Transcript addendum?

[vdcpli]

I'm just wondering if it is possible to submit an additional addendum (specifically to Ontario schools) when providing my updated transcript for this semester. For context, I broke my right thumb a couple weeks ago (I am right handed so it has been challenging to properly study) and also my grandmother that I am very close with is pretty much on her deathbed so I've been leaving town to go see her every chance I can - both of these have impacted my grades this semester. Can someone let me know how to go about not letting these totally ruin my chances?

[legallyblond23]

Everyone is supposed to submit the fall 2023 transcripts by end of Jan 2024 through OLSAS so just make sure you make the request to have the updated transcript submitted and schools will receive it. Obviously won’t help you for any early decisions but most of us will hear in Jan- March anyway! You can set up the future transcript request through OLSAS now so you don’t forget. 

[Diplock]

I know this isn't generous and just about no one wants to hear this. But a broken thumb and a seriously ill grandparent fall well within the usual hardships of life. Opinions may differ, but I wouldn't be impressed with anyone citing these things as reasons for why you can't function as you normally would. It wouldn't incline me to be lenient in my interpretation of your performance - it would incline me to believe you have trouble putting things in proper perspective. That's just me.

[Yogurt Baron]

19 minutes ago, Diplock said:

That's just me.

Absolutely not just you. I'm genuinely sorry about your grandma, OP, but as someone who's lived my whole life with the kind of disability they have telethons for, and whose transcripts from kindergarten to age 28 were riddled with failing grades from the dozens of times I almost died, I'm also...not super-enthused...about the broken thumb part. It's hard to quantify how many people's grades have, at some point, been impeded by something more seriously than a broken thumb, but I'm going to guess it's somewhere in the 99.8%-to-100% range.

It can be hard to put in perspective how serious our problems are, and I get that, especially if you're 21, which the OP probably is. But this is a problem that most people will not take seriously, and that some people absolutely will judge you for suggesting that they should take seriously.

[Hegdis]

At this stage when it’s applying to a school rather than to a job I don’t see an issue with providing a brief addendum. I agree with Diplock and YB generally, but I think that unlike employers, schools aren’t focusing on attitude and maturity to the degree that this is going to cause more damage than potential good. 

Worst case scenario it has no effect. My two cents anyway, fwiw (obviously I don’t work in any admissions office).

[Yogurt Baron]

35 minutes ago, Hegdis said:

schools aren’t focusing on attitude and maturity to the degree that this is going to cause more damage than potential good. 

Worst case scenario it has no effect.

Agreed that this is probably true, yeah.

[Diplock]

47 minutes ago, Hegdis said:

At this stage when it’s applying to a school rather than to a job I don’t see an issue with providing a brief addendum. I agree with Diplock and YB generally, but I think that unlike employers, schools aren’t focusing on attitude and maturity to the degree that this is going to cause more damage than potential good. 

Worst case scenario it has no effect. My two cents anyway, fwiw (obviously I don’t work in any admissions office).

We don't disagree dramatically, and I agree schools are less focused on this than employers. But I still don't believe they are so much less focused that they'll say "jeez, this kid broke his thumb so let's potentially bump him ahead of the next applicant, who is otherwise marginally better, but who didn't break their thumb." Because that's really what we're talking about here. For all that we obscure the real point, "taking things into consideration" in a competitive context has to mean giving you something that would otherwise have gone to someone else. And this just doesn't rise to that level.

So I agree with Hegdis to this degree. It probably won't hurt. But I also believe it almost definitely won't help. Which is to say, Hegdis is saying the worst and most likely scenario is that it won't do anything. I'm saying, the best and most likely scenario is it won't do anything.

[123]

I agree with the other posts. But if you're going to write an addendum, I would find the grandmother issue alone to be a stronger explanation. Losing a loved one is sad and sympathetic. I don't think it's so exceptional that it will significantly offset poor grades, but it seems kind of harsh for an adcom to hold it against you. I think you should leave it there though. To me, the broken thumb detracts from the grief explanation. It starts to sound less like you're stricken by grief, and more like you're easily overwhelmed by the ordinary demands of life. It invites people to think "I had injury X last year, and I went to physio, but I didn't let it impact my job performance". I agree that that's not the end of the world, because the addendum will get almost no weight in the admissions decisions anyway. But in terms of the strength of a potential addendum, I'd be a little more sympathetic to one without the broken thumb.

[Spinnaker]

Agree with the above posts - the broken thumb is an inconvenience at best and really shouldn't impact your grades. It sounds more like a weak excuse on the same level as "I had the flu during exam week!" The grandmother issue is definitely more convincing.