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Replies to: Brown Class of 2023 Applicants Discussion
I'm a RD applicant to Brown, and my 6 semester GPA was 4.5, however, I transferred schools my senior year (I have never moved before), and I struggled a lot, so my grades toppled. They weren't too bad, but they weren't great either. When Brown sees this, will they understand? Should I email the Admissions Office giving them a heads up abut this, or include a quick heads-up explanation in a Google Doc and submit it as a piece of supplementary material?
Hope this helps. I believe I didnt explain a few points too clearly, so if any clarification is needed, PM me or @ me right here.
Thanks!
I transferred schools because of a very personal family matter, and being senior year, it definitely was not easy. If I were to give my behalf of the reasoning, should I email the Admissions, or include it as a piece of supplementary material in my Brown portal? Also, how would a school official, such as my guidance counselor, send in their behalf as well if I chose to go that route?
Thank you again!
Think about what going to Brown as a freshman would be... It is going to a new school that is even more challenging that what you are currently attending. The exact circumstances you say have now caused your grades to decline.
Suggesting that you don't tolerate change well or didn't fair well when the academic bar was raised will trigger concerns. You likely will have to focus on why you needed to move and how that impacted you.
This is not the venue from which to take advice of this nature. Talk to your current guidance counselor and seek professional advice. Share with that person why your grades have suffered beyond change of location (worst excuse possible).
Wishing you luck in successfully completing senior year.
Also, to anyone who has changed locations and their grades declined, it is not the "worst excuse possible". There are many reasonings as to why a student moves, and those reasonings can hold an even deeper issues to the student. Brown sees that I switched schools on my transcript, but they don't know why, The "why" was the reasoning behind my grades declining, so I was wondering if I should reach out and explain it to them, because it would give them a better understanding as to who I am.
However, even if a student does not have a significant, life-changing "why" as to why they switched schools, (i.e. like their parents just needed a bigger home) it can still take a toll on the student and their grades. Moving schools is a huge deal for young adults, especially if they're like me, who has never moved before. You are leaving your childhood home, friends, family, everything. Instead of celebrating and enjoying school with your friends, you are in a completely new setting with nobody. It's extremely, emotionally painful. And it's not like going to college, because at least at college, there are freshmen who are also going through the same thing and in the same boat as you -- feeling homesick. It's not uncommon.
There is no "worst excuse possible" as to why a student's grades decline. Everyone is different, and everyone feels different things. Yes, some students can transfer schools and still get good grades, some can't. Some can't handle the pressure or the initial pain of it, and there shouldn't be any judgements from outside sources. Unless you were also a transfer, you have no right to call a change of location the "worst excuse possible" because you have no idea what the student is going through or feeling. And it doesn't mean they don't have the ability to adapt to change, it could mean they have so much going on that they struggled focusing in school, mourning, grieving, dealing with their "why" for moving, meeting new people, adjusting to a new teaching style, new grading system, a new life for a teenager. Nobody is superman and not everyone can overcome all those things in just a few months, and it becomes overwhelming, causing a student to not be able to 100% focus in school and a decline in GPA.
If a student had clinical depression in, lets say sophomore year, and their grades toppled because of it, does that make it the "worst excuse possible"? I don't know, because I never went through that my sophomore year. A girl in my Lit class said she was diagnosed with it during soph. year, and she actually did okay in school, however I am sure there are other students who didn't. I can't call that type of thing the "worst excuse possible" for the drop in GPA for those other students, because I didn't live through the same situation. Nobody's situation is the "best" or "worst" in terms of how there GPA is. There is no room for judgement, just understanding.
Anyways, I appreciate your response. Best of luck in your life as well.
Going to college will be a change of location, that is a certainty. When you state...
"to anyone who has changed locations and their grades declined, it is not the "worst excuse possible".
And
"You are leaving your childhood home, friends, family, everything. Instead of celebrating and enjoying school with your friends, you are in a completely new setting with nobody. It's extremely, emotionally painful"
Guess what that's freshman year. AOS don't care about feelings they care about your capacity to thrive academically. A proven track record of decline under stress and change is a red flag.
That is why my suggestion was to provide context through a professional.
You win it's top 5 worst... not the worst.
I wish you well and you can correct me in person in Providence next year.
Might I remind members of the forum rules: "Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place." Several posts deleted.