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Hey all, I'm just looking for some reactions to this question.

I've got two addenda that are pretty much required (a criminal record and a master's program I dropped out of). Since the criminal record stuff is a little unusual, I take a tad more than a page for that addendum. The circumstances around dropping out of the program really were about my strengths, and so that addendum is almost a page.

Now, I"ve also got a DS about a family history of violence (murder victim and near-murder victim in immediate family) and how that has shaped my commitment to the public interest. I'm not a URM and am not poor or a refugee.

I'm specifically wondering about Yale -- whaddaya think, would it be too much to send them my PS, my 250, my 2 addenda, AND a DS which they don't ask for anyway?

I'm set on sending the DS to Harvard etc. b/c somehow 4 total things to read (ps, 2 addenda, ds) seems way less of a hassle than asking them to read 5 things.

Or am I being batty, and if I think the DS really adds something, should I just damn the torpedoes and send it to Yale?

Just looking for quick reactions. Thanks, all.

Your DS sounds like a second PS.

Both your addenda (addendums?) sound too long. Over a page for the stuff on your criminal record is especially unwise. You're supposed to keep it as short and factual as possible, while still disclosing everything and making it clear that you're contrite.

Nah, given the nature of the crimes, it'd be unwise just to say "I'm awful sorry" in my criminal record addendum, which I agree is probably would be the best thing to say for offenses like traffic tickets/underage drinking/smoking a joint/whatever.

And couldn't most DS's seem a lot like a second PS? I mean, both are likely to be about a "soft" that would make you an appealing admit to law school; DS's are just focused on your unusual background/identity/experiences... So I'm not sure your objection to my DS on those grounds really makes sense.

Thanks for the input though, I do appreciate it.

It might also be relevant that I've been out of UG 6 years now and have had a whole lot of unusual experiences--in work, grad school, family, etc.

I'm wondering if other people on the board who have a little more life behind them also find themselves with more material to attach than other hi-quality applicants seem to be talking about. And if so, how comfortable are you with having more? (Or were you with having more, if you already went thru the app cycle at some point?) How hard have you tried to trim it down?