GPA Addendum addressing sexual assault? Forum

[trailandtide]

Please note that the explanation below is only an overview of the extenuating circumstances that resulted in a lower than average GPA. It is not a draft addendum. I am still trying to figure out which details are excessively personal and which ones are germane to my application.

In 2005 I was violently sexually assaulted by classmates during the first semester of my freshman year of college. My academic performance for the remainder of my freshman year declined precipitously due to severe depression and high levels of anxiety caused by the trauma of being raped. I stopped attending class and failed to complete required coursework for classes that required interaction with my assailants and/or their friends. I did not report the rape internally to university administrators or externally to police. My G.P.A for my freshman year is a dreadful 1.9. I transferred to another university the following year. I also sought medical treatment from a board certified psychiatrist to address all of the sequelae stemming from my assault. My academic performance following psychological treatment improved dramatically and I graduated from the second university with a 3.8 GPA.


I am not targeting a t14 school. I am applying to a law school in the 100-105 range. My reason for this is related to geographic restraints and my partner's career ( he is a physician and moving states requires way too much of headache with state medical licenses and hospital credentialing).

My sexual assault is not addressed in my PL.

I should also note that I am planning to submit a petition to the former university requesting that they retroactively change non-passing grades to medical withdrawals. I am cautiously optimistic as my psychiatrist will be providing the university with a statement corroborating my account.

A few questions:
1.Do I need to say anything else about the incident itself?
2. Do I need to justify why I chose not to report it?
3. If I do successfully petition the school to change the grades to withdrawals, do I need to also disclose my petition request in the addendum? Or would I simply need explain multiple withdrawals?

[LSATWiz.com]

1.) No. I would probably not be anymore detailed here than you would be if you had a death in the family or were sick. X, Y, Z happened. You should be fact specific with dates and the like, but you shouldn’t go into detail about the assault itself. Nobody is expecting that.
2.) No, but I would mention that you met with a therapist and transferred universities just to substantiate that it happened.
3.) Just the latter.

I think the tone should be “this unfortunate thing happened. It affected my academic performance. I took proactive measures to heal, and then lived up to my potential. Ultimately, it made me a stronger and more resilient person”.

[Npret]

I agree with the above but I think saying it’s “unfortunate” is diminishing what happened to a victim f a brutal crime.

I agree the OP should be matter of fact and details aren’t necessary.

Good luck OP and I’m sorry that happened to you. Sounds like things are better for you now.

[Npret]

I think what you’ve written is pretty good OP. FWIW.

[Scutrules]

I think an addendum stating that is just fine. With your post-transfer GPA, you should be fine getting good scholarship money at your 100-105 range. I applied to Drexel (ranked 100) with a 3.44 and 160 LSAT and got a full tuition offer from them. I also did mention rape in my PS and they can't have been too turned off by it with that offer.

[QContinuum]

I am not targeting a t14 school. I am applying to a law school in the 100-105 range. My reason for this is related to geographic restraints and my partner's career ( he is a physician and moving states requires way too much of headache with state medical licenses and hospital credentialing).

I know this isn't exactly what you're asking about, but I wanted to respond to this point a bit. What are your goals out of law school? Attending a T3 law school provides limited options after graduation. Are there no T1/T2 law schools in your state? Law school isn't like med school: For medicine, the bottleneck is set at the point of getting into med school. That's the hard part. Once you're in, you're almost guaranteed to make a good salary regardless of which med school you graduate from. If you attend a bottom-10 medical school, for example, you probably won't be getting a residency at Mass General, but you'll probably do just fine financially. Law school's not like that, at all. Unlike med school, there are plenty of law school seats in the U.S. for anyone with a pulse. The hard part comes after getting in: One, low-ranked law schools flunk out a significant number of students. Two, graduates from low-ranked law schools often have difficulty passing the bar. Three, and most importantly, actually getting a legal job after graduation is a tremendous struggle out of a T3/T4 law school. There are law schools whose graduates have a less than 50% chance of ever being practicing attorneys.

Also, I'm not a physician, but I understand that moving states isn't that tough for doctors. Certainly easier than for lawyers, who may have to take another state bar exam (and even that is entirely doable, and often done in practice). The USMLE is used nationally, and I've never heard of doctors having to take additional state-specific licensing exams.

To be clear, I'm not saying you ought to be "T14 or bust," or that your husband ought to be open to moving to a different state. Y'all may have strong personal reasons to stay put. I just want to make sure your goals are commensurate with attending a T3 law school.

[LSATWiz.com]

I agree with the above but I think saying it’s “unfortunate” is diminishing what happened to a victim f a brutal crime.

I agree the OP should be matter of fact and details aren’t necessary.

Good luck OP and I’m sorry that happened to you. Sounds like things are better for you now.

Yeah, for the record, this is what I was suggesting OP ultimately look to convey but not actually say. I think in any addendum, it would be imprudent to actually say "but for this, I'd have accomplished this". The goal is to have the reader feel like they drew that inference on their own.

It is a tricky subject because on the one hand you don't want to be too graphic, but on the other you have a lot of candidates writing GPA addenda over much smaller issues that impacted a semester's GPA. I almost think adding a sentence stating a change of scenery was necessary for me to not think about my assault daily to the point that it made it difficult to work to my potential would be helpful. I think this is an example of a situation where the median game hurts OP, but schools may treat them similarly to another student with a high GPA that is below their median.

I don't think not filing charges works against them, and I can certainly understand why a rape victim trying to recover would be hesitant to file rape charges knowing that would force them to testify for potentially years down the line. This is an unfortunate part of our judicial system that doesn't really have a simple fix, but that's another conversation for another time. I do think a short sentence explaining why you didn't file charges could be helpful if a potential adcom has trouble seeing it from your perspective. That being said, I think the overall gist should spin it into something that speaks positively of your character - you're strong and resilient and want to convey that.

[sociallaw]

I don't have much to add beyond what has already been stated- be matter-of fact and describe what happened and how the situation impacted you. I think you described it well and I'd focus more on the effort you made to recover- transfer schools, work hard to get a high GPA, etc. I'm sorry this happened to you- glad to hear you've made so much progress, good luck going forward!

Re: the geography- have you considered doing long-distance in your relationship to be able to go to a higher-ranked school? I agree with the explanation above that the law school you go to will significantly impact your career options and salary down the line. You may likely have better opportunities in your home city (so your partner can stay where they are) if you aim for a higher-ranked program. I know long-distance is hard (I've been there) but law school is a major decision in your life as well.