I asked my counselor to include the period where I was homeless in order to explain my bad grades in sophomore year, but he said it was too late as he cannot edit his LOR. Should I include a simple paragraph in the Additional Information section on Common App explaining my situation?
Sure - I don’t know that it will matter.
That will depend on each school, of course. And maybe each reader. And they may or may not believe it.
But it certainly would not hurt to do so.
Good luck.
PS - I’d say this - regardless of “where” you end up, if you were able to conquer homelessness, I’d say you have a good shot in life. Lots of perseverance - that will carry you much farther than any name on a diploma will.
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Yes, I think it would be worthwhile adding that to the additional information section. My $.02 though is to keep it brief and factual, and I wouldn’t even talk about grades at all. Ad coms will connect those dots on their own, especially if you had a strong grades before/after.
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Is this good?
I experienced internal problems within my family, in which I ran away from home and experienced homelessness in Sophomore year, though I voluntarily returned later. I regret not informing my school counselor about this situation so he has not included it in his Letter of Recommendation. I felt hesitant to tell him as Child Protection Services and the police were involved and I did not want them to intervene anymore.
Agree with @momofboiler1. It is fine to write something, but keep it short and factual. Do not make excuses for your grades (AOs can make the connection).
Honestly I would keep it even briefer, the ad coms don’t need to know the reasons or the details.
Something like: I experienced homelessness Sophomore year. I was fearful to disclose this to anyone at school. My living situation resolved later.
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I agree with other posters. I would say “my family” was homeless, the time frame, and not mention grades. Admissions can draw their own conclusions.
My daughter did this about a health issue. She wrote that when diagnosed at age 4, in the hospital, she folded her clothes hoping that if she was “good” the disease would go away.
Very short, about as long as those two lines.
So there are different ways to do this, all of them concise and without any excuse-making.
It would be untruthful to write “my family” was homeless when only the student was homeless due to running away from home.
OP: @momofboiler1 offered solid advice in my opinion.
Thanks! I’m using this
I missed the fact that it was just the OP. Not suggesting anything dishonest.
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