Doing poorly during winter semester- effect on transcript

[moonlightblack]

Hello

Comments

[six_dollar_baby]

i outright failed two classes in my major during undergrad. I addressed it in my application- there was a section where they gave space for a 200-word explanation of any low grades. I just outright owned it- "Despite my best efforts, I failed these classes. I re-took them and passed."

Managed to get into every program i applied to, anyway. Grad application is a rough process- try not to freak out too much. And best of luck.

[somniumdraconae]

Stuff like this is what a well written personal statement is for. You can address exactly what happened, and that you took measures to correct the effect it had on your classwork. You can also take the time to say whether this influenced what direction you wanted to study - does experiencing mental illness yourself - and the stigma, difficulty obtaining treatment, etc, any other problems you may have had - make you want to study it *more*, work in a specific area, etc? Those are great things to talk about in an essay.

[margalite]

I did poorly in some of my classes partially due to some medical issues, I wrote about it in my personal statement and I asked one of my recommendation writers to mention it as well. I didn't get into the most competitive program I applied to but I did pretty well overall. If you mention the issues you had and then focus on all of the great things that you've done despite those issues that make you a great candidate for grad school you should be fine.

[tisiphone]

I wouldn't worry about the retakes, especially if your college does grade replacement so it doesn't affect your GPA. In fact, I'd be inclined to say don't worry about any of it. Stuff happens even to the best students, and admissions committees are aware that sometimes you just don't get the hang of a class. I wouldn't mention it, and especially wouldn't mention periodic depression, since that could suggest you'd continue to have the problem in grad school.