Interview after writing academic explanations section?

[corpuscallosum]

.

[robclem21]

I know the next few months are a really challenging time for all applicants. My best advice is to keep yourself occupied with anything and everything you can think of. Once you are busy the time will start to go by very quick. Also, this wait isn't nearly as bad as the wait from interviews to acceptance day so consider this a warm-up.

I don't have a great answer to your question in that I don't know anyone who filled out the academic explanation form. This is hardly something that I discuss with my peers and I didn't have too many friends who went down the medicine route to know more personally. That being said, this section is not about "convincing" anyone. Everyone seems to use this section to try to justify something on their transcript when in reality, the committee is not looking for your explanation of the event, they are looking for the event(s). This section is for very special circumstances that significantly hindered your ability to perform. If you have a legitimate reason (that is past the realm of resilience) then you don't need to worry about faith in the system. It is there for things like that. If you used that section to justify one or two things then perhaps you will need a little luck when they review.

Either way, best not to think about these things and enjoy the fall leaves and holidays around the corner with your friends and family.

[indefatigable]

I think there's a slight bit of leeway.  They specifically mention second degrees in one of their FAQs, but I'm sure it's far from automatic - i.e. there has to be a solid rational.

[corpuscallosum]

3 hours ago, robclem21 said:

I know the next few months are a really challenging time for all applicants. My best advice is to keep yourself occupied with anything and everything you can think of. Once you are busy the time will start to go by very quick. Also, this wait isn't nearly as bad as the wait from interviews to acceptance day so consider this a warm-up.

I don't have a great answer to your question in that I don't know anyone who filled out the academic explanation form. This is hardly something that I discuss with my peers and I didn't have too many friends who went down the medicine route to know more personally. That being said, this section is not about "convincing" anyone. Everyone seems to use this section to try to justify something on their transcript when in reality, the committee is not looking for your explanation of the event, they are looking for the event(s). This section is for very special circumstances that significantly hindered your ability to perform. If you have a legitimate reason (that is past the realm of resilience) then you don't need to worry about faith in the system. It is there for things like that. If you used that section to justify one or two things then perhaps you will need a little luck when they review.

Either way, best not to think about these things and enjoy the fall leaves and holidays around the corner with your friends and family.

Hey, thanks so much for your advice! I really appreciate it and I know you're absolutely right. It's best to keep pushing forward and understand that the application is out of my hands now.

As for what I wrote down in the academic explanations section, I outlined the major family issues that all happened one after the other in my first year. Once I failed a few midterms, I had to step back and evaluate the situation objectively because I knew it was going downhill fast. So I decided to use my AP credits from high school in place of some courses and took 8 courses that year instead of 10. I wrote about all of this as honestly as I possibly could, and just ended it with a request that they apply the wGPA formula, given my circumstances (admissions said it's important to explicitly make this request if that's what we're asking for).

I think I'm just worried because unlike a medical illness, family problems are something that may be more subjective (i.e. something that affected me may not affect others). But again, I guess it really is out of my hands at this point

[robclem21]

4 hours ago, lIlIlIIII said:

damn I wrote academic essay to get my cgpa of 3.95 bumped to wgpa of 3.96 but I didn't explicitly request wgpa be applied. What are my chances I am so worried now. 

To be honest, I cant believe you wrote an essay for that. *smh*

[curiousmask]

On 2017. 10. 5. at 10:05 AM, corpuscallosum said:

Hey, thanks so much for your advice! I really appreciate it and I know you're absolutely right. It's best to keep pushing forward and understand that the application is out of my hands now.

As for what I wrote down in the academic explanations section, I outlined the major family issues that all happened one after the other in my first year. Once I failed a few midterms, I had to step back and evaluate the situation objectively because I knew it was going downhill fast. So I decided to use my AP credits from high school in place of some courses and took 8 courses that year instead of 10. I wrote about all of this as honestly as I possibly could, and just ended it with a request that they apply the wGPA formula, given my circumstances (admissions said it's important to explicitly make this request if that's what we're asking for).

I think I'm just worried because unlike a medical illness, family problems are something that may be more subjective (i.e. something that affected me may not affect others). But again, I guess it really is out of my hands at this point

Oh... I wrote an explanation essay to apply for wGPA because I didn't have a full course in one of my years but instead of explicitly requesting, I just explained why I ended up withdrawing... Do you think adcom won't consider wGPA for me then?

[corpuscallosum]

3 hours ago, curiousmask said:

Oh... I wrote an explanation essay to apply for wGPA because I didn't have a full course in one of my years but instead of explicitly requesting, I just explained why I ended up withdrawing... Do you think adcom won't consider wGPA for me then?

Hey there, I'd suggest you send them an email and just ask about how to go about the section. This is just what I heard through a friend last year so the information may or may not be outdated! I'm sure you're fine though, because outlining why you took less than a full course load should be enough for them to infer that you're looking for the wGPA formula to be used.

[Curiousaboutapps1]

I dont know your question because its deleted. I got an interview after filling out an academic explanation form.  mine was also about why i took 4 courses instead of 5 in one of my semesters.  Essentially I explained what was going on in my life that year and how it affected my mental health, and my reason for withdrawing from a course.

[corpuscallosum]

2 hours ago, Curiousaboutapps1 said:

I dont know your question because its deleted. I got an interview after filling out an academic explanation form.  mine was also about why i took 4 courses instead of 5 in one of my semesters.  Essentially I explained what was going on in my life that year and how it affected my mental health, and my reason for withdrawing from a course.

Hey, thanks so much for responding.

I had to remove my post because one of my friends actually identified me from it so that was a bit awkward. However I realize it's still quoted in one of the messages above. These forums are tricky places to navigate!

Hopefully this isn't too much information to ask of you, but did getting offered an interview tell you that they likely took your academic explanations into consideration and applied the wGPA or were you already good to go without the wGPA? I ask only because I'm a below the competitive cutoff if they don't grant me the wGPA.

[Curiousaboutapps1]

19 hours ago, corpuscallosum said:

Hey, thanks so much for responding.

I had to remove my post because one of my friends actually identified me from it so that was a bit awkward. However I realize it's still quoted in one of the messages above. These forums are tricky places to navigate!

Hopefully this isn't too much information to ask of you, but did getting offered an interview tell you that they likely took your academic explanations into consideration and applied the wGPA or were you already good to go without the wGPA? I ask only because I'm a below the competitive cutoff if they don't grant me the wGPA.

honestly my GPA goes from 3.96 to 3.99. I was competitive regardless. I wanted them to know that it was a blip and that I can handle a full course load

[curiousmask]

2 hours ago, Curiousaboutapps1 said:

honestly my GPA goes from 3.96 to 3.99. I was competitive regardless. I wanted them to know that it was a blip and that I can handle a full course load

Hello when you wrote the academic explanation essay, did you mention that you were applying for wGPA formula explicitly or did you just explain your blip?

[Curiousaboutapps1]

36 minutes ago, curiousmask said:

Hello when you wrote the academic explanation essay, did you mention that you were applying for wGPA formula explicitly or did you just explain your blip?

I didnt ask for anything. I just wrote about why there was an abberation in my transcript. They may have applied the formula, they may have not

[curiousmask]

 

5 hours ago, Curiousaboutapps1 said:

I didnt ask for anything. I just wrote about why there was an abberation in my transcript. They may have applied the formula, they may have not

Thanks for your reply. If you don't mind telling me, is there a reason why you did not attend UofT interview?

[Curiousaboutapps1]

13 hours ago, curiousmask said:

 

Thanks for your reply. If you don't mind telling me, is there a reason why you did not attend UofT interview?

I got in elsewhere and accepted the offer before my Toronto interview happened

[Roronoaa]

On 10/5/2017 at 3:43 PM, lIlIlIIII said:

damn I wrote academic essay to get my cgpa of 3.95 bumped to wgpa of 3.96 but I didn't explicitly request wgpa be applied. What are my chances I am so worried now. 

I'll assume you are joking lmao

[dreamteam22]

Does anyone know the process of how the admissions office reviews academic explanation essays? I have a lower than average GPA but I have provided reasons behind my lower performance. I'm just not sure if given the immense competition, my application would be given serious consideration. - I know I'll have to wait and see, but if anyone has more insight on this process, it  would be very helpful.