Will HYS care about one F on a transcript? Forum

[harveyspecter993]

In my first year I had one F in an elective and a C+ in another class. Since then I've worked my socks off and haven't slipped lower than an A. I hope to have a 3.9 by the time I apply to law school but could I be rejected because of the F and C+ I had in my first year?Should I write an addendum to try to remedy the situation? Thanks

[redsox]

Should I write an addendum to try to placate the situation? Thanks

I do not think it means what you think it means...

[harveyspecter993]

Should I write an addendum to try to placate the situation? Thanks

I do not think it means what you think it means...

my mistake. I've corrected that.

[Yea All Right]

In law school applications there is often a place provided for an addendum regarding academic performance, in your case you should definitely fill it out.

[Sls17]

An addendum may not hurt you, but ultimately I think your final LSAC GPA is going to be all that really matters. I had a very strong GPA but I also had one semester with two weak grades, and I got H and S (did not apply to Y) without an addendum.

Then again, I didn't really have any circumstances I would have been able to explain ("Those classes were hard and I spent too much time with my SO" doesn't make for a great addendum haha) so it might depend if the circumstances of the semester would add something to your application.

[Ti Malice]

It probably won't matter at all, especially since you've done so well for several semesters since.

I suppose you could get asked about it in a JS1. Just be honest.

[Julius]

In my first year I had one F in an elective and a C+ in another class. Since then I've worked my socks off and haven't slipped lower than an A. I hope to have a 3.9 by the time I apply to law school but could I be rejected because of the F and C+ I had in my first year?Should I write an addendum to try to remedy the situation? Thanks

I had a poor first year by HYS standards, including a C, and made it up to about a 3.9. Didn't seem to affect me and I always thought the recovery from a bad first year might be a positive for admissions. I'd imagine Fs are a little different because they are rare and are sometimes a signal for something else (e.g., cheating, nonattendance). I wouldn't bother drawing attention to it because the 3.9 is what matters. If you write one keep it short and own the F.

You could address the issue indirectly through your personal statement by talking about why you became a much better student. If you go that route keep it positive, don't dwell on the first year.

[TLSanders]

I would lean toward not including an addendum, but that would depend in part on what you had to say. Do you have an explanation worth sharing?

[harveyspecter993]

I would lean toward not including an addendum, but that would depend in part on what you had to say. Do you have an explanation worth sharing?

I don't have a particularly strong excuse such as illness, death in the family or anything of the sort. If I were to write an addendum it would be something along the lines of "I was not focused and I've learned from the mistakes I made in my first semester as can be seen by the upward trend in my GPA".

[Ti Malice]

I would lean toward not including an addendum, but that would depend in part on what you had to say. Do you have an explanation worth sharing?

I don't have a particularly strong excuse such as illness, death in the family or anything of the sort. If I were to write an addendum it would be something along the lines of "I was not focused and I've learned from the mistakes I made in my first semester as can be seen by the upward trend in my GPA".

In that case, don't write an addendum.

[Nulli Secundus]

I think they would still care, to a degree. (Also depending on what the F is for, and its relative importance for your major)

On a lighter note, the amount of Fs a school gives about the individual grades in your transcript (as long as your GPA is over certain thresholds) is equal to the Fs on the transcript.

0 Fs = zero fucks given
1 Fs = one fuck given

You can extrapolate.

[harveyspecter993]

(Also depending on what the F is for, and its relative importance for your major)

.

It was in an elective I took in my 1st year. Its completely unrelated to my major. My major GPA is a 3.95

[Clearly]

Don't write an addendum. They are looking at your lsdas gpa and judging you on that. Drawing attention to your failures isn't a prudent strategy, especially without a great explanation of why it happened.

[banjo]

An F is a red flag, so you might get a JS1 question about it. Should be okay because it was several years ago. I've also heard of NYU emailing an applicant and requesting a clarification about an F. Preempting that doubt with an addendum might not be a bad idea.