Addendum help Forum

[Jredelman15]

Due to financial concerns freshman year, I worked 25 hrs a week from 8PM-4AM. During that year I received a 2.63 yet passed only 30 out of the 38 hours attempted. My fall semester of sophomore year was going well, until my brother was in an accident and entered a coma during midterms.During that semester I earned a 2.91. The next semester, after everything had calmed down, I earned a 3.83 GPA. During the fall semester of my junior year my great aunt was in and out of the hospital during finals week. Therefore, I was with my family in the hospital for most of the time I otherwise would have spent studying. During that semester I earned a 3.0. The spring semester I received my first 4.0 GPA in college, taking 20 hrs and working an internship. This summer I took another 14 hours and received another 4.0. As of midterm I have a 4.0 once again. I hope that the ___insert school name here___ admissions committee will recognize my LSAT and upward grade trend as better indicators of my potential than my cumulative undergraduate GPA.

[vzapana]

One question I have while reading is why working essentially the same amount of hours freshman year and junior year yielded different GPA results. (I also don't quite understand why you had to work those specific hours freshman year.)

[justonemoregame]

Maybe you could explain things in a more general way. You could say you had to work odd hours your first year of school, and later had close members of your family hospitalized, which caused significant stress. This would prevent you from excusing each poor semester with a different reason. If you have a straight 4.0 in your last year, I would think they will take notice.

Here's how I look at it. They see your LSAT. If it sucks, you're toast. If they like it, they look at your gpa. If they don't like that, they look at your transcript and see if they can excuse it (because they like your LSAT). A 4.0 in your last year helps to do just that. An addendum should probably just be a brief confirmation of something they are already actively attempting to do.

[Jredelman15]

One question I have while reading is why working essentially the same amount of hours freshman year and junior year yielded different GPA results. (I also don't quite understand why you had to work those specific hours freshman year.)

My freshman year I was working at a bar as a bouncer. The hours sucked and it was really hard to wake up for a 8:30 class. My hours for my internship were much easier and I worked in between classes junior year.

Edit: It paid 13/ hr after tips. It was the best paying job at the top bar in my city.

[Jredelman15]

Due to financial concerns freshman year, I worked as a bouncer at the largest nightclub in Morgantown. We serviced and ensured safety for over 2000 customers a night. While employed at the nightclub, I worked 25 hrs a week from 8PM-4AM. During that year I received a 2.63 and passed only 30 out of the 38 hours attempted. After my freshman year I decided to cut my hours back so I could focus on school, only working on the weekends. My fall semester of sophomore year was going well, until my brother was in an accident and entered a coma during midterms. During that semester I earned a 2.91 GPA. The next semester, after everything had settled, I earned a 3.83 GPA. During the fall semester of my junior year my great aunt was in and out of the hospital during finals week. Therefore, I was with my family in the hospital for most of the time I otherwise would have been studying. During that semester I earned a 3.0 GPA. The spring semester I received my first 4.0 GPA in college, taking 20 hrs of classes and working 15hrs at an internship. My hours for the internship took place during breaks in my class schedule, not nearly as stressful or physically demanding. This summer, I continued my internship working 40 hrs a week and took another 14 hours online, receiving an additional 4.0 GPA. As of midterm I once again have a 4.0 GPA. I hope that The Boston University School of Law admissions committee will recognize my LSAT and upward grade trend as better indicators of my potential than my cumulative undergraduate GPA.

I changed it ever so slightly.