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I'm considering including an addendum explaining a lower than desirable GPA. I graduated with a 3.33 in Finance but finished with a strong upward trend despite all upper level classes my last two years. The addendum would be as follows:

"During my early college years I was undecided academically as to what career path to choose and as a result, I believe that my grades suffered due to lack of a focused objective. It wasn’t until fall of 2009 that I firmly decided on my degree plan and knew that I wanted to pursue a career in law. Once I had these objectives in place and understood what was required of me to succeed, my grades immediately began an upward trend (with my senior year holding my highest GPA at a 3.91), despite my busy schedule with involvement in basketball, part-time work and serving as an officer for the Alpha Sigma Omega Honors Society. I believe that these later years in which I had specific goals and aspirations is a better reflection of my abilities as a student than my earlier undergraduate years."


I'm looking for opinions as to whether this is a justifiable reason to write an addendum or whether it looks like an excuse for poor performance. Thanks in advance!

I really don't think this is addendum-worthy. Most people take time to adjust to college and I'd say many do much better once they get into their major classes, so there really isn't an unusual circumstance to explain to the admissions committee. They'll see the grade trend on your Academic Summary Report, and your other involvement and commitment to the honor society will be apparent on your resume. I would say nix the addendum.

No, it doesn't belong