Should I give reasons for W's in my PS??!

[alprimo]

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So I was a mediocre student to start and had multiple family tragedies happen between freshman and sophomore year. These events caused me to have to withdraw from an entire semester and a few classes from another. Since I've dealt with that I've gotten back on track and motivated. I've raised my gpa from a 2.4 to a 3.25 and 3.6 scigpa. Anyway should I mention the reasons for my early W's(8 :/ ) and unsatisfactory academics in my PS?? Is their anyway to explain myself but not sound like i want pitty?! Thnks

 

[jeffity]

No. Perhaps mention the events and maybe how they've impacted/changed/made you a better person. Keep it positive. Not the time for excuses, no matter how valid.

 

[NJtoothfairy]

I had two W's on my transcripts and did not discuss them at all in my personal statement. I was also never asked about my W's at any of my interviews. I was surprised that I was never asked about them, but very glad!

 

[O2ShootTheJ]

I've always been told to never bring up negatives unless the school asks about them

 

[Shazzam]

I've always been told to never bring up negatives unless the school asks about them

👍

 

[stpele01]

I've always been told to never bring up negatives unless the school asks about them

You are right but the schools will find out eventually and if you never explained the reasons why you had W's, they will automatically look down on you and will not be offered an interview at all.

If I were you, I would talk about it but in a good way. Just talk about your experiences and what you learned from it.

 

[cleary21191]

You are right but the schools will find out eventually and if you never explained the reasons why you had W's, they will automatically look down on you and will not be offered an interview at all.

If I were you, I would talk about it but in a good way. Just talk about your experiences and what you learned from it.

Again, stay positive, don't mention the W's in the personal statement. They will see the W's on your transcript and if they want to push the matter, they will bring it up during the interview.

A mentor told me that the personal statement is your chance to sell yourself; a chance to be unique. Show why you want to be a dentist and what skills/experience you have that will aid you during school and as a practicing dentist.

 

[jeffity]

Going into it also strays from the topic of the statement. You're not hiding anything. Count on them seeing grades before they see your statement anyway. If they have a huge problem with them, they probably won't get to your statement anyway.

 

[LaughingGas]

Personal statement should be used to tell the adcoms why should they choose you over thousands of applicants. So your main focus would be why dentistry and how did you find that path ,etc. If you got anything negative that you need to explain, you can do that ONLY IF they ask you during an interview. Keep everything positive.

 

[dentrx]

NO WAY!! Don't even think about it!

 

[alprimo]

My idea was to talk about how some speedbumps in the beggining made me a stronger person, directed me toward dentistry, and gave me motication to succeed and acheive.....without going into detail... is that still a not so good idea?? just skip it all together?

 

[RSalha17]

You are right but the schools will find out eventually and if you never explained the reasons why you had W's, they will automatically look down on you and will not be offered an interview at all.

If I were you, I would talk about it but in a good way. Just talk about your experiences and what you learned from it.

What kind of comment is this? "They will automatically look down on you and will not be offered an interview at all." I really hope this comment was a joke haha because it sure sounds like one.

OP, you are over thinking the situation. This is something you need to worry about for interviews, not before you even submit your application. Just have a good answer explaining the W's before you go into your interviews and you will be just fine. Someone said it perfectly, your personal statement is for you to explain why you should be chosen over THOUSANDS of others, do not waste precious characters on explaining a W. GL.

-RSALHA