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Hi everyone,

So I'm just about to finish my undergrad, and I won't know for sure until I get my grades but, but I'll likely be sitting at somewhere around a 3.3 GPA with a 173 LSAT. I know I can plug those numbers into MyLSN and other places, but I'm worried I might have some extenuating circumstances that could affect my cycle. In my junior year I had a very poor string of quarters where I withdrew from school entirely one quarter and then received 3 F's over the next 2 quarters. With my number's alone, I think I should have some decent options in the T-14. However, I'm not sure if a bad academic stretch could ruin that for me? If so, will including an addendum help my chances at all? The reason for my poor performance was a sudden lack of financial assistance from my family that I was depending on, which forced me to work many more hours than I was prepared to. Although, I'm not sure if that's enough of a reason to go ahead and include the addendum.

Thanks for any help you all can give!

I think this actually is a circumstance that merits a carefully worded addendum. Intense, contained instances of academic failure demand an explanation, particularly when they are in upperclassmen years, and spun the right way it could actually help you. I'm assuming the rest of your transcript looks pretty good if you pulled a 3.3 with several F's, so you can try to justify yourself as a strong student in general. The key is to not sound entitled when presenting the reason -- many, many colleges students get along without the support of their parents for their entire college career (for example, myself and many others on this board worked throughout college to support ourselves), so be sensitive to that.

An addendum will be expected in your situation.