Addressing the elephant in the room in personal statement?

[SundayMatinee]

So I have one more personal statement to send, and I recently heard back from a professor (after they reviewed my transcript, and a brief excerpt on me explaining my adversities), and she recommended that I write about what happened to me in my p.s. In short, my freshman-sophomore transcript finalizes in a GPA of a 2.8, which clearly denotes a lot of C's & a few B's & A-'s, along with 2 F's and a D. Basically, a rainbow spectrum of grades. However, I transferred colleges (because the one I was at for my fresh-soph did not have speech therapy), & my current GPA is a 3.6. To explain briefly what went on in my life during that period is that due to my family circumstances, I suffered from depression. My father is disabled and I have a brother with mental illness, to put it in the shortest terms without saying too much on a forum. I dealt with a lot of adversity my entire life & in my freshman year of college, I also found out some disturbing information about another loved one that also hindered my academic capabilities. The only difference between myself from then & now, is that I learned how to deal with my circumstances better. With that said, I don't know if it is wise to write about my experience in a personal statement. I know this is a highly competitive program, and I don't want to write anything that could hurt my application further. But, I feel like I should say what I've been through just because it was such a long period of time in which I had these consistent poor grades.

 

If anyone could give me advice if I should not add this in, or if I should but how to word it, that'd be great. Good look to everyone else in their own academic journey. Thanks in advance.

Edited January 21, 2015 by SundayMatinee

[timberlake]

I addressed an issue in my statement: 

 

...I was on track to attend graduate school, but due to personal circumstances in my senior year, I postponed my plans. Disappointing as my decision was, I knew could not balance the demands of graduate school at that time. Now, I am able to see what I had once considered to be a setback, as an opportunity for personal and professional growth. The experiences I have gained over the last three years have help shape my interests and career goals. 

 

Personally, I didn't go into a lot of detail (I had word/page limits). I addressed it and explained how it helped me get to this point. 

 

I say address it, but focus more on how you grew from the experiences. 

[Arcanelady27]

I would mention you had some adversity such as family with medical issues but not go into great detail. Express how you would now deal if these same issues came to surface.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Arcanelady27

[TotallyOriginalUsername]

I would address this briefly and spin it in a way that sounds positive. Something like, "While I had some tough family situations in my first year, I overcame this to excel in the remainder of my studies". Don't go into great detail, and don't spend more than a few sentences on this. Basically, you just need to recognize that it happened and provide some reason as for why it won't happen again (even if it's just something like) "I know how to deal with this in a better way". If you wouldn't put it in a job application, don't put it in your PS!  

[TakeruK]

I think the way you described it in this post is good (could have less detail if you need more space). When you write this part, I would keep this thing you said in mind: "The only difference between myself from then & now, is that I learned how to deal with my circumstances better. " and write your paragraph to convey that message. I think it would be a reasonable request to ask the professor that suggested you mention this to read over what you wrote. They might say no, but their comments would also be very helpful.

[SundayMatinee]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I decided to briefly address it & state how my circumstances shaped who I am, and how I've learned to deal with similar situations in the future.