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I am already drawing up the format of what my Fall 2012 applications will look like and what addendums to use. As applicants are more partial to the subjectivity of their own situation, I wanted to create a thread for people to quickly list their situation + reasons in order to get criticism (is this a reason or just an excuse).

* Include what the addendum is, quick facts, then list of reasons. *

IMO, ok to be harsh in this thread, as long as it leads to the 0Ls putting together solid apps. Me first.

GPA - Upward Trend
Freshman Year: 2.91
Soph: ~3.4
Junior/Senior: ~3.85
Final LSDAS: 3.45
Reasons:
-Change of major during soph year
-Personal growth with time management (2 high leadership positions in student orgs during jr yr, 20+ hr/week internship as senior with 18 hrs/semester, deans list junior year)

Should I omit any of these reasons, and should I be emphasizing one over others?

cmob wrote:I am already drawing up the format of what my Fall 2012 applications will look like and what addendums to use. As applicants are more partial to the subjectivity of their own situation, I wanted to create a thread for people to quickly list their situation + reasons in order to get criticism (is this a reason or just an excuse).

* Include what the addendum is, quick facts, then list of reasons. *

IMO, ok to be harsh in this thread, as long as it leads to the 0Ls putting together solid apps. Me first.

GPA - Upward Trend
Freshman Year: 2.91
Soph: ~3.4
Junior/Senior: ~3.85
Final LSDAS: 3.45
Reasons:
-Change of major during soph year
-Personal growth with time management (2 high leadership positions in student orgs during jr yr, 20+ hr/week internship as senior with 18 hrs/semester, deans list junior year)

Should I omit any of these reasons, and should I be emphasizing one over others?

I wouldn't submit an addendum for this.

Knock wrote: I wouldn't submit an addendum for this.

I agree. Sounds like the typical college experience to me. If you had a downward trend, that'd be a different story.

Thanks for the replies. Would it matter if I was a splitter going T14 and my GPA was in the 25%?

cmob wrote:Thanks for the replies. Would it matter if I was a splitter going T14 and my GPA was in the 25%?

Nah, mainly because of the reasons for your addendum. Best of luck.

cmob wrote:Thanks for the replies. Would it matter if I was a splitter going T14 and my GPA was in the 25%?

the gpa addendum is intended for circumstances like suffering some significant hardship like got some funky illness or injury. immediate family member passed away, etc.

for example, if you had to work 40 hours a week while in college to support your family after your mom who was a single mother died, write an addendum. THAT would matter. you wanting to go to a T14 school is NOT a compelling explanation for why you did poorly in your first few years. so to answer the question that doesn't matter. the transcripts and your resume (and LSAT score) will speak for themselves.

do not write one for this. the admissions comitte will see the trend in your transcripts and will notice it. They understand that freshman year grades are usually lower than senior year grades, as you tend to mature a lot during school.

Not worthy of an addendum since upward grade trends are assumed to be normal.