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TL;DR: Is it ever acceptable to write an addendum explaining a low GPA if the circumstances surrounding the low GPA were controllable and generally beneficially?

Hi All,

My GPA is low (3.14, BA Neurobiology) but my LSAT will hopefully be high (PTing above 175; taking the test in August and applying this cycle). I'm starting my law school search with a 171 in mind because shit can happen on test day. Of course, I'll be happy to adjust if things go well. T14 is probably a bit of a reach with my GPA even if I can hit 175+, but I'm hoping to give them a shot and perhaps get some money from T20 and regional schools.

I took a job as a paralegal to get some work experience and hopefully separate myself a little bit from undergrad. I'm wondering if writing an addendum would help in blunting the negative impact of my GPA, even within the margins.

I would center it on the idea that GPA was affected in part by 3 other commitments that I typically had to dedicate at least 40 hours a week to in total. Those being a D1 team, a research position, and an on campus job. I would reason that these took up substantial amounts of time in undergrad that would be available for studying in law school. I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to do those things, and I feel as though I benefitted form doing them. But, I also know I had less time to dedicate to classes because of them.

I would appreciate any thoughts people have on this.

Don’t do it. You chose to take on those activities; all you’ll do is highlight your inability to manage your own time. You can make clear on a resume how many hours they took.

nixy wrote:Don’t do it. You chose to take on those activities; all you’ll do is highlight your inability to manage your own time. You can make clear on a resume how many hours they took.

Agreed. I could maybe see an exception, OP, if you needed to take on both the D1 sport and job for scholarship/financial reasons in order to finish college. That kind of addendum could be meaningful in conjunction with other reasons college was difficult (first-gen student, socioeconomic disadvantages, etc.). One would still wonder why, in that situation, you decided to also layer on the RA gig, so I'd still lean towards no-addendum. And you're probably going to perform in line with your 3.14 regardless.

Thank you both for your suggestions I wanted to go to med school for the majority of undergrad, which is why I tried to fit in the RA gig. To nixy's point, I didn't do the best job juggling. I definitely don't want to inadvertently highlight that.

The sports scholarship and job allowed me to go to the school that I went to, but I wouldn't have had to completely forgo a college education without them.

Thanks to both of you again for commenting. It's helpful to get more of a sense what what kinds of situations an addendum can be meaningful in.

Seanathon wrote:My GPA is low (3.14, BA Neurobiology) but my LSAT will hopefully be high (PTing above 175; taking the test in August and applying this cycle). I'm starting my law school search with a 171 in mind because shit can happen on test day. Of course, I'll be happy to adjust if things go well. T14 is probably a bit of a reach with my GPA even if I can hit 175+, but I'm hoping to give them a shot and perhaps get some money from T20 and regional schools.

With the usual it-doesn't-count-'til-it's-an-actual-LSAT-score warning, if you indeed test in line with your PTs, the T13 would be within reach.

Even with a 171, you'd have a good shot at UVA, NW and Michigan (with actually a reasonable chance at getting some money from Mich). You'd probably get into at least one of those three (probably Michigan), provided there are no red flags in the rest of your application and you apply early enough (by Halloween, preferably, and no later than Thanksgiving). And, you'd be a lock at WUSTL with $130k (WUSTL loves high LSAT scores). See https://mylsn.info/o94q1z/

With a 173+, you'd have a shot at everywhere from NYU on down, except for legendary GPA snob Cornell. It'd be shocking if you struck out of the T13 altogether (again, assuming no red flags and a pre-Halloween or at least pre-Thanksgiving application). More likely, you'd have multiple T13 offers, and would likely need to choose between a T13 relatively close to full freight (though you might get lucky with one, especially Michigan), vs. a T20 (WUSTL) on a half-ride. See https://mylsn.info/vcbhc0/

So buckle down and get that LSAT score in the bag.