<p>Basically, I got a 4 instead of a predicted 6 in my IB Maths HL and am on a gap year now because my Uni offer got retracted. I wanted to explain that in the Additional Info bit since I couldn’t spare any space in my Personal Essay. Would this be appropriate, or too much of an essay? </p>
<p>Thanks! </p>
<p>Additional Information
The purpose of this section is to clarify my reasons for taking a gap year and to outline my plans for this academic break.
I had not planned to take a gap year but was in fact forced to do so as a result of my lower than expected IB Result in Mathematics. I hope to explain to you that the low grade is not the result of my academic inability but, in fact, a wrong choice of subject. Although I knew that Mathematics is not my strongest subject, I was determined to view it as a challenge and to prove to myself that I could excel in it, if only through sheer willpower. Clearly, I was wrong.
Through this failure, I have learnt to build on my strengths rather than to strive to be good in everything. I have learnt that in biting off more than I could chew I have only set myself up for failure. I am, however, planning to retake the subject in the May 2010 session as I feel that I should take responsibility for my decision and see it through to eventual success.
In the meantime, I am using the gap year for personal development. I will be spending 7 months in my native Viet Nam to continue helping at a disabled peoples asylum and orphanage that I have been visiting since last summer. I am also planning on teaching English at a local school in Ha Noi and learning Mandarin.</p>