So to put my problem in short: I suffered a period of depression that lasted through the majority of my sophomore year and I was recovering the start of my junior year. In my freshman year, I only had one B in my first semester, and it wasn’t an a-g required course. I took one honors course then because my school restricts the number of weighted classes underclassmen can take. In my sophomore year, I got 4 Bs and 3 As my first semester due to the extent of my depression, and the fact that my grades were so bad first semester only made it worse. The next semester I did slightly better, but still really bad: 4As and 3Bs. That year, I only took 1 AP and 1 honors course, again because of underclassmen restriction. In my junior year, I took 2 APs and 2 honors and 2 regular classes (these were electives,only one was a-g approved, my school needs these to graduate). I made it a point to improve my grades, but I still ended up with 2 Bs and 4As first semester because of a borderline dropping to a B+ (this is a common problem of mine). I got straight As my second semester, which is fine I guess.
In the wake of college apps, I beat myself up every single day because of how much my depression affected my grades. For some of my colleges,I am applying to UCs, and my unweighted UC GPA is 3.59, capped UC GPA is 3.95, and fully weighted is 4.14. My school GPA is 3.75, weighted is 4.1, and I am around top 30ish% of my class. I never talked to my GC about my circumstances, I’m even getting a new GC next year because the GC for my alpha group left this year (she was my second GC I’ve had at my school). If it wasn’t for my sophomore year, I should be in the top 20% of my class. How should I explain this on my app? Will it hurt me a lot?
