What counts as mitigating circumstances and how to insert them in an application

Mitigating circumstances are any credible reason why you performed below expectations at some point in your academic history.

Whatever the circumstances were, they needed to have reasonably caused a significant disruption to your academic performance. Be prepared for the firm to ask for evidence if they make an offer.

Usually there is a specific space in the application to provide mitigating circumstances, typically in the academic section. If there isn’t, look for a “more information” box either in the academic section or elsewhere on the form to ensure that the firm considers them when reviewing your application. 

How to write mitigating circumstances in an application

You need to be matter of fact. State the reason and link it to the specific exam/set of exams it affected.

For example:

My second year of university exam results were negatively impacted by a broken thigh bone immediately prior to my exams. This injury required a two week stay in hospital and months of rehabilitation work.