optional short answer explains bad grades

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
1

<p>I am contemplating on whether or not i should submit an optional short answer explaining my first semester of Junior year. It was my first year of being a high school and college student. I missed a week and a half of school due to my grandmother’s death in Pennsylvania/New Jersey (i live in Las Vegas). My two college professors graded attendance heavily and one professor told me that i missed 2 quizzes and 2 labs, so subsequently i failed 2 exams and withdrew from the class with a W. My other class, I was only able to get a D, due to attendance being 70% of the grade, and retook it over the Summer with an A. In my high school classes I was able to bring my grades back up to normal grades. I also wrote at the end that I now know what the transition is like from high school to college so I shouldn’t have the same problems, which should be a step ahead from other applicants and that I repeated the class and gotten an A in it and that I haven’t received anything lower than a C. </p>

<p>Do you think this is something worth submitting or does it sound too much like excuses, excuses, excuses? They can see that I repeated the class on my transcript, so should I even be giving an explanation.</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it would be regarded as an “excuse”. Colleges do take into consideration genuine life upheavals or circumstances such as a death in the family, the need to take care of siblings, a sick parent, or needing to contribute substantially to family income with a regular job. I’d write a short factual and objective description of the circumstances. I think that the fact your grades suffered due to your absence/ lack of attendance due to a situation out of your control is valid. That you repeated the class and did well on it will also demonstrates a willingness and determination to correct the grade over the summer.</p>

3

<p>i decided to submit it</p>

4

<p>Best of luck lvkewkid</p>