
As mentioned in my personal statement, I experienced an unfortunate condition that greatly hindered my ability to perform as a student, and thus negatively impacted my GPA. I had a very rare, cancerous tumor called an ependymoma: a type of brain tumor that appears throughout the lower brain and spine. This tumor was present throughout the first three years of my undergrad, until I endured a very risky procedure to have it removed in February 2009. I endured many symptoms from my tumor and treatments prior to this surgery. I then spent two full months in the hospital to receive and recover from my surgery, during which I did not withdrawal from my full time schedule at the University of A. After my surgery, I transferred to the University of B to be close to family and participate in research at the Moffit Cancer Center located on campus. I have thankfully been in remission since my surgery. My overall LSAC calculated GPA is a 3.1, which includes all the coursework I completed while battling this disease. My degree GPA reveals my grades for the past 42 credit hours, which marked the start of my remission and my admittance to the University of B. This comes to an LSAC calculated GPA of 3.77. I adamantly believe that my GPA after the removal of my tumor is a greater indicator if my ability to perform as a student.