Addendum question Forum

[iamcaptaindaddy]

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to approach my Special Major? As I see it there can be three pieces to it, but I am not sure if I need all three.

1) The story of how I found out about Special Majors and the process I went through to set it up.

2) What a Special Major is according to the University.

3) Describe my Special Major; how I selected my classes and with what purpose.

Thoughts? How much is too much for an addendum?

[bp shinners]

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to approach my Special Major? As I see it there can be three pieces to it, but I am not sure if I need all three.

1) The story of how I found out about Special Majors and the process I went through to set it up.

2) What a Special Major is according to the University.

3) Describe my Special Major; how I selected my classes and with what purpose.

Thoughts? How much is too much for an addendum?

I have no idea what a Special Major is, so I cannot possibly answer this question. Can you give us a quick rundown?

[iamcaptaindaddy]

In a nutshell, a Special Major is a major that is something the student puts together when the offered major does not meet the student needs. It is seldom granted, and only to self-directed motivated students. I pick my own classes from different disciplines, all with my core objective in mind. It needs to be unique and focused; not resembling anything the school offers in their catalog.

[Nova]

The name is kind of silly. I wouldnt even write an addendum for that.

[bp shinners]

In a nutshell, a Special Major is a major that is something the student puts together when the offered major does not meet the student needs. It is seldom granted, and only to self-directed motivated students. I pick my own classes from different disciplines, all with my core objective in mind. It needs to be unique and focused; not resembling anything the school offers in their catalog.

Ah, ok, I've heard of these but never heard them called a Special Major.

I probably wouldn't include an addendum for this, unless your transcript looks weird because of it. An addendum is supposed to explain something that an outsider looking at your application package wouldn't understand, and might view in a negative light. I can't imagine anyone viewing this in a negative light, so the addendum, to me, would be self-congratulatory instead of informative (i.e. you would just be writing it to let them know that you're self-directed and motivated). That's not a good reason to write an addendum.

However, being self-directed and motivated are definitely two qualities law schools like in their candidates. What I suggest is that you have your advisor for the program write a letter of recommendation describing your course of study, along with the relative infrequency of such a program being approved and how much effort/work/dedication it took. It's always better to have someone else highlight your better qualities, and this is a perfect way to do it.