Too personal/complicated for the SOP

[johndiligent]

So I've been reviewing plenty of the guides to writing an SOP, and many of them have suggested writing about overcoming adversity, especially if it explains some less than stellar aspects of your academic record. My problem is that I do have a story of that nature, but I consider it to be too complicated to frame in an SOP.

Basically, at the beginning of my third year of university, I was beaten up and raped by another student at the university. The previous two years, I had a 4.0 GPA but I received all W's for that year since I had sustained a serious brain injury from the incident and had to go through all of the trial nonsense once I was better. I left that university after the incident and transfered to a new university, where I did well (3.7 GPA), but attempted suicide at the end of that year, as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (since I had suppressed memories of the event, and the flashbacks resulted in inability to sleep for a long time.) The post-traumatic stress disorder got worse before it got better, and I ended up doing pretty badly the second year I was there (2.6 GPA), while I concentrated on extensive counselling and had a reduced course load. I was going to drop out but my counsellor told me to stick with it, since part of the healing process for me was realising that progress is necessarily gradual, and to stop expecting perfection from myself (since that's what led to the suicide attempt). The next year, my final year of university, I was finally back in tip top shape, and got a 3.8 again, received several awards, all while holding three part-time jobs.

All of that is really frigging complicated, and it's hard to explain how an incident that happened so long ago affected my life for so long. I figure relating the story in my SOP will just turn it into a pity party, when I have research ideas that are more exciting/pertinent to talk about. I was thinking of including an addendum that explains the inconsistency of my grades, and points out the solid aspects of my academic background (like a 3.95 GPA in the discipline) and how I've grown from overcoming the incident and its aftermath. But, should it be in the SOP? If I put it in an addendum, will the addendum be read or simply thrown away?

[KieBelle]

I really don't think you should give them all the gory details, either in the SOP or in an addendum. It might just raise questions in their minds about whether or not you're emotionally ready for grad school. Instead I would mention very briefly in your SOP that you were the victim of an violent attack that year and that while your grades suffered for a year, you were able to bounce back and complete school with good grades. Make it a positive story. Do not mention the suicide attempt.

[rainy_day]

I'm sorry you had to go through such a traumatic experience!

I agree with KeiBelle that less is more here. Your years of strong grades bookend the traumatic experience, so it makes it clear that the poor grades were an anomaly. One, at the most two, sentences should cover it. Be sure to use positive language!

[socialcomm]

Agree with previous posters -- a sentence or two should be adequate. Let your research ideas come to the forefront. And I'm so sorry you had to go through that experience!

[LadyL]

I think in order to frame the experience as "overcoming adversity" in a way that is more sanitized for the SOP, you might want to focus on the medical aspects of things - i.e. that you were dealing with a brain injury. I hate to say it but the rest is probably too "heavy" for an SOP and there is sadly still a stigma about mental illness out there (and some adcoms would have legitimate questions about whether you are psychologically stable enough for grad school). IF you frame it as basically overcoming a disability it may actually make you a more appealing candidate because it shows perseverance and resourcefulness.

Also, I am sorry for what happened to you and admire your motivation.

[johndiligent]

Thanks for all your help!

[psycholinguist]

What an awful ordeal you've been through! Congrats on getting things back on track!

[butterfingers]

I've been wondering about this too. While studying for my MS degree last year I was diagnosed with depression. I know this is a relatively mild difficulty compared to johndilligent's (which I'm truly truly sorry for... nobody should be put through that) but I have also thought if I should incorporate this into my personal statement. Some schools ask for another essay (in addition to SOP) relating to personal background that contributes to who you are now, and how that contributes to their diversity.

I was wondering if it's a right decision to reveal this. My undergrad CGPA was excellent (3.97, 4.00 major), my grad CGPA however was only fair (3.24). It's hard to say whether I didn't get good grades because of depression or I got depressed because of I didn't get good grades. The grad experience was definitely much more difficult academically and socially. My concerns are:

a) like KieBelle and others pointed out, it might make me seem emotionally unfit for PhD, or

worse, it might make me seem academically unfit

I should note that I didn't make the decision to apply for PhD until after I am well. Thankfully, a lot of good things have happened that helped me go back to normal. I feel much more secure with myself and my capabilities, and having gone through this I know what to expect if (knock on wood!) it resurfaces. Also, I feel like I didn't perform to the best of my abilities (depression or not) and believe that I am more prepared now for the scary PhD world. What do you guys think? Should I go into details or just say that I had difficulties and leave it at that?

P/S Thanks so much for any feedback and to everyone: I've been lurking in this forum a lot and I have to say it helped a lot! Great job everyone

[johndiligent]

Hey butterfingers!

Like somebody said above, it's really a sticky wicket to mention any type of mental health issue on the SOP, because for some reason a lot of academics have never quite got to the point where they understand depression as what it is: a disease, and instead they see it as someone making excuses. That said, if the adcomm is going to review your materials and not understand why your grad GPA was so low (and from what I understand it is low for a grad GPA), explanations are key. The safest way to do it is to have one of your LOR writers address it quickly, to say that while you struggled with clinical depression during grad school, there's no question of your abilities. That way you can reserve your SOP for positive stuff alone.

If that's not possible or if you feel it's insufficient, then don't belabour the point, and just briefly explain why it won't happen again.