jeb1985

Hi Everyone, All of my applications have been submitted and I wanted to stop in first to say thanks to everyone who responded! And also to update what I ended up doing with my SOP in case anyone had a similar question in the future. My advisor, who helped me write the SOP, offered to address my academic history in his recommendation. He felt it would carry more weight coming from him rather than from me in the SOP. I agree with my advisor and removed the paragraph and let him address it. I guess I'll know in the next weeks/months how that decision panned out! Thanks Again!

In my above post I meant to say in the spirit of what Simple Twist of Fate said...and thanks runaway. The shortened version is a big improvement. I'm still not sure I'll even mention it at all. My GPA for the past two years is 3.89/major 3.9/overall. It seems obvious to me that whatever the issue was before...it is resolved now. I'm just concerned they'll look at the application and wonder what happened, why my performance was subpar for so long.

Hi everyone, Thanks for the responses. I appreciate it and I feel more confident. In the spirit of what Latte said I tried writing an alternate introductory paragraph. It's a bit long (I think) and needs some work but I copy/pasted the general idea below. Any feedback would be welcome. In particular thoughts on if this would be a viable way to incorporate my story into my decision to pursue graduate school. Thanks! During my first semester at ***** I signed up for the department's research seminar. The seminar was intended as a capstone experience for seniors. Even though I was a junior transfer student I was ambitious and took the course. My ambition stemmed from my decision to leave a career position in global sales to pursue studying history. I went to community college sporadically after high school but largely at the whim of my employers. At the same time I was focused on my career and family obligations so my efforts in college were half-hearted.The global sales job was a dream for someone touting only a high school diploma: it had a high salary, excellent health benefits, an employer match 401k and a generous vacation policy. Leaving this only to engage half-heartedly would be a waste. I could keep my cubicle and spend more time browsing the History section at Barnes and Noble. No, only my full dedication would suffice after I gave up my cubicle and its tradeoff of monotony for financial gain in favor of something much less pragmatic: intellectual fulfillment. The research seminar was an excellent first opportunity to become conversant with the historical research process. I signed up for it and never looked back. That research seminar sparked a two year research project.....etc, etc.

Hi Everyone, I'm currently a senior history major at a state school and obviously in the thick of the application process! I've spent quite a while working on my SOP and tailoring it to the schools I'm applying to etc, etc. There is, however, one thing I'm not quite sure how (if) to handle in the SOP and I've received conflicting advice from professors about it. I am a "non-traditional" applicant as I am 27. I've had personal, financial responsibility to my family that put college out of reach. I did take courses at two community colleges. My GPAs were 2.67 and 3.2 but there are a significant number of Ws and a lesser number of Fs. Most of the time I had work related conflicts and one terrible semester where I was unexpectedly laid off. Not to throw off personal responsibility, there were times when I was not dedicated enough. At the same time I built a career and landed a *great* job as an inside sales rep. After 3 years with that company my personal circumstances changed such that I did not need such a profitable job since I now only have to support myself. I knew if I left such a great job it would have to be for something I loved or it would not be worth it. In August 2011 I quit and transfered as a history major hoping to go on to teaching at the community college level. I've worked really hard and I think stats wise, research wise, recommendation wise, I'm a competitive applicant. My question is whether or not to address my spotty academic record and journey to college in the SOP or if I should let the improvement of the last two years speak for itself? On some applications they have a section to provide additional info, should I put it there when the option is available? One of my professors said to address it directly in the SOP, two others said not so much. Thanks for any feedback!