Explaining 1 bad grade in secondaries... an accident

[destinedsirius]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi Everyone,

Kind of a long story but, I signed up a summer math class at a community college after I graduated high school. This math class was supposed to be a refresher going into college... it wasn't a class I needed.

Not having experience with college registration, I ended up working instead of taking the class that summer, but I never dropped it. I thought that it would be like high school where if I don't attend a class the very first day, I would be dropped. Obviously not the case and it was a long time until I realized I had received an F. I got academic renewal because of my specific case, and my college doesn't calculate it in my GPA, but AADSAS does... Believe it or not, this weighs my GPA down. AADSAS GPA is 3.42, but without it, it would have been 3.50.

This was the only F I have never gotten (actually my very first college class too)... all my other classes have been As and Bs.

I didn't write about this in my PS, because I was too busy writing about more important things like "why dentistry." Since now some secondaries give the opportunity to explain ANYTHING, I'm wondering if I should explain basically what I just wrote above. I'm not sure if I should make a big deal of pointing out 1 F when I've done good with everything else. However, I've read that adcoms like to see reasons for bad grades.

And just FYI, this was Intermediate Algebra which I already took in high school, but I wanted to retake because I felt I didn't really feel like I learned much. I've taken Trig, Stats, Calc the rest of my college years and have gotten As and Bs.

Any Advice? Please help. Thanks.

 

[SoulPower]

I'd probably only bring it up if there's a question that specifically asks for any bad grades or circumstances for bad academics. If they don't ask don't tell.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

There's a box in the application where you can explain bad grades.

 

[rp37]

7890

 

[destinedsirius]

Well.. currently I'm thinking about the WesternU secondary in particular where it states...

This space is provided to allow you to describe any additional info. you would like the admissions and selection committee to consider or aspect of your application which you think may be confusing or incomplete as they are stated elsewhere.

You may also use this space to explain factors such as:
-factors that may have had a negative effective on some aspect of your academic performance
-experience in dentistry
-EC, volunteerism
-why you are applying to WesternU specifically

Not that it's telling me to explain... but they are giving me the opportunity to explain so I don't know if its bad if I don't explain it. But again, it's not many bad grades.. It's just 1 so.. IDK I'm getting stressed out.

 

[destinedsirius]

HMM... OK fine. Let's say I plan to explain it.. does the way I explained to you guys here on SDN seem like an excuse? I don't want the adcoms to feel like I'm just making excuses.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

HMM... OK fine. Let's say I plan to explain it.. does the way I explained to you guys here on SDN seem like an excuse? I don't want the adcoms to feel like I'm just making excuses.

ex·cuse/ikˈskyo͞os/
Noun: A reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.

They want to know what your excuse is...

 

[DrDSA]

I'd recommend explaining it... but be very brief. Explaining it in brief will not have any negative impact on your application. Leaving it to chance, on the other hand, may leave an admissions committee with some unanswered questions when making decisions on who to interview. It won't hurt you in the long run, but make sure all your bases are covered by telling them what happened.

 

[rp37]

567890

 

[slm266]

I did almost the exact same thing with college algebra. I didn't mention it all in the app, but it was one of the first questions I got asked in an interview. I explained briefly and we moved on. Don't focus on it, one F doesn't affect your GPA that much.

 

[destinedsirius]

I did almost the exact same thing with college algebra. I didn't mention it all in the app, but it was one of the first questions I got asked in an interview. I explained briefly and we moved on. Don't focus on it, one F doesn't affect your GPA that much.

From what other SDNers have said... I'm leaning towards explaining it because at least you got an interview where you had the opportunity to explain it... My friend also told me I should wait until interviews to explain, but that's if I even get an interview. Right now I'm more worried about even getting interviews in the first place.

 

[dentalWorks]

IMO, you should change up your whole personal statement and just talk about why you earned the F and how it dropped the 3.5 GPA to a measly 3.42 (make sure you put the '2' there too, its very important). Don't bother talking about dentistry, shadowing, importance of the field to your personal goals.

The same apply to the secondary(s). And if you can, copy/paste the actual personal statement here. You REALLY need to hammer down that F.

all the best

 

[dentalWorks]

Im sure you picked up on it... I was kidding.
No, UNLESS they specifically ask why you did bad in SOME particular class, you dont' wanna bring this up.... Its irrelevant

 

[321931]

Always paint yourself in a good light. If a secondary doesn't specifically ask for it, then don't talk about it.

Sell yourself. Don't screw yourself.

 

[hoylematt]

I had a similar experience with an F on my transcript and actually got the registrar to change it to a 'W'. It wasn't an easy process to get it taken care of and you need a good reason, but it was worth it as a 'W' was not counted toward my GPA calculation.

I would not mention the F at all.

 

[destinedsirius]

Thanks all for you responses.

 

[destinedsirius]

IMO, you should change up your whole personal statement and just talk about why you earned the F and how it dropped the 3.5 GPA to a measly 3.42 (make sure you put the '2' there too, its very important). Don't bother talking about dentistry, shadowing, importance of the field to your personal goals.

The same apply to the secondary(s). And if you can, copy/paste the actual personal statement here. You REALLY need to hammer down that F.

all the best

Well at first I thought you were being a sarcastic a-hole but you made up for it in the next post.

 

[destinedsirius]

I'm still getting 2 different answers.. and I still don't know what to do. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[dentalWorks]

I'm still getting 2 different answers.. and I still don't know what to do. Does anyone have experience with this?

when in doubt.... use common sense!
What possible advantage does highlighting a negative bring to your application?