GPA Addendum Forum

[hemicat27]

Hi All! I'm new around here and I need some assistance! I had a very rough first two years of school that really do not reflect my actual academic potential. I had 3 semesters within those two years with a GPA of 1.9 or lower!! However, all of my semesters outside of those three where a 3.0 or higher. Obviously I know I need to send an addendum to explain WHY those semesters were SOOOOOO bad, but the situation had so many parts to it that condensing it has been difficult. Can someone read over this and tell me if it is still too wordy? or if I have condensed the info enough for it to be to-the-point? Any other tips would be welcome as well. I need all the help I can get since I'm obviously not your traditional law school applicant at 33 years old!

Thanks!

I would like to make the admissions council aware of the situation surrounding my GPA for the years of 1998-2000.

Just after the beginning of Fall semester in 1998, when I entered college for the first time, my grandfather was in a motorized scooter accident which left him hospitalized for several months with severe head trauma and memory loss, as well as disabling physical injuries. I frequently traveled 190 miles away from school to assist with his care and to support to the rest of my family. My GPA for that semester was a 1.95. In the Spring of 1999 his health began to stabilize a bit and I was able to improve my GPA to a 3.00.

However, in the Fall of 1999 my grandmother was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, requiring extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Since she was my grandfather’s primary caretaker, this meant I was now needed to assist with both of their care and support, resulting in another drop in my GPA to a 1.73 for that semester. In the spring of 2000, the stress of my grandparents’ health issues became too much for my middle brother, who was 16 at the time. He made a series of attempts to run away from home, as well as making threats, and one suicide attempt. I again spent much time traveling to assist and support my family and brother. The result was a GPA of 1.90.

These events had an obviously, negative impact on my academic performance. In the Fall of 2000, I moved to a school closer to home, and my GPA dramatically improved to a 3.33. I maintained a similar level of academic achievement throughout the duration of my undergraduate experience, attaining an overall GPA of 3.57 from Fall 2000 until graduation. In hindsight, I probably would have been better served to have withdrawn from my classes and moved to a closer school sooner. However, I was on scholarship at the time and did not want to further burden my family with the financial obligations that would have come with changing schools. Although my cumulative GPA is a 3.10 I believe it is important to make a distinction between the 2.17 GPA I had for the first 4 semesters and the subsequent 3.57 level GPA performance from 2000 forward. I feel the 3.57 GPA is much more indicative of my current and future academic potential. I hope that you will take this information into account as you evaluate my application. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Dr. Review]

In hindsight, I probably would have been better served to have withdrawn from my classes and moved to a closer school sooner. However, I was on scholarship at the time and did not want to further burden my family with the financial obligations that would have come with changing schools. Although my cumulative GPA is a 3.10 I believe it is important to make a distinction between the 2.17 GPA I had for the first 4 semesters and the subsequent 3.57 level GPA performance from 2000 forward. I feel the 3.57 GPA is much more indicative of my current and future academic potential. I hope that you will take this information into account as you evaluate my application. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Remove most, if not all of the quoted portion.

[hemicat27]

Thanks Bedsole!

How about this for the final paragraph?:

These events had an obviously, negative impact on my academic performance which is not representative of my potential. In the Fall of 2000, I moved to a school closer to home, and my GPA dramatically improved to a 3.33. I maintained a similar level of academic achievement throughout the duration of my undergraduate experience, attaining an overall GPA of 3.57 from Fall 2000 until graduation. I hope that you will take this information into account as you evaluate my application. Thank you for your time and consideration.