Do GPA Addendums Actually Work?

[davidb123]

Hi all,

I have a cumulative GPA of 3.80, which would have been a 3.95 if not for my freshman year, which was a 3.33. I have a good addendum to explain the discrepancy - my mom had cancer and I helped my sister take care of her until her recovery after my freshman year.

I have a high LSAT (175), and I'm looking at top 6 schools where my GPA might be considered a bit low.

Will my GPA addendum help my admissions chances at HYS and CCN??

Thanks all!

[cavalier1138]

Depends on the addendum. Yours might have an effect, although I think it's only going to have a measurable effect at Y/S. You're basically guaranteed admission at the others with or without the addendum.

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case: Do not project what your GPA "would have been" in your addendum. You don't know what it would have been. Just give a concise statement about what was happening, how it impacted your ability to focus on school, and the fact that any sub-A performance is limited to that year.

[namefromplace]

Along the same lines, the GPA addendum won't work to the point where admissions folks just take your GPA for what it would have been. Where it does help is when you're compared to someone with a similar GPA that does not have an addendum.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Along the same lines, the GPA addendum won't work to the point where admissions folks just take your GPA for what it would have been. Where it does help is when you're compared to someone with a similar GPA that does not have an addendum.

I think of it like this: you're considering whether to lend your buddy $1000 to help him get his car fixed. If he's done similar favors for you in the past, that's a good GPA. If he hasn't, but is promising he would in the future, that's a GPA addendum. (And his LSAT score is whether he actually has the income to repay you.) It's just way easier, statistically and at a human level, to trust someone in the first scenario. Then, on top of that subjective consideration, a GPA addendum does zilch for a school's medians.

In sum, you're asking a school to take a gamble on you, and adcomms have way less room in the class roster for gambles than they do for sure things. Especially at the schools with a GPA median around 3.9.