Full Page addendum? Forum

[Hstrat]

I've written an addendum for a low GPA/a bunch of non-punitive Ws on my transcript. It's three paragraphs and a full page, double spaced. Am I correct in thinking that is too long? How long should this be?

[IExistedOnceBefore]

Why do you have the addendum? It's probably to long, but we need more information to judge.

[Hstrat]

Why do you have the addendum? It's probably to long, but we need more information to judge.

Basically it's explaining three very interconnected things: A very poor freshman year, a medical withdrawal from school, and why I took some classes as a non-matriculated student at another school. They're certainly interconnected and pretty much all stemming from the same root cause, but it's still hard to fit all that into two paragraphs.

The admissions strategy reason: I'm a 3.5/177, so my GPA is really holding me back.

[IExistedOnceBefore]

Why do you have the addendum? It's probably to long, but we need more information to judge.

Basically it's explaining three very interconnected things: A very poor freshman year, a medical withdrawal from school, and why I took some classes as a non-matriculated student at another school. They're certainly interconnected and pretty much all stemming from the same root cause, but it's still hard to fit all that into two paragraphs.

The admissions strategy reason: I'm a 3.5/177, so my GPA is really holding me back.

Your GPA isn't devastatingly low. Was the freshman year and the medical withdrawal related? Lots of people take classes as a non-matriculated student, especially during high school or times when they're finding themselves.

You're being pretty vague, and on what you've given me I wouldn't even bother with an addendum. I had a medical withdrawal and several other Ws. No addendum and I was fine.

[cavalier1138]

Yeah, GPA isn't low enough to justify all this.

Of what you've listed, the medical withdrawal is the only thing that merits an addendum, and you should be able to limit it to 2-3 sentences.

[Hstrat]

Yeah, GPA isn't low enough to justify all this.

Of what you've listed, the medical withdrawal is the only thing that merits an addendum, and you should be able to limit it to 2-3 sentences.

Would you say that's true regardless, or does the school that I'm applying to matter? Harvard for instance seems to have a GPA floor right around 3.5, and I'm not URM or anything.

[cavalier1138]

Yeah, GPA isn't low enough to justify all this.

Of what you've listed, the medical withdrawal is the only thing that merits an addendum, and you should be able to limit it to 2-3 sentences.

Would you say that's true regardless, or does the school that I'm applying to matter? Harvard for instance seems to have a GPA floor right around 3.5, and I'm not URM or anything.

Well, yes, your GPA is definitely lower than what Harvard usually wants, but it's not low enough to justify an addendum. But the more important point is that a medical condition is the only thing you listed that is addendum-worthy. Having a crappy first year is normal, as is taking classes at a different institution. A GPA addendum should only be used to highlight things that were out of your control and/or that the adcomm can't tell from looking at your transcript.