Can an explanation of extenuating circumstances compensate for a terrible junior year?Answered
TW/CW: Mentions of abuse and mental health issues
Before my junior year, I had taken the most challenging courses available and had grades of 94% and above in all my classes, including 3 AP classes and 7 Honors classes. My unweighted GPA was 98.12/100. I took the SAT the summer after my sophomore year and earned a 1530 (730 EBRW, 800 Math). However, all my academics sailed south during my junior year. I dealt with an abusive family situation (do not worry, I am safe now), which exacerbated my pre-existing mental health issues: obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder. I could barely bring myself to get out of bed, let alone get to school or do homework for much of the year. As a result, I had to drop all three of my AP classes (AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, AP Statistics) and my honors class, Physics Honors (essentially the equivalent of AP Physics 1). The only classes I had left were PE, Wind Ensemble, US History and Government 11, and English 11. Still, I failed US History and Government 11 as well as English 11. However, my mental health has improved drastically, and I have not faced any executive functioning issues since the end of junior year. I retook the history and English classes this summer and earned 99% and 100% respectively. I have self-studied Calculus BC in preparation for my school's Multivariable Calculus class. This year, I am taking either 3 AP classes, Multivariable Calculus, and Honors Physics, or 4 AP classes and Multivariable Calculus. As the endlessly helpful @CameronBameron pointed out in another answer, Multivariable Calculus is considered as rigorous as an AP class, so I can qualify it as one. This gives me a total of 7-8 AP classes and 7-8 Honors classes. I know that is far from the best considering that my school offers 22 AP classes and 17 Honors classes, but as I mentioned, I would have higher course rigor if not for the abusive situation and mental health issues I faced. Will the low course rigor be a huge red flag to colleges, or will they be forgiving if I fully explain my situation in the Additional Information section? What about prestigious colleges (e.g. Top 50) or incredibly prestigious colleges (e.g. Top 20)? Of course, I am applying to Safety schools, so I am bound to get in somewhere, but I would like to know if I have sabotaged my chances at my Reach schools such as Cornell and Brown.
Part 2: My extracurriculars have never been great. I have enough to fill ten slots of the Common Application, but they will mostly be Tier 4 extracurriculars. By the time I apply, there will probably be two or three Tier 2 or 3 activities sprinkled in. Nothing too impressive.
Part 3: I am not applying to any colleges Early Action or Early Decision, so they will probably see my Quarter 1 grades for senior year when I apply.
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1 answer
I think it might be tricky to get into your reach schools like Cornell and Brown given your extracurriculars, but I think that may schools that are not as prestigious will be really understanding if you explain the situation. You can also touch on that in some of your essays--I know one person who got into a top 5 school after failing one class freshman year, then turned his GPA around to such an extent that he actually ended up helping teach the very class that he failed. This story became the central part of his application. You can do a similar thing and talk about self-studying calc and taking summer classes. Additionally, I would recommend applying somewhere early. Applying early to your reach schools will often boost your chances of getting in, which will be helpful for some of your reaches. Hope this helps! Good luck!
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Extra Details Part 1: In case it matters, I am retaking the SAT in hopes of improving my EBRW score. The failing grades will still appear on my transcript, but the summer school averages will be alongside them. The GPA that my school puts on the transcript will include the updated grades, so my GPA will still be above a 98/100. (My school only calculates unweighted GPA.)