Question about extenuating circumstances

Koko
Sat, 24 May 2008 14:53:22 +0000

Hello all,

Although I am posting as a new member, I actually have another account and have been a marginally active member for over four years. I’m posting under a new screen name because I would like to maintain a bit of anonymity and privacy regarding this question. Thank you in advance for any responses…I have been mulling this issue over for sometime, but I would really appreciate some outside views from those who observe the admissions process closely.

My situation is that I am a rising senior at an Ivy League school. I have a 175 LSAT, but a 3.0 cumulative GPA (3.59 Major GPA). My extremely low grades stem from a traumatic event during my first semester of college. To be brief, I was raped and subsequently spent the next year and a half in a depressed and listless state. The problem was compounded because I had a single room freshman year with no roommates to notice that I almost never left my room to attend class, and my family was on the other side of the country. My grades freshman year were abysmal, including one F, and they were also bad the summer following freshman year (because of my low grades, my parents wanted me to attend summer school to try and catch up, so I got an A and a D during that summer.) The trend since then has been upwards—As, Bs, and a couple Cs sophomore year, all As and a couple Bs junior year. I have good recommendations, including one nationally prominent professor with whom I took two seminars, and a well-respected summer internship coming up in a few weeks.

My question is whether I should explain this situation in my essays, and if I do, might I have a shot somewhere in the top 20? Also, would I be better served to wait a year before applying so that my whole GPA (I expect a couple points increase over senior year) will be calculated? I apologize for the length of this post, but although brevity was the goal I wanted to include enough information for people to offer informed advice. Thank you.