D
deleted563975
Applying for clinical PhD programs this go around and have one glaring concern. For context, i finished with a 3.4 GPA, 1350GRE's, 2 publications, 6 abstracts, considerable research experience and 3 glowing letters.
My third semester as an undergrad, now 6 years ago I ended up failing 4/5 classes. If you're interested in how such a thing happens, here's the long story short- I moved away from home and my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I ended up traveling home quite a bit as we did not know how much time he had left and missed a fair amount of class due to doctor's appointments. I was unable to withdraw from the university as it was past the allowable time. It was a pretty dark time in my life, just looking at the transcript I am filled with shame. I ended up taking a year off as I was afraid of the cancer returning and being in the same situation.
My questions are:
1) How big of a red flag is this?
2) Should I mention this in my personal statement? Or just be prepared to explain it during an interview.
Thank you for your time.
My third semester as an undergrad, now 6 years ago I ended up failing 4/5 classes. If you're interested in how such a thing happens, here's the long story short- I moved away from home and my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I ended up traveling home quite a bit as we did not know how much time he had left and missed a fair amount of class due to doctor's appointments. I was unable to withdraw from the university as it was past the allowable time. It was a pretty dark time in my life, just looking at the transcript I am filled with shame. I ended up taking a year off as I was afraid of the cancer returning and being in the same situation.
My questions are:
1) How big of a red flag is this?
2) Should I mention this in my personal statement? Or just be prepared to explain it during an interview.
Thank you for your time.
Last edited by a moderator: