Addendum Critique-- PLEASE BE HONEST AND BRUTAL! Forum

[tonkatruck]

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[fl0w]

Shortly after arriving at XXX to start law school, I was diagnosed with depression. I sought help from Student Psychological Services, the law school’s resident Psychologist, the Dean of Students, and my physician. I learned tools to help manage the depression and was prescribed medicines to help cope.

After going back and forth as if I should withdraw from school, I decided to go home, get healthy, and start again with the clarity and peace of mind necessary to reach my full capacity both as a student. After being home for a few months, I am in a much better place to confront these new challenges. I know I will be fully able to devote myself to getting the most out of my legal education and pursuing my career goals. I will be the successful, accomplished, caring lawyer that I know I am capable of being.

Medical documentation of this diagnosis and its treatment can be provided upon request.

edited for brevity's sake. What you wrote initially was an essay, not an addendum.

[Sourpunch]

Yup. Also, just provide your medical documents instead of saying "I can provide them". Or don't say that at all. lol

[fl0w]

Yup. Also, just provide your medical documents instead of saying "I can provide them". Or don't say that at all. lol

good point, missed that.

[Dany]

I like fl0w's shorter version. The first one would make me very, very hesitant to accept you, for fear of a relapse, especially because you say you've only been home for a few months. You're essentially playing up the depression, as opposed to playing it down. You want this to read as a simple explanation for a dip in the road, which you have now overcome.

Also, just attach the documentation and say "Medical documentation of this diagnosis and its treatment are attached." or something along those lines.

[Dany]

Also, to clarify - I'm not trying to belittle your battle with depression. I just mean that you want it to sound like a minor issue that has now been resolved, so that the admissions committees will have no qualms in accepting you. Good luck!

[Cale39]

Definitely include the documentation

[tonkatruck]

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[loser148]

Any way to circumvent the 'few months' comment? Makes me hesitant. Like the changes, though.

[Dany]

MUCH better.

[tonkatruck]

My thought is that they're going to see my transcripts and when I withdrew, so doesn't it make sense to just say it get it over with?

[tonkatruck]

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[loser148]

[strike]After going back and forth as to what I should do,[/strike] I decided


Delete this and just say that going home was your choice.

[loser148]

What about something like this?

I prioritized my health, returned home and have since learned how to manage my depression. Because of this decision, I now have the peace of mind necessary to devote myself to law school. I will be the successful, accomplished, caring lawyer that I know I am capable of being.

[tonkatruck]

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[loser148]

much better.


medicines [strike]to help cope.[/strike]


....medications.

[Dany]

Actually, I really don't like that ending. This one was better:

[strike]After going back and forth as to what I should do,[/strike]I decided to go home, get healthy, and start school again with the clarity and peace of mind necessary to reach my full capacity both as a law student and as a law practitioner. Now, I am in a much better place to confront these new challenges. My depression is managed and I know what I need to do to keep it that way. I know I will be fully able to devote myself to getting the most out of my legal education and pursuing my career goals. I will be the successful, accomplished, caring lawyer that I know I am capable of being."

[tonkatruck]

Do I need to say depression? Or can I just leave it as unspecified health problems? That would make it easier to explain without it seeming like I'm at risk of dropping out again (which I'm definitely not). There's just a stigma and misunderstanding around depression, so not going in to that would help with brevity and clarity and whatever. Is it too vague though?

[fl0w]

Do I need to say depression? Or can I just leave it as unspecified health problems? That would make it easier to explain without it seeming like I'm at risk of dropping out again (which I'm definitely not). There's just a stigma and misunderstanding around depression, so not going in to that would help with brevity and clarity and whatever. Is it too vague though?

if you are providing the medical documentation, that will likely say depression in it. so you may as well mention it in you addendum.

[DarlayBoo]

In general this addendum is shaping up really nicely. I think you really do want to say "depression" in your addendum itself, as you want to be as matter of fact and straight forward as possible about what the problem was, how you solved it, and how it's not a problem now/won't be in the future. Mental health issues do have a lot of stigma attached to them still, but since you have to bring it up to explain your ed history, best to do so in a way that doesn't seem cagey, the way not saying the diagnosis makes it. Moreover, a big part of what this addendum is aimed at is showing that you are in control of things now - letting an outside record fill in the words for you is not "on message."

In addition, I'm not so sure about advice to attach the medical records right away. One, you want to be absolutely sure that those records support 100% everything you're saying in the addendum (or you lose all credibility) and that they don't have any extraneous but distracting other info in them (if say it says your diagnosis but also relates symptoms that may have been in the picture at that moment but have since been controlled). But more over adcomms typically are pretty not comfortable receiving medical records unsolicited. Reading that sort of record isn't really their specialty, plus having other people's super confidential files plopped on their desk tends to make legal types nervous. Of course do attach them if the school has said/has a policy of wanting them, but they really will ask if they are interested. More typically though they're going to judge based on whether what you've written matches with everything else in your file and if it seems credible. It's a close judgment call, but do carefully consider the choice of attaching the records initially.

[tonkatruck]

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[Dany]

Best one yet, in my opinion. But cut out "So" at the beginning of the second paragraph. It sounds awful and informal. The sentence is MUCH better if you just say "I made the decision..."