Addendum for a gap in college, and some... Forum

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lemonpeel

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Addendum for a gap in college, and some...

Post by lemonpeel » Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:28 am

Should I write an addendum? and if so, what should it look like?

Most addendum advice I have seen talks about explaining bad LSAT or GPA. My LSAT is 169 and my GPA is 3.7, so I am not trying to explain particularly poor performance.

I went to college right after high school and quit half way through my second semester. I have been reading that I should write an addendum for gaps in college. This was a four year gap. I mention it briefly in my PS with a little about what I did in my time off. Should I say more about it in an addendum?

Also, my extra-curriculars are lacking. I've read that this isn't a big deal, but it ties into my college gap. I went to a community college to fix my GPA (took a lot of Fs from when I quit) so that I could transfer to a four year program. I earned a two year associates degree before transferring to a four year university. I had to work through community college and my first two semesters at university. At the end of my first semester at the university, my father died. I took one incomplete that semester, which I finished in the spring. I took the LSAT the following June (6 months later) and was helping my mother this past summer. I graduated two weeks ago after a heavy course load (21 credits) and am applying for the fall 2018 semester.

Because of work, heavy course loads, and my father's death I have not been applying for internships and have stayed away from most clubs.

I was thinking I would write an addendum with three short paragraphs. Basically:
1. My first year in college, why I left and what it did to my GPA, and what I did in my time off
2. Starting school again at community college, commute times, and working part time
3. Getting into a four year program, working, and my father's death
To leave on a positive note, I was going to mention how I am taking this spring and summer off. I will be working to pay for rent and will be traveling home to help my mother, but I want to make sure they know I am going into law school mentally prepared.

As a final question (sorry if this is too much): Is it a bad idea to write a Yale 250 about my father's death? I used it as a backdrop to show how three different metaphysical conceptions of the self have a meaningful impact in our lives. I majored in philosophy and figured this would be unique.

Rigo

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Re: Addendum for a gap in college, and some...

Post by Rigo » Tue Dec 26, 2017 12:23 pm

Most schools want a study interrupted addendum, so I would.

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