Different BA and MA disciplines

[orphic_mel528]

I have a unique situation, maybe.

I completed my BA in Psychology. I battled cancer throughout the last few years of my undergraduate work, and that's reflected in my undergraduate GPA. I'm not even sure I pulled off a 3.0. Stupid at the time, but my circumstances during that time...school was pretty much the only reason I had to keep going. Let's put it that way. So instead of dropping out, I kept working while sick. I just didn't want to put my whole life on hold and just be sitting, day in and day out, not working or doing or thinking anything except, "I have cancer." Hope that makes a little sense.

I completed my MA in English (Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies). My final GPA was a 3.976. Yes, I do have to recite it to the third place after the decimal because I am bitter about my one A-.

Anyway, to the questions:

1) Should I address my low undergrad GPA in my SoP, and if so, how? I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to pull the, "Oh boo hoo, I fought cancer and won, you should let me in because that makes me special." I don't feel like that and would hate to be misconstrued that way. However, I'm also worried they're going to look at my undergrad GPA and be like, "What the hell happened here?" I don't know whether to hope my graduate GPA will just speak for itself or to mention that I had health issues when I was an undergrad, but then I worry that the lack of specificity when I say "health issues" might lead them to believe I'm unstable. SO MUCH WORRY.

2) Do I need to address my different degrees/disciplines in my SoP, and if so, how? I've read the sticky on SoP composition and it definitely seems to stress that you should focus on what you're doing now and what you want to do in the future. I see the relationship between my two degrees, but to explain it makes my SoP overly expository, I feel. But I'm wondering if they're going to look at my BA and say, "Well, what made her switch to English all of the sudden?" I just don't want it to get overly autobiographical and waste space, so to speak, on that when I should be talking about my research interests.

Any suggestions on these issues? 

 

[fuzzylogician]

1) I think it's worth discussing *very* briefly, as in "I dealt with (serious) health problems while completing my BA, which affected my grades. However, as can be seen my MA GPA, I have since conquered those problems" or some such. If there is space in a particular application for a supplemental essay, it could also go there instead of in the SOP. If you are getting a LOR from someone from your undergrad, you can have them explain in slightly more detail what the problem was ("it was cancer"). Hopefully that person will have only good things to say about a person who battles cancer and is also able to finish a BA at the same time ("despite his/her low grades, I was very impressed by @orphic_mel528's ability to cope with his/her treatments and still remain a student in good standing. His/her grades do not reflect his/her abilities. [insert some specific story about success despite difficulty]"). 

2) I think that --again -- this is worth discussing briefly. "My undergraduate degree in Psychology sparked an interest in English (through my coursework/thesis/whatever). I then pursued that interest further during my MA studies at University. [For my thesis, I studied blah. More details about MA]." It's always best if you can paint a coherent picture of your past and how it's led you to where you are now. Since that picture isn't necessarily obvious from just looking at your credentials, you should help your readers see it. It doesn't need to be elaborate, and you don't need to give all the details. So, definitely do not take us through your entire life story, and don't feel like you need to give everything in chronological order. It's sufficient to just give the conclusion and some short summary of how you got there. Unless your BA is really relevant, I'd keep the discussion of the BA short and concentrate more on the MA and what you did and learned from it. 

[orphic_mel528]

I am not getting any recommendations from any UG profs I had, as I completed my BA 14 years ago and I doubt any would remember me  Thank you for your reply, though; I appreciate your help, truly.