177, legal addendum, gpa addendum, please help? Forum

[stephan75th]

I got a 177 on the October LSAT, about which I am very happy, but I have a couple weak spots in my applications. I am on probation for wrecking my car when I was intoxicated, and my overall gpa is pretty weak at 2.99. I wrote addenda addressing both my legal issue and my gpa, but they are about 2.5 pages each. I am almost certain that addenda should be limited to about a page, but I can't seem to fit all the relevant details in such a small space. My basic explanation of my low grades includes:

1) My girlfriend, at the time, got pregnant with my best friend's kid, and cheated on me with another guy. (ouch)
2) My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, went through radiation treatment, and finally made a strong recovery
3) I sustained a brain injury and broken face bones in the car accident, which was undeniably stupid. So stupid.
4) I struggled with alcohol quite a bit throughout undergrad, which was exacerbated by 1 & 2, and resulted in 3

Do I just seem like a pathetic candidate? I tend to think that's not the case, but I admittedly have a strong bias.

I welcome any help, even sincere ridicule. Thanks.


Edit: In my last 6 classes I got 5 A's and 1 B. I have A's in all 4 classes this semester, all upper division philosophy. I have 4 F's on my record from 2004 when I enrolled at ASU and didn't attend the classes. I took 2 years off, and now my cumulative is about 3.1

[kazu]

Addendum's should not be 2.5 pages each. Never.

You don't need to burden the adcomms with unnecessary details, and I don't think anyone is going to read through 5 pages of addenda alone.

Be concise and just include what is needed, nothing else. You summarized all of your problems in 4 lines in the OP - this is essentially almost everything you need for the addendum.

[northwood]

addendums should be a paragraph. Only include dates, facts, and relevant info. do not provide excuses or reasons.

[WhirledWorld]

.

[stephan75th]

Thanks for the advice. I'll whittle them down to a page each at the most.

[kazu]

Thanks for the advice. I'll whittle them down to a page each at the most.

Even a page each seems pretty long. I'd try to fit them into half a page each (1~2 paragraphs).

You're not trying to convince them that what you went through was hard, you're just giving them the facts.

[plenipotentiary]

I would just do 2 and 3 (and keep it factual). No need to mention the personal drama or the problems with alcohol; those don't make you look good, and I don't think you're required to disclose them.

Also, ED to UVA.

[stephan75th]

I don't think I can ED to UVA because my LOR's aren't processed yet and likely will not be processed by the deadline.

[plenipotentiary]

There is no deadline (well, there's the one in March, but no separate ED deadline). Same goes for Georgetown, if that's more to your taste.

[gambelda]

I would just do 2 and 3 (and keep it factual). No need to mention the personal drama or the problems with alcohol; those don't make you look good, and I don't think you're required to disclose them.
.

I agree with this. Definitely do not include #1. Everyone has personal drama in their life due to relationships, etc. Though yours may be much more taxing, I would still not include it. A parents death is very traumatic as is recooperating from a serious car accident. #4 could be included I suppose, but I find 2 and 3 to be the most important. I think the last thing they would want to hear when you are faced with adversity is that you turn to booze. We'll all be facing plenty of challenges and adversity in law school.

P.S. don't take it that I am passing judgment, if I had those things happen to me, I'd probably be drunk right now. I've drank over much less

[bjc314]

I would just do 2 and 3 (and keep it factual). No need to mention the personal drama or the problems with alcohol; those don't make you look good, and I don't think you're required to disclose them.
.

I agree with this. Definitely do not include #1. Everyone has personal drama in their life due to relationships, etc. Though yours may be much more taxing, I would still not include it. A parents death is very traumatic as is recooperating from a serious car accident. #4 could be included I suppose, but I find 2 and 3 to be the most important. I think the last thing they would want to hear when you are faced with adversity is that you turn to booze. We'll all be facing plenty of challenges and adversity in law school.

P.S. don't take it that I am passing judgment, if I had those things happen to me, I'd probably be drunk right now. I've drank over much less

+1

While I feel your pain, I really think you should reconsider you addendum as well.

1) is TMI
4) is unnecessary. Take responsibility for your accident, explain why it won't happen again, but do not go into detail about your alcohol problem.

I really don't think you need more than half a page to address these things. Anymore and you could come off as making excuses.

[bste223]

Where did you end up going to law school?