Medical How should I handle a drop in GPA due to a sexual assault and aftermath in my application?

[Catalystik]

I've gotten some mixed advice on this, so I'd figure I'd ask you all. My cGPA never fell below 3.0, but there are a couple of terms where it was very low (like 2.4, 2.6, 2.9) due to being sexually assaulted and the aftermath. This includes bad grades in science courses (but nothing below a C, so I couldn't retake them per my school's policy).

No one wants to hear my sob story - I get that. However, the grade issue is obviously going to come up. Should I address this issue in my PS or will it only hurt me?

I'd suggest that you should not refer to the assault in your PS, but rather in a Secondary essay on Adversity, Challenge you overcame, or Is there anything else we should know?, or possibly in the Activities section if you engaged in some sort of advocacy or volunteer work with survivors because of your experience.

Do you have an advisor or faculty member aware of the challenges you faced who might be willing to write you an LOR that would attest to them and your resiliency in bouncing back?

Side note: You will need a period of demonstrated academic excellence before you apply to prove that you've transcended the negative impact of those experiences.

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