I've been going back and forth about whether or not to submit a GPA Addendum. I've written one, and thanks to the various posts and information on this site, have tried to make it concise.
Still, I can't decide if the potential gain is worth he risk of submitting it. I still have three months till September, but figured since it is written now I'd ask now for advice on maybe things to take out or add, and whether or not it's worth it at all.
Academic Summary Background: I went from a 4.0-3.83 to a 3.13, with my GPA in my major showing as 3.19, and my cumulative showing as a 3.53. (My LSAT is testing at or below their median level, so my low GPA could hurt me from getting into top 15/30)
Thanks!
It sounds kind of whiny to me, and I don't know how to fix that. That's kind of why I think maybe I just should submit it at all. I'm strongly leaning towards that at least.To whom it may concern:
This Addendum is meant to address the downward trend in my GPA at college, specifically, why I went from a consistent 3.8 to a struggling 3.13. My declining GPA is attributed to monetary trouble and an immobilizing fear for my well being. In the winter of 2004 my biological mother, an individual with extreme psychologically difficulties, discovered my geographical location and proceeded to steal my college funds assuming this would make myself easier to physically locate and subdue. From what I was told, it was due to her becoming employed by the now bankrupt Washington Mutual Corp and having access to their records and my accounts.
For safety, I immediately transferred from UC Davis to UC Berkeley; however, fear and panic took a heavy toll on my performance and attendance. My advisors suggested I take my degree early (a year and a half early, I wasn’t scheduled to graduate till the spring of 2008), and move in with my brother in Spokane, Washington where, like him, I’d be safe from harm. This is also the reason for the large gap between my cumulative GPA and my major GPA. I graduated so quickly after transferring that only a few grades where applicable for my major.
Currently, my mother is under investigation from the FBI for an unrelated crime, and under house arrest somewhere in Utah. This ordeal is behind me, and even if it weren’t it can no longer hurt me. I take full responsibility for my GPA, and assure you that I have grown far beyond this. I would also like to point out that despite my state of extreme panic, I never received a single letter grade below a “B,” nor have I in my entire college career. I’ve since faced my fear, and I will not let anything stand in my way of making a positive contribution to your institution. I will excel both academically and personally at your law school.
*If I may preemptively and quickly answer a common question: My mother’s mental disability will not be passed on to me, it was not biologically based. Besides my mother, there is no history of either biological or non-biological mental disabilities in my family, and I have not shown any signs that such states will ever develop.
