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[commabd]

I have taken 2 leaves of absence to give birth to my 2 kids during grad school (one quarter each leave).  I have tried to remain active in research despite this, but the LOAs appear on my transcripts.  A) should I address this in the coverletter and B) if so, should I mention they are for childbirth, or just mention medical leaves???  What is appropriate?  Will LOAs for kids look bad?

[peppergal]

SCs have no way of knowing what the LOAs were for unless you tell them.  I also have a couple of LOAs on my transcript (one to take an outside fellowship, one to deal with a family emergency).  From the CV it's obvious what the first LOA was for (the dates of the LOA match the dates of the outside fellowship).  The other one I just leave.  SCs know that life happens, and I've never been questioned about it.  I'm not sure that they even notice it.

I wouldn't draw attention to it in the cover letter.  Remember, too, that not all SCs ask for transcripts, so they may not even know that you took LOAs.

[the_honey_badger]

At my Mega U its HR that really needs/wants transcripts. The SC sees LOADS of "LOA" or blank semesters on transcripts.  Some schools let you take them without penalty to prep for exams, while writing, or whatever. Unless you took some inordinately long time to do the degree (say twice the usual long timeline in your field) or someone makes a big deal of it in a letter?  I can tell you that not only will no one look to see if you went "Fall-Spring 03" and then "Fall-Spring 04" in a neat little row, but we would assume that you just found a way to work without paying tuition .

I have three LOAs on mine because of a fellowship of several months that you could only match with a year, and two that I managed to get "free" because of a tuition loophole.  Not one person ever asked about them. They verified I had the degree and that I had taken classes in the "Desirable Sub-Field" for teaching (the latter only because one guy mentioned he checked because it was an odd combination for my major field.)


This is not something you need to over-worry.

[imawakenow]

While I'm sure that some SCs look at transcripts, neither of the two that I served on did.

My concern with addressing the leaves in a cover letter would be that you would unnecessarily bring them into the conversation.

My advice: If you have a reasonable time-to-completion for your degree, I wouldn't mention it.

[mended_drum]

No one is going to look that closely at your transcripts.  Don't worry about it.  If someone actually asks, or asks your advisor, the reason for your leaves will actually be a positive, as they'll assume that you probably won't be taking more any time soon (doesn't matter whether or not that's true).