<p>I screwed up my sophomore yr grades. I am aspiring to be a violin performance major and my top school is USC. My gpa is absolutely horrendous and I was hoping that if I had a chance to explain myself, it might just possibly help my case. This may not be a complete "legit" case, but I just wanted to know whether or not I should pursue adding this to my application? During my sophomore yr, I was diagnosed w/ severe anxiety and some depression. I also switched to a new violin teacher, and I basically had to start all over with the violin. It took a huge toll on me and I just put my grades on the backburner. After seeing my grades for that year, I had finally learned how to balance both violin and grades and I'm now an A/B student. </p>
<p>So, my question is....could I make a case about this? Common App provides an extra space that allows us to elaborate about whatever we want....would this help/hurt my chances?</p>