'explanation' essay question

[Pigsfoot]

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hey guys,
so i'm putting together my explanation essay, and i'm curious to know how other people are writing it. what i mean is, i put all this thought and editing into my personal statment so it gets my message across AND sounds intelligent and well written, but, i'm having a harder time telling a 'story' with my explanation essay. basically because all I am saying is "i started out with some mediocre science grades but i've been able to get better grades as i've been taking classes and now i feel more ready than ever for the rigors of vet school"....
I just don't see how it can read well. anybody have any samples or thoughts on how they are doing their explanation essays?

 

[Cheska]

I am definitely curious about what others have to say about this one too!! Basically I am "showing" what I have done to repair my application: test strategy/speed reading classes, counseling, etc.

I found this paragraph at Colorado State's application writing workshop-- I posted the whole content a few months ago... but this is what I thought applicable to the explanation portion:

"You can address the holes, gaps, or weaknesses in your application packet, but do not WHINE about life’s unfairness—for instance, the lousy organic chemistry teacher you had or the reprehensible way your university uses introductory anatomy and physiology to weed out non-serious students, or the unfair college composition course you were required to take freshman year. For all you know, someone on the admissions committee was involved in developing one of those courses. Plus, there’s this thing called attribution theory that most people in positions of authority subscribe to. It states that mature people attribute failure to their own shortcomings while immature individuals blame anybody and everybody else. Take responsibility for your record."

 

[pressmom]

Basically I used mine to explain why I withdrew from courses early in my academic career (medical reasons), but was sure to reinforce that I had addressed those problems prior to applying to vet school. Make sure you end on a positive note about what in your situation has changed and why that makes you a good candidate. Mine was only a few sentences long...you don't need to say a whole lot.

 

[sofficat]

mine was a bit different. i really didn't have anything to explain, so... i talked about myself. i said how i thought it is important for the committee to know me on a more personal level. so i wrote a little autobio about myself- where i was from, how i was raised, my lifestyle, etc. i thought this would make my application a little stronger b/c i don't think many people do that and who could resist a sweet pastor's kid raised in a small town who married my high school sweetheart and is a vegetarian? 😉 (AU can't!!! woohoo!!!)

 

[ShelterGirl]

I listed my GPAs from each school (Undergrad, Grad, Post-Bacc). I also explained why there is no "general chemistry" on my undergrad transcript (at my university you could take an entrance exam and skip it straight into orgo, then progress to fun things like p-chem and upper-level inorganic 🙄).

 

[rexosaurus]

I, too, used the explanation statement for different things; kind of like a list. I explained why I had a particularly bad summer semester, and what my GPA would be without that one semester (just to reiterate what a PHENOMENAL applicant I am!!!) Also, I explained what there wasn't room for in one of my experience sections. i.e. "ophthos includes indirect and direct ophthalmic exams, intravitreal dosing, electroretinograms, intraocular pressures..." It is up to you what you want to clarify or state that you don't feel you've been able to articulate in the rest of the application, and it doesn't have to be long.