How much do GPA addendum's matter?

[coralconsulting77]

I don't know HOW much schools actually care about GPA addendum's, I assume your LSAT has to fall in range of their median in order for them to even consider it, but even then I don't know. I have heard that admins actually do care. However, my sources were on the admissions side from medical schools. I would really like to be in consideration for some of the T50 schools, many closer to T30, and would LOVE to get some money for school given the sticker price of JD programs. I am an older applicant (30), and have significant work experience at some decent, very competitive companies in the realm of media.

I am opting to do an addendum since based on my discussion with some sources, it made sense.

For me, I have a 3.16 CAS GPA and I am gunning for a mid 160's LSAT in June although I am a good 7 points away from that goal so we will see My story was that my parents were both pretty unstable (divorce, mental illness) right when I started college and I needed to be financially independent at 18 so I was working two jobs while in school and dealing with some kind of unusual stuff. Needless to say, my GPA was pretty abysmal after my freshman year (1.8) I think at a JC. I spent the next 4 years getting straight A's in order to make-up for it. My graduating university GPA (degree GPA) was a 3.57, My overall GPA from my JC was a 3.22, however, due to my wonky non-transferrable courses from my JC it rounded out to a 3.1 which kind of screwed me. I hope they take the addendum seriously and are somewhat forgiving provided the rest of my application is up to par, but if my LSAT does not break 160, I am dead in the water.

Do any of you experts have thoughts on this? I find these forums quite helpful for all LSAT related stuff, particularly as it corresponds with all my PS materials. However, I am a first time poster here. I am just trying to manage my own expectations. I'm shooting for the stars like everyone does of course, and there is no harm in trying but I like to get a somewhat realistic sense of the outcomes if at all possible.

[Dave Killoran]

I don't know HOW much schools actually care about GPA addendum's, I assume your LSAT has to fall in range of their median in order for them to even consider it, but even then I don't know. I have heard that admins actually do care. However, my sources were on the admissions side from medical schools. I would really like to be in consideration for some of the T50 schools, many closer to T30, and would LOVE to get some money for school given the sticker price of JD programs. I am an older applicant (30), and have significant work experience at some decent, very competitive companies in the realm of media.

I am opting to do an addendum since based on my discussion with some sources, it made sense.

For me, I have a 3.16 CAS GPA and I am gunning for a mid 160's LSAT in June although I am a good 7 points away from that goal so we will see My story was that my parents were both pretty unstable (divorce, mental illness) right when I started college and I needed to be financially independent at 18 so I was working two jobs while in school and dealing with some kind of unusual stuff. Needless to say, my GPA was pretty abysmal after my freshman year (1.8) I think at a JC. I spent the next 4 years getting straight A's in order to make-up for it. My graduating university GPA (degree GPA) was a 3.57, My overall GPA from my JC was a 3.22, however, due to my wonky non-transferrable courses from my JC it rounded out to a 3.1 which kind of screwed me. I hope they take the addendum seriously and are somewhat forgiving provided the rest of my application is up to par, but if my LSAT does not break 160, I am dead in the water.

Do any of you experts have thoughts on this? I find these forums quite helpful for all LSAT related stuff, particularly as it corresponds with all my PS materials. However, I am a first time poster here. I am just trying to manage my own expectations. I'm shooting for the stars like everyone does of course, and there is no harm in trying but I like to get a somewhat realistic sense of the outcomes if at all possible.

Hi Coral,

Interestingly, a not unrelated post came up yesterday on GPA addenda: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=26986.

In that case, the GPA was in the 2.5 range, but there was a similar break in performance—a low GPA beforehand and a higher GPA afterwards. What I said there applies to you as well:

"The GPA is an issue, and there's a stark "before and after" scenario here that you will need to address squarely, either as part of your personal statement or as a direct GPA addendum. That said, that explanation will go quite a ways toward mitigating this issue. It's likely that schools out there will understand they are more or less dealing with two completely separate scenarios, and I'd bet there's a decent chance some school will overlook those grades. It depends on the school, of course, and this is a good case where rankings do a grave injustice by forcing schools to focus on a single undergrad GPA. It only takes one to buy into what you are saying, and have the room to allow for the lower GPA on their record. Your story will likely be enough to get you over that hurdle I'd bet, so I concur with James here about your chances being better than they might seem if it was just a straight 2.5."

So, an addendum go a long way toward reducing concerns over academic performance; it then becomes a case where the school needs to get past the lower-than-25th GPA (which is where splitters are used to help offset individual cases). If you do as well as you can on the LSAT it will also help considerably, and give you a shot.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[coralconsulting77]

Thanks a lot for sharing that insight Dave. It's pretty helpful, I've been freaking out since I saw the CAS numbers and just assuming that my LSAT would have to be well above their median to even get a shot. It's great you help so many people out with this stuff. What goes on in the minds of adcoms is pretty obscure to me at this point, so knowing they actually consider this sort of thing is really helpful.