Explaining bumps in your application

[MoJingly]

I've already submitted my applications and am waiting to interview, but I've been thinking. How will you/do you/did you determine what "red flags" to explain on your application? What do you think is the level of severity that warrants explanation?

On one application I mentioned in passing that I didn't have really high GRE scores but this doesn't measure my ability to perform in grad school... yada yada. I did not explain why I had a withdrawal from a physics class (logistical reasons) or why I went from my highest GPA one semester last year to my lowest the next (I got mono). I figured that if they really want to know, they will ask me in an interview, but I don't plan on bringing it up. I preferred not to drag my application down with red-flag issues. But of course, none of them were horrid.

Was there a point to this post? Ah, not really. Just wondering what you all think.

[TheDude]

I didn't explain any hiccups other than my degree track change, which inspired my interests in the field I am currently in. I have a D and a couple Cs buried in the transcripts of one school I attended. These grades are in a totally unrelated discipline, so much so that even equating grading systems might be silly. My Psych GPA is solid, and my CV shows a strong upward trajectory over the last 2 years. If a committee full of Ph.Ds doesn't see that then I'm overestimating how hard getting this degree will be.

If I had several Ws or an F then I might explain something.

Saying what I wanted to say about future/past research was hard enough in the alloted spaces of SOPs.

Edited January 18, 2011 by musicforfun

[MoJingly]

"hiccup" < --- I like that.

Edited January 18, 2011 by MoJingly

[qbtacoma]

A professor who served on admissions committees before coming to my university told me that you absolutely must address any weak points - staying silent, especially over a drop in grades, is bad. They could give you the benefit of the doubt, but they are also looking at stellar applicants with no hiccups.

I had to address a semester of low grades - I failed a class not in my major and barely scraped a B- in another. I was in another major I hated at the time and I had given up trying in it, but the real reason I failed was because I had just ended a relationship and I was sad. This, however, is not a professional thing to say, so I just put in a short sentence about that semester's grades emphasizing my frustration with the other major and that I was going through a difficult personal time.

[2am_frosty]

i have a handful of bad grades, didn't explain a single one, and i still got interviews in neuro.

[ZeChocMoose]

I am so torn on whether you should or you shouldn't explain hiccups on your applications. I have seen adcoms react to this favorably (i.e. death in the family) and adcoms dismiss the applicants' explanations (usually academic struggles, stress, or homesickness). Personally, I wouldn't want to draw attention to my weak points. I suppose if you really feel that you must address some weakness, I would only write 1-2 sentences and attach it as supplementary document to my application or I would ask a recommender to explain the context if it was appropriate (i.e. death in the family).

[i.am.me]

I asked one of my letter writers to address a semester of bad grades: poor time management and too many classes. In addition, I HATED two of the instructors that semester. Both of them completely slammed my self confidence in class in the first week. I wasn't the only student that dropped out or failed from their courses...but I didn't want to write that I couldn't get along with them. In the real world, we always have to work with people we hate and who may hate us in return. ....

[Vacuum]

I think there is only a certain amount of things you can explain yourself out of. There are circumstances that will affect your grades that aren't under your control, but I don't think writing about your poor time management skills or that you enrolled in too many classes and you couldn't handle it would help your application, considering the workload that comes with gradschool. If it was something like a death in the family or that you hated your major and swapped -- I think that is acceptable. If your grades clearly reflect a change in major and better grades following that change, then it completely makes sense. As long as there is some sort of information to back up what you are claiming that they can visibly see within the application, I think it will fly.

[qbtacoma]

You should have made your personal statement about this. Academics are often monumental failures in their personal lives, and they enjoy hearing about people with life narratives like them, no matter how inane and inconsequential.

Ooh, I've been targeted by a troll for the first time on the internet! How exciting!

[cheshirequeen]

I am so torn on whether you should or you shouldn't explain hiccups on your applications. I have seen adcoms react to this favorably (i.e. death in the family) and adcoms dismiss the applicants' explanations (usually academic struggles, stress, or homesickness). Personally, I wouldn't want to draw attention to my weak points. I suppose if you really feel that you must address some weakness, I would only write 1-2 sentences and attach it as supplementary document to my application or I would ask a recommender to explain the context if it was appropriate (i.e. death in the family).

I definitely agree with this poster--the supplementary document would be the most appropriate place for this. Reserve your personal statement for positive things about yourself and your skills!