Page 1 of 1

Addendum- Family Death=Low Grades/Withdrawal

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:06 pm
by mntcgolf08
During my freshman year I had a death in the family (sister). That semester I withdrew from one class and actually failed another. That is my only grade below a C and my only withdrawal. I don't think I should include that in my essay, but in my addendum I use my sister's death as a reason, and in all honesty, it was part of the reason I got those poor grades. Will I look like a complete jerk if I put this in the essay? I think I'm saving myself by putting the reason in an addendum. Any advice would be appreciated, especially if someone had a similar situation. I don't want to blow my chances because of one semester, but I feel like a jerk even mentioning this in an essay when it should not be an excuse for my poor grades.

P.S. This might sound like a stupid question, but there were newspaper articles about her death with dates. Should I include these to show that her death was not easy for me. Being that her death, (suicide)<--Hurts to say, was untimely and the manner was tragic for me.

(My GPA is 3.4)

Re: Addendum- Family Death=Low Grades/Withdrawal

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 3:32 am
by Lawyerwannabe18
Thats rough, I probably would have dropped out. Glad you pulled through and finished with strong grades.

Im sure that def will be an acceptable reason for a bad semester. They will understand for sure.