Personal Statement Advice for a Student who struggled in Undergrad?

[thehyrule97]

Can anyone give some advice on how they got through their personal statement? This is the most stressful part of this application for me at the moment because it's so hard for me to talk about myself without accentuating my flaws academically. My main issue is because during undergrad I transferred from a predominately non-traditional "easy" college to an established 4 year university (UAB) and it is very apparent in my transcripts that I struggled with adapting to the curriculum. My first year at UAB I had to drop a few classes which ended up with me having W's on my transcript. 3 in total including Genetics and Orgo 1 plus the lab which counted as a separate class. I had to take summers off to take many of my pre-reqs at my local community colleges so that I could take the classes at a more comfortable curriculum level. I also made C's in some of the science classes that I took but still ended up with a 3.62 overall GPA when my credits from those community colleges transferred through. I wanted to talk about my undergrad experience in my personal statement but it is hard to avoid talking about these things and accentuating my flaws. Do you guys know any way I could twist my situation into something positive for my personal statement or maybe of some way to avoid mentioning these things?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[kbb44]

Can anyone give some advice on how they got through their personal statement? This is the most stressful part of this application for me at the moment because it's so hard for me to talk about myself without accentuating my flaws academically. My main issue is because during undergrad I transferred from a predominately non-traditional "easy" college to an established 4 year university (UAB) and it is very apparent in my transcripts that I struggled with adapting to the curriculum. My first year at UAB I had to drop a few classes which ended up with me having W's on my transcript. 3 in total including Genetics and Orgo 1 plus the lab which counted as a separate class. I had to take summers off to take many of my pre-reqs at my local community colleges so that I could take the classes at a more comfortable curriculum level. I also made C's in some of the science classes that I took but still ended up with a 3.62 overall GPA when my credits from those community colleges transferred through. I wanted to talk about my undergrad experience in my personal statement but it is hard to avoid talking about these things and accentuating my flaws. Do you guys know any way I could twist my situation into something positive for my personal statement or maybe of some way to avoid mentioning these things?

Ive had somewhat of a similar experience, as I transferred from community college with amazing professors to a 4 year university with terrible professors. I guess the one thing people told me to speak about is how although you did poorly due to a hard time adjusting to the curriculum etc. as long as you can show that their has been an upward trend in your grades and that you’ve learned to better yourself and improve your grades and how you now know how to handle a rigorous course load without falling behind, it shows substantial growth which is positive. Going through a period of rough grades isnt the end of the world, the point is that you come out stronger and capable individual, Good luck on your personal statement!

 

[ToastMalone]

I also had a difficult time in undergrad, for a variety of reasons... I chose not to mention my grades at all in my personal statement. Instead, if a university had an "additional information" section, I chose to use that space to explain any poor grades I had received. I think this is the best option, at least for me, because it gives my personal statement a place to show the passion and experience I have with optometry so far, and is not bogged down by any negativity. In the additional information essays, I wrote about my bad grades but made sure to explain the circumstances surrounding my situation, and emphasized that I have learned from my experience.

I hope that helps.