Would it be in poor taste to email this question to an admissions office?

Applying to College
1

<p>I wanted to email the admissions office at an Ivy explaining how my lack of effort academically in freshman year wrecked my class rank (I might be only top 10% instead of top 5%, when I could have easily been 3rd or higher of 200+) and asking how on the application to express my improvement/change of motivation. I'm afraid it won't be obvious because I received mostly low 90s in 9th grade with 2 B's, and then took a bunch of AP classes receiving low 90s in most of them so there isn't much of an obvious contrast. Would it be inappropriate to ask this?</p>

2

<p>I don’t know about “poor taste,” but it would be a very bad idea to send such an email.</p>

3

<p>I wouldn’t ask. Instead, if you feel you must, it’d probably be a better idea to explain your situation in the additional information section of the common app.</p>

4

<p>Ok I won’t send it. I need to just calm down about this whole thing lol</p>

5

<p>dude9521, feel free to use the “Additional Info” section of the Common App to discuss this, but only if you can do so by telling a positive story. In other words, don’t make excuses, shift blame to others, etc. Take responsibility for your lower grades in freshman year, and concentrate on explaining how and why you came to realize that you wanted to put in more effort as time went on. Tell us the story of your “change in motivation,” as you call it. How did it feel to try harder and do better? What lessons did you learn from the experience? </p>

<p>I also wouldn’t concentrate on the class rank aspect of this story. You don’t want to come across as too numbers-driven. Better to focus on what you learned about yourself as a person and a student, and how you plan to go ahead in your approach to academics.</p>

<p>Good luck with your apps!</p>

6

<p>christina - You win the interwebs for The Best Advice I’ve Seen Today… excellent!</p>

7

<p>The relevant information could possibly also be covered in the recommendation letter from your school guidance counselor.</p>

<p>This type of information might be better received coming from a school official than from you.</p>