<p>i live half an hour away from my school, and since i drive myself that’s an hour away from my day that i think affects me slightly and makes things a bit harder to manage in general. i realize there are many people who face things that are much more problematic, so i would never try to make this into a sob story or anything because i realize it’s not in that category. but since i feel it has affected my performance to an extent, should i put it in the additional information section of my app? would it be a useful thing to point out or would it just sound like whining?
thanks for your opinions! :)</p>
<p>i wouldnt put it in. not necessarily whining…but dont think most people would consider it a huge problem to have 1/2 hour to get to school. kids here get on a bus at 6:30-7 to get to school for 7:45. Most people will have a commute to work that could be longer.</p>
<p>that’s a good point, and i agree that it’s definitely not a huge deal. but if it’s putting me slightly behind the rest of my class (since most of them live less than 10 minutes away and can always do work on the bus), should i mention it, maybe while downplaying it? sorry if i’m being annoying here- i get your point and basically agree with it; i’m just arguing back to make sure i’m considering everything before i make a final decision.</p>
<p>It seems that you are seeking truth in this matter, so please let me answer your question quickly so you can move on to something else:</p>
<p>If you tell an adult that you are slightly behind the rest of your class because of a 30-minute commute each way, he or she is likely to believe that you are making excuses and are unaware of the true problems other students face. You’d probably be forgiven due to your age, but you’d be considered naive.</p>
<p>This is a good place to get honest responses from adults, so it is good that you posted your question, but let me assure you that you don’t need to spend additional time wondering about the correct answer.</p>
<p>Again…just adding. Commute time is “not a valid reason” for low performance. On the other hand, if you were a low income student who had to take two modes of public transportation to get to a charter school (and his local home school wasn’t available), then that puts a different light to the situation. And yes, this student lives in a dangerous community and then he comes home and works in hourly job taking care of his siblings and helping his single mom who works 60 hrs/week. ok…you get the drift…:)</p>
<p>Thirty minutes sounds like a typical commute time. Also, some of the adcomm members might not have the resources to provide a car for their own high school kids. Are you overcoming an obstacle, or are you actually enjoying a very nice situation?</p>
<p>Think about it.</p>
<p>I go to private school, and drive an hour/ 75 minutes each way. I’d leave it out.</p>
<p>Ok thanks everyone! Just to clarify I do realize that this is far from a really bad situation, and I’m not trying to excuse low performance (I’m still in the top 10% of my class), I was just thinking that it might be good to provide more information. But it sounds like it’s not necessary so I’ll leave it out. Thanks for your responses! :)</p>
<p>I think even mentioning it would put a sour spin on your application…you would portray yourself as a hothouse flower who cannot thrive in less than optimum conditions…not the impression you want to make.</p>