GPA Addendum? Forum

[winning]

Hi folks,

I want to get people's opinion on whether or not I should submit a GPA addendum with my app. I have a 3.72 cumulative GPA for all four years, but my junior year, I had a 3.2 because my dad was diagnosed with a very severe illness, and he was in and out of surgery so I was traveling home and missing class a lot. The other years (aside from freshman) I had around a 3.9. If not for my low junior year, I would have displayed a very strong upward grade trend.

I'm concerned about submitting an addendum because I don't want to make excuses, but I also feel that my grade trend might raise some questions for the application reviewers.

To provide some context, I haven't taken the LSAT yet, but shooting for a 170-173. Assuming I hit my target, my dreams are CCN. Do you think an addendum for my situation would help at these schools?

Thanks!

[scammedhard]

No addendum needed; but, if you want, you can always incorporate BRIEFLY that experience [my dad was diagnosed with a very severe illness, and he was in and out of surgery so I was traveling home and missing class a lot] into your Personal Statement. Adcomms like to hear/read overcoming adversity stories.

Nail the LSAT and you will have a great future. Good luck!

[Keeper1125]

Trends don't really matter so I don't think it's worth it. Agree that you could make the point implicitly by using the situation in your personal statement, but it's hardly necessary.

Beat up on the LSAT and you should absolutely be competitive at CCN.

[WestOfTheRest]

I disagree and think that an addendum, especially to your reach schools, is worth it.

[winning]

I disagree and think that an addendum, especially to your reach schools, is worth it.

Care to elaborate?

[WestOfTheRest]

I disagree and think that an addendum, especially to your reach schools, is worth it.

Care to elaborate?

Not particularly. If it's a safety school or a target school, your numbers should be in line for those schools already, so an addendum won't help. If it's a reach school your GPA will be low and you're better off explaining why it's low than just ignoring it.

An addendum at worst does nothing and at best helps you. Don't write an excuse, write a set of facts.

"Please consider the following with regards to my Grade Point Average. In my Freshman? year of college my father was diagnosed with ___________. During the semester he was in and out of surgery and I made several trips back home to visit him and missed several classes as a result. I do not believe that my freshman grades are representative of my overall abilities and ask that you give them less weight when considering my application."

Sending something like that to your reach schools can only help.

[bp shinners]

I disagree and think that an addendum, especially to your reach schools, is worth it.

Care to elaborate?

If someone looks at your transcript, they'll wonder why you had a 3.9 3/4 years and a 3.2 1/4 years. You have a good answer, so you want to include that.

If someone doesn't look at your transcript, they'll see the addendum and look at your transcript. Then, they'll know why you had lower scores that one year.

Overall, I would definitely write a short addendum (if you don't talk about that experience in your PS). As others have said, grading trends don't matter that much, but addenda that are well written definitely don't hurt.

[Dany]

I was in almost exactly the same situation. 3.8 GPA, but a noticeably lower sophomore year (around a 3.2) amid a lot of 4.0 semesters, with a similar reason for the low GPA. I wrote an addendum to make sure the people reading my transcript didn't think I was lazy or slacking my sophomore year. While it won't make schools think of your GPA as higher, it can certainly remove any negative questions in the reader's mind about why your GPA was low.

I didn't send it to all schools (just my targets/reaches). For context, I was accepted to two of CCN.

Also, I very much disagree with the poster who said to incorporate it to the PS. I would not do that.

[winning]

Thanks all. Attaching an addendum for my reach schools makes sense. One quick question, though. My GPA was also low for my freshman year, mostly because I was adjusting to college life. That's why I said that if not for my junior year, I would have had a strong upward grade trend. Should I mention anything about my freshman year, or leave that one alone?

Thanks.

[Dany]

I'd leave it alone. Your father's illness is a serious issue, and "I was adjusting to college" will look less legitimate next to that.