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How could I go about writing an addendum for a lack of caring about school the first two years? I was in a major I had no interest in and my 2.5 gpa was the result. This year I've gotten my grades way up after switching majors and I have a 3.2 with 2 years to go. Assuming I continue to perform at a high level and my LSAT goes well (I know, a lot to assume), is there any way to explain the two terrible years to a top 30 admissions committee?

If your GPA ends up around 3.3 or 3.4 there are plenty of top-30 schools you could get into with an LSAT over 165.

Assuming that you do well the next 2 years and perform well on the LSAT you shouldn't have to provide a GPA addendum, it's usually the other way around, say if your gpa were to drop, then you'd probably have to provide an explanation for why your gpa was on a rollercoaster. You should be fine.

In short, "lack of motivation" isn't going to be very persuasive and might even come off as whiney. The upward trend may help, but only marginally. Focus on kicking ass your final two years and getting an LSAT score that is above the median at the places you're looking to apply. Schools will be much more likely to overlook your lower GPA if you offset that with a high LSAT, but some schools will be distant reaches regardless. Good luck.

I would say there is a strong case for you to not use the words "lack of motivation." It doesn't do well to associate yourself with that in any way in your app.

AngryAvocado wrote:In short, "lack of motivation" isn't going to be very persuasive and might even come off as whiney. The upward trend may help, but only marginally. Focus on kicking ass your final two years and getting an LSAT score that is above the median at the places you're looking to apply. Schools will be much more likely to overlook your lower GPA if you offset that with a high LSAT, but some schools will be distant reaches regardless. Good luck.

It wasn't so much that I was unmotivated with school as much as the premed curriculum I was on. It just wasn't what I wanted to do. I switched to prelaw and with that I changed my major from bio to history and anthro with a philosophy minor. I've been taking some of the toughest writing/reading courses with the intention of proving myself as much as possible. Its still possible for me to end up with about a 3.5 but thats not up to scratch for a top school. If the LSAT is there but the GPA isn't, could some kind of well written addendum help the cause? Thanks

daesonesb wrote:I would say there is a strong case for you to not use the words "lack of motivation." It doesn't do well to associate yourself with that in any way in your app.

THIS

Please rethink an addendum that tells adcoms 'yeah basically I was too lazy to give a shit'...I just don't think it would go over well.

hellokitty wrote:Please rethink an addendum that tells adcoms 'yeah basically I was too lazy to give a shit'...I just don't think it would go over well.

Would he even need one?

iYale wrote:

hellokitty wrote:Please rethink an addendum that tells adcoms 'yeah basically I was too lazy to give a shit'...I just don't think it would go over well.

Would he even need one?

In OP's case, I don't think an addendum is necessary. Adcom's will notice an upward trend in his grades and tons of people have kinda rocky freshman and sophomore years. I say forgo the addendum altogether actually.

KingJames6 wrote:

AngryAvocado wrote:In short, "lack of motivation" isn't going to be very persuasive and might even come off as whiney. The upward trend may help, but only marginally. Focus on kicking ass your final two years and getting an LSAT score that is above the median at the places you're looking to apply. Schools will be much more likely to overlook your lower GPA if you offset that with a high LSAT, but some schools will be distant reaches regardless. Good luck.

It wasn't so much that I was unmotivated with school as much as the premed curriculum I was on. It just wasn't what I wanted to do. I switched to prelaw and with that I changed my major from bio to history and anthro with a philosophy minor. I've been taking some of the toughest writing/reading courses with the intention of proving myself as much as possible. Its still possible for me to end up with about a 3.5 but thats not up to scratch for a top school. If the LSAT is there but the GPA isn't, could some kind of well written addendum help the cause? Thanks

A 3.5 won't kill you for top schools if you have an above median LSAT. I would know as I have a GPA lower than a 3.5 and I've been fortunate enough to get into several T14 schools, including a T6. The reasons for my low GPA are not dissimilar from yours, but I didn't write an addendum and I really think that was a smart decision. Adcoms have heard the "I wasn't motivated/I shouldn't have been pre-med/I wasn't mature enough for college yet/blah blah blah" crap literally thousands of times so let your upward trend speak for itself and don't bog down your application with anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

Oh, and kick ass on the LSAT.

hellokitty wrote:

iYale wrote:

hellokitty wrote:Please rethink an addendum that tells adcoms 'yeah basically I was too lazy to give a shit'...I just don't think it would go over well.

Would he even need one?

In OP's case, I don't think an addendum is necessary. Adcom's will notice an upward trend in his grades and tons of people have kinda rocky freshman and sophomore years. I say forgo the addendum altogether actually.

+1

AngryAvocado wrote:

KingJames6 wrote:

AngryAvocado wrote:In short, "lack of motivation" isn't going to be very persuasive and might even come off as whiney. The upward trend may help, but only marginally. Focus on kicking ass your final two years and getting an LSAT score that is above the median at the places you're looking to apply. Schools will be much more likely to overlook your lower GPA if you offset that with a high LSAT, but some schools will be distant reaches regardless. Good luck.

It wasn't so much that I was unmotivated with school as much as the premed curriculum I was on. It just wasn't what I wanted to do. I switched to prelaw and with that I changed my major from bio to history and anthro with a philosophy minor. I've been taking some of the toughest writing/reading courses with the intention of proving myself as much as possible. Its still possible for me to end up with about a 3.5 but thats not up to scratch for a top school. If the LSAT is there but the GPA isn't, could some kind of well written addendum help the cause? Thanks

A 3.5 won't kill you for top schools if you have an above median LSAT. I would know as I have a GPA lower than a 3.5 and I've been fortunate enough to get into several T14 schools, including a T6. The reasons for my low GPA are not dissimilar from yours, but I didn't write an addendum and I really think that was a smart decision. Adcoms have heard the "I wasn't motivated/I shouldn't have been pre-med/I wasn't mature enough for college yet/blah blah blah" crap literally thousands of times so let your upward trend speak for itself and don't bog down your application with anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

Oh, and kick ass on the LSAT.

what kind of ec's did you have? was that a big reason for your successes?