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My GPA is not terrible but it's below the 25 at a number of schools I am applying to. There are a few factors I want to point to in my addendum:

- upward trend
- study abroad semester not included in LSAC calcuation
- a large number of classes I was forced to take pass/fail

All of this info can be gleaned from my transcripts (including the reason why classes were pass/fail), but I thought it might be helpful to explicitly point these things out. Does anyone think this might be a bad idea?

I think the general consensus is that it needs to be a fairly significant upward trend for it to need an addendum, on top of that having a damn good reason for the trend (and initial down grades).

I'm not as sure about the study abroad or pass/fail credits, it would depend on how many and how explicit your transcript makes that appear.

^^^…Or if you have a significant downward trend due to work or death. (That’s what the lady at UVA said.)

prt86a wrote:My GPA is not terrible but it's below the 25 at a number of schools I am applying to. :

Just be watchful of a school's 'GPA Floor'.

As far as the rest:
- upward trend (possible if you are like: 2.5, 3.0, 3.1, 3.5, 3.4, 3.7, 3.8 etc)
- study abroad semester not included in LSAC calcuation (I wouldn't unless you had quite a few hours or extreme differences here)
- a large number of classes I was forced to take pass/fail (see above)

I guess all in all, what is your LSAC GPA vs your 'real' GPA? If the difference is great, example 3.4 LSAC, 3.8 school, then it may be worth submitting, however a 3.4 and 3.45 may require some more discussion.
I'll also look at http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=86526



I know a guy who was like a 2.3 LSAC and like 2.6 school GPA. He graduated, joined the military, then came out and got a masters with like a 3.9/4.0. He had a school's median LSAT and FARRRRRRRR lower than the 25%, and was admitted. I think this is more of an exception (and statistically has to be).
edited

While I've read on here multiple times not to write an addendum if you don't have a legitimate reason, I spoke with two admissions directors from separate schools and they both were adamant that a low GPA required an addendum regardless of the reason - even if it was due to immaturity. I was told that I really didn't want them to use their imaginations.

Claudius wrote:While I've read on here multiple times not to write an addendum if you don't have a legitimate reason, I spoke with two admissions directors from separate schools and they both were adamant that a low GPA required an addendum regardless of the reason - even if it was due to immaturity. I was told that I really didn't want them to use their imaginations.

Interesting. I would think that only extreme cases would really warrant an upward trend addendum. Since adcomms see your transcripts anyway, how do GPA addenda work? Does it just work to better highlight the upward trend?

RJ127 wrote: Interesting. I would think that only extreme cases would really warrant an upward trend addendum. Since adcomms see your transcripts anyway, how do GPA addenda work? Does it just work to better highlight the upward trend?

I think that they just want you to acknowledge what went wrong and then follow it up with why you believe another factor - hopefully the LSAT - is more indicative of law school potential. A really low GPA sticks out like a sore thumb and they just want to know what was going on without having to guess. This is probably a YMMV situation. I only asked the adcomms at schools that I visited and considered attending.