Chance me at UC Davis [CA resident, 3.96 UC recalculated GPA]

Maybe. How good is your relationship with your high school guidance counselor - I’m assuming that is the person who will be writing your cover letter? The reason that I ask about it, is that it is usually better if the “explanation” of hardships/challenges faced come from someone other than the student. I can see how it would be stressful to be the only black student in most of your classes, and the stressor of your generation is a totally warranted fear of school shootings.

Honestly, your achievements look pretty good, and that upward trend is very nice. Your coursework shows some rigor in the humanities - that’s good too. Your ECs look good, too.

You want to use your essay space to showcase you - your hopes and dreams, your goals, something special and engaging about you that will make the ad comm want you. It’s always better if the explanation of challenges faced comes from someone else; in this case, the guidance counselor. Try scheduling a meeting with him/her, and ask them how they would feel about somehow putting this in their cover letter, rather than you writing about it.

Another issue is that college counseling services are overwhelmed with students suffering from anxiety and depression. Colleges are also wary of being blamed if a student self-harms. For this reason, revealing a personal history of anxiety and panic attacks may not be in your best interest. Maybe your guidance counselor can say that struggling with being the sole black student in many of your classes was challenging in your sophomore year, but you overcame it by embracing your identity via (insert your many wonderful ECs here). A reference to the stress that all students face having been exacerbated by several schoolwide evacuations for threats, without mentioning your own panic attacks, may be something that you can weave into your essays.

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