academic addendum. give it to me straight Forum

[fireball42]

hello friends. i was on a tour at a law school and the tour guide recommended i do an academic addendum. this is my first draft of it. let me know if i need more or less.


I was required to work as a college student. Both of my parents own a small business. I worked for their businesses anywhere between 20-40 hours a week during the school year, and often my studies were impacted. It was imperative to work to pay for costs of attending CSUF, and also to help my families’ businesses to grow and continue to produce a comfortable livelihood, that we have today.

[NorCalBruin]

This is about the correct length.

That said, I think you could word this better.

You state that you were required to work. Was it work study? Or just something your parents wanted? It's not clear. Then at the end you say it was to pay for school and to grow your families business, etc. So which is it? And then in the middle you kind of sandwich in that it affected your studies. That's not to say I think this should be longer--just clearer.

I would say what you had to do, why you had to do it, and then how it affected your studies---in that order and as short as possible.

[fireball42]

okay so here is a revision. I am also wondering if at the end, if i should state that the businesses now no longer need me to work for them. i just dont want a AdCom to think if i go to law school that my parents businesses will fail.

I worked as a college student for my parents’ struggling small businesses. I was required to work for them between 20-40 hours a week during the school year. It was necessary to work for my parents because their businesses were the only source of income and by having me work for them, their businesses could continue to pay for our expenses, and produce a comfortable livelihood. Unfortunately, my studies were affected. I often had significantly less time to invest in my courses, and on rare occasions, my hours would require me to miss lectures.

[acirilli1722]

How much can an addendum actually help in the application process. Is it mostly a determining factor for border line applicants?

[delusional]

Based on nothing but seeing other people's critiques of addenda, I would say that it's too detailed. You could say "significant family pressure" or something, but the comfortable livelihood bit is over the top.