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26 Aug 2013, 11:09
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Hi All,
So, I'm curious on your opinion on this...I feel like I have an overall pretty decent application, but I have one really dark spot (my GPA - a 3.34), and I'm wondering if I should do an optional essay to explain the situation or if this will just blow up in my face.
Basically, I sort of blew my senior year of undergrad, which I wouldn't have been as worried about if I hadn't done a similar hack job on my freshman year.
Not to go all Lifetime on everyone, but basically: One of my parents (my only family), had serious health issues, and instead of staying in my hometown, finding a job, and waiting it out a year, I (selfishly, I now admit) rushed into moving the family home across country so that I could go to school/take care of my parent/intern/work all at the same time...I didn't do absolutely horribly, I mean I didn't fail anything, but I did badly enough that it seriously dragged down my overall GPA.
Thoughts? How bad could this theoretically hurt me?
So, I'm curious on your opinion on this...I feel like I have an overall pretty decent application, but I have one really dark spot (my GPA - a 3.34), and I'm wondering if I should do an optional essay to explain the situation or if this will just blow up in my face.
Basically, I sort of blew my senior year of undergrad, which I wouldn't have been as worried about if I hadn't done a similar hack job on my freshman year.
Not to go all Lifetime on everyone, but basically: One of my parents (my only family), had serious health issues, and instead of staying in my hometown, finding a job, and waiting it out a year, I (selfishly, I now admit) rushed into moving the family home across country so that I could go to school/take care of my parent/intern/work all at the same time...I didn't do absolutely horribly, I mean I didn't fail anything, but I did badly enough that it seriously dragged down my overall GPA.
Thoughts? How bad could this theoretically hurt me?
26 Aug 2013, 14:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hmm, this wouldn't HURT you per se, but, if executed poorly, could raise some eyebrows. I'm not entirely sure, from your post, how the different components you mentioned are related. For example, did the condition of your family member worsen in your senior year? Effectively, why did you improve going into your sophomore year and degrade as you went into your senior year?
I mean, keep in mind, a 3.34 isn't as low a GPA as you're thinking. Generally, when we work with clients that have low GPAs, they're sub 3. Your GPA is decent and your situation could warrant some mention but tread carefully. You have the ability to tug on the heartstrings to an extent but don't overplay it (I liked the "go Lifetime" phrase - I'll have to throw that into conversations!).
Bhavik
I mean, keep in mind, a 3.34 isn't as low a GPA as you're thinking. Generally, when we work with clients that have low GPAs, they're sub 3. Your GPA is decent and your situation could warrant some mention but tread carefully. You have the ability to tug on the heartstrings to an extent but don't overplay it (I liked the "go Lifetime" phrase - I'll have to throw that into conversations!).
Bhavik
26 Aug 2013, 15:03
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CriticalSquareMBA
So basically, my mother had a really serious stroke requiring a month-long hospitalization about two weeks before the start of my senior year, and at first, it was really touch and go as to whether I would even get to go back and finish college on time, as my mother was left seriously debilitated. Her condition didn't worsen over the year, per se, but I had to play a major role in care-taking because I didn't have any other family to help (cooking for two, dealing with her very high-maintenance medical issues at home, chauffeuring her around to medical appointments, providing a livable income in D.C., actually living with said parent :p, etc.). I tried balancing this with a full course load (including an undergrad thesis second semester), an internship (about 22 hours a week during the first semester), and a year-round, part-time job (the job amounted to about 10-20 hours a week in the fall, and about 20-30 hours a week during the spring), and unfortunately, with so many competing priorities, I didn't finish off college as successfully as I would have liked.
I started off my undergrad career kind of shaky academically because I just wasn't as prepared for college-level coursework as I was theoretically meant to be. I did stellar in high school, but my high school was clearly judged by admissions to be more rigorous than it actually was, and I definitely had to play serious catch up when I got to college. I caught up with my peers through a lot of hard work (and mediocre freshman grades, hah). I ended my freshman year with a 3.15. I wasn't actually planning to give any background on that, though, because that definitely sounds whiney even to me, haha.
Speaking of which, I don't want to come off whiney (which is why I'm debating doing this or not)...because I don't really see my personal misfortune as an excuse for poor performance. I'm just wondering, though, if it might help to put my senior year grades (and to an extent, me as an applicant) into context.
Thanks for the input, Bhavik!
