About 5 years ago, I entered my university as a Network Security major. This was a very poor move as I did not care for, nor understand it. My parents and high school counsellor pushed me to find a major that will “guarantee” a job with decent pay. Eventually my grades began to drop and I found myself on academic probation. I decided to switch majors to Chemistry, my true passion, and saw a remarked increase in my overall grades… that is until two years ago.
Stress from school, work, family, and future plans left me with a mental breakdown that required me to take a few months off of school and seek professional help. I was diagnosed with severe depressive disorder and began to take medication.
The following school year I was evicted from my apartment (due to a change in housing rules, rejecting any full time college students) and was forced to sleep on various couches of friends and colleagues until I was able to find a new place. This took place a month before finals. Suffice it to say - I was not able to do very well during finals which led to a letter drop in almost all courses.
Finally, the past spring and fall semesters in 2017 I was experiencing severe pain - to the point where I would be unable to move or focus for more than a few minutes. Add that to the inability to move very far due to the continuous bathroom use that I required. After seeking a doctor and undergoing multiple tests, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis a month ago and began treatment a week after.
Despite all of the issues, I have been able to do valuable undergraduate research. I have been invited and was able to present at various low and high profile conferences at the local and national levels (the local American Chemical Society and Academy of Sciences, and the Gordan Research Conference to name a few). When talking to my professors, they have said that they will write glowing letters of recommendation.
I want to go to graduate school and pursue a masters and possibly a PhD in organic chemistry - but I fear that my poor GPA will prevent me from being accepted to any university with decent reputation. I have been told that graduate schools will overlook poor GPA given issues with health and good research acumen alongside letters of recommendation, but I still fear that my GPA is just too low to overlook. My GPA currently stands at 2.45.
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Apologies if the post is hard to read. I am typing from my phone and my chubby fingers cannot control this touch screen all that well.