GPA and LSAT combo addendum? Forum

[Kabuo]

Should I make two addenda if I want to make one for both my GPA and first LSAT, or is a combination acceptable? Here is my very rough draft if anyone cares to critique it. Please don't quote it though.

[northwood]

the gpa addenda sounds like a big excuse. delete it and start over. Working is not a good explination. dont say anything about skipping or sleeping in class- this may bring up the question of " will the applicant sleep in our classes??"

as for the lsat. you took the first test ill prepared. perhaps you rushed into the test.

if your only excuse is you didnt study, then im not sure it would be in your best interest to write one, unless the applicaiton specifically asks for one. saying this may leave more questions than answers. call each school to determine what to do. If you are still stuck, choose a school that you have absolutely no intentions of applying to and explain your situtation to the admission person. they may give you better advice than anyone here ( and since you ahve no intention of applying- it wont hurt you either)

[Kabuo]

I thought they were big on taking responsibility. Isn't saying "I was too immature but then matured" taking responsibility for the low initial gpa while drawing attention to the upward trend?

Regarding the LSAT, I know some of the schools I'm applying to require an addendum for LSAT discrepancies of more than 3 points. Not sure what else I can put there without just lying.

[northwood]

yes. but when you read the gpa addenda it reads as though you are making an excuse. if you were to say you were immature, then you matured, it would be much better

[Kabuo]

Hmm, ok. I thought I did say that, but I can see how it could be missed because of other fluff in the way. I'll whittle that one down then. Thanks for your input. Going to edit out the addenda now.

[St.Remy]

Neither of your explanations are likely to convince adcomms to disregard your numbers, nor should they. You had a job, as many people do during college, and were unable to balance it and getting good grades. You took the LSAT without properly preparing for it, and did not receive a score to your liking.

Inability to balance facets of your life and lack of preparation are not things that you should write an addendum for, and they aren't things that schools will give you a break because of either.

[Kabuo]

I'm not asking for a break. I'm explaining that I feel my GPA does not reflect my potential because I was a screwup for my first two years of college, while also explaining that I no longer am one. Whether or not they give me a break for that is up to them. I don't at any point say that I had an unusually hard undergrad. I know people who worked even more hours than I did while making higher grades. I'm saying that my later grades are much more indicative of the student I currently am than the overall GPA, which takes into account my very immature freshman year. Whether other people, or even a lot of other people are in the same boat seems irrelevant. Surely the whole point of a GPA addendum is to explain that your GPA is not indicative of the your potential as a LS student. I am merely saying that my last 3 years of undergrad should be weighted more strongly because I was an immature freshman. I am pretty far removed from the person I was as a freshman.

And surely having one score based on insufficient preparation and one based on sufficient preparation are things to take into account when determining which LSAT score reflects my true potential. Whether they want to generalize from the fact that I didn't prepare enough the first time is another issue entirely.