GPA Addendum Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am an African American male; Undergrad GPA 2.63. Low GPA caused by socio-economic disadvantages related to drug abuse among immediate family and death in family. Should I submit an addendum? Taking LSAT in February; Have 1 year we at creditor's rights firm; and plan on submitting "overcoming adversity" statement.

[FredJones]

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[papercut]

You'll probably have to write an addendum, but the rest of your application will really have to do the heavy lifting.

Resume

The resume needs to show that you were busty. Put how many hours a week you spent at work. Extra curricular activities shouldn't be there if you were so busy. If they are, it shows you have issues prioritizing.

Transcript

Your low grades need to be isolated to a semester or two, with an upward trend ideally.

Recommendation Letters

Your recommenders needs to know fully about your situation. They need to talk you up, make all the excuses for you, and talk about your potential.

Diversity Statement

This is where you talk about the issues, but not as excuses. You tell a story about the difficulties with some sort of triumph at the end.

Addendum

Tell them the problem. Tell them why it happened. Tell them why it won't happen again. Keep it simple and very short.

LSAT

Needs to be tops for AAs. Aim to be top 1% of AAs. This will be extremely important. You need to hit the LSAT out of the park. I suggest you do some research on prep classes and take one.

You'll be competing against AAs that have middle to upper class parents. They'll probably have better grades than you.

[theonyxhotel143]

I am an African American male; Undergrad GPA 2.63. Low GPA caused by socio-economic disadvantages related to drug abuse among immediate family and death in family. Should I submit an addendum? Taking LSAT in February; Have 1 year we at creditor's rights firm; and plan on submitting "overcoming adversity" statement.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you're not the only AA male applying to law school that has a disadvantaged background. And the others probably have a better GPA than you. I don't mean to be discouraging--I'm just trying to put this in perspective. Definitely discuss your background, but don't make excuses. It is a tough argument to make; but it is definitely worth trying. If you can knock the LSAT out of the park, it can help your case tremendously. Basically your argument is that you are really smart but struggled in school because of family issues, so you need to prove that you do have what it takes by demonstrating your excellence on the LSAT.

I suggest you use Power Scores books to prepare for the LSAT. They are by far the BEST and by using them, just about anyone can learn how to get a 170+ score. The three main books to start with are Power Score Reading Comprehension Bible, Logical Reasoning Bible, and Logic Games Bible.

I wish you the best of luck.

[Clearly]

I am an African American male; Undergrad GPA 2.63. Low GPA caused by socio-economic disadvantages related to drug abuse among immediate family and death in family. Should I submit an addendum? Taking LSAT in February; Have 1 year we at creditor's rights firm; and plan on submitting "overcoming adversity" statement.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you're not the only AA male applying to law school that has a disadvantaged background. And the others probably have a better GPA than you. I don't mean to be discouraging--I'm just trying to put this in perspective. Definitely discuss your background, but don't make excuses. It is a tough argument to make; but it is definitely worth trying. If you can knock the LSAT out of the park, it can help your case tremendously. Basically your argument is that you are really smart but struggled in school because of family issues, so you need to prove that you do have what it takes by demonstrating your excellence on the LSAT.

I suggest you use Power Scores books to prepare for the LSAT. They are by far the BEST and by using them, just about anyone can learn how to get a 170+ score. The three main books to start with are Power Score Reading Comprehension Bible, Logical Reasoning Bible, and Logic Games Bible.

I wish you the best of luck.

I love the Powerscore books too, but let's not say anyone can read them and get a 170...