some unfortunate circumstances back home, a death of a family member, and some good-old lack of effort. i hate making excuses, and i'm wary of even mentioning those first two reasons on my app.</p>
<p>but i want to address the fact that i am no longer the student i was that semester .my next semester i got a 3.7, and that was due in part to a "b" i got in a class that has always been a weak subject form me. next semester, i see myself earning between a 3.8 - 4.0, as my classes are all in areas i am strong in.</p>
<p>in short: will my upward trend speak for itself? or would it be wise to address why and how i have changed since the 1st semester? i feel it might, but it would also make for a pretty dull essay topic.</p>
<p>any input would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>It would probably be a bad idea for an essay topic, assuming you have better ideas.</p>
<p>To make sure they know of what happened, though, I <em>think</em> you can get your guidance counselor to write a letter explaining what happened. I believe most universities will accept it as a supplement, as long as the story’s believable and doesn’t seem too desperate (i.e. don’t say that you spent the whole term crying, even if you did).</p>
<p>But even if you don’t send a letter in, if you can get a 4.0, and have gotten something in that range prior to the 2.0, they will almost certainly assume that there were some special circumstances in that term (if I were one of them, I definitely would) and they’ll almost certainly not look down on it. It’ll definitely help to send a letter in, but don’t worry TOO much about it if you don’t.</p>
<p>Hope that makes sense :).</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m in college though, applying as a transfer student, so I don’t have a college counselor or anything. Do you think I should I sent in a letter myself? Or will most schools have an “anything else you’d like to tell us?” -type question where I can write that in?</p>