GPA Addendum

[Emmalinebf]

This forum was monumentally helpful as I studied for the LSAT, so I'm hoping it will be helpful here as well!

I'm debating over whether to write a GPA addendum.

Some background: I transferred twice during undergrad: from a private liberal arts college to a community college for a semester, and from there to a T15 public university.

My GPA was very good at the first two schools (3.74 and 3.9 respectively), but when I transferred to the university it took a little dip (not bad, but down to 3.57 at the lowest). My cumulative GPA ended up being a 3.68.

There are a couple reasons for this:
First, I went from getting a full ride at the private college to getting minimal financial aid at the University, which meant I had to work full time - my senior year in a management role. I majored in Theatre, Psychology, and minored in Criminal Justice, and as a theatre major (and actor) much of my time was taken up in rehearsals for class and shows.

Second: Being a transfer student created a couple academic snafus. For example, there was a mix-up wherein I got approved to be in a research class I did not have the proper statistics prereq for, and I didn't realize until the add/drop window had passed. I managed to pull out a B in that course, but I was essentially operating with half the knowledge I needed.

My final year did show a GPA increase again, but I'm worried it won't be enough for some of the schools I'm looking at (specifically NYU and Columbia). I have a 172 GPA, and a couple years work experience. Would an addendum ultimately do more harm than good? Or will it be worth a shot to try?

[Emmalinebf]

I should also add that due to the nature of my schedule, I would work early mornings and rehearse evenings with class in between, so my schedule most days ended up being 3:30am-10:30pm of straight work-class-rehearsal. In law school however, I would be focusing exclusively on school - no full-time job, no acting.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Emmaline!

I would not write an addendum for this. A 3.68 GPA is not low enough to require explanation and, unfortunately, working through undergrad is a very common excuse for a low GPA and so schools are not very likely to be receptive to it. Part of the reason that law schools care so much about your undergrad GPA is because they have to report it. They want to show that the average GPA for their entering students is higher than it is for other schools. That's why they weigh undergraduate GPA more highly than they weigh graduate GPA, even for applicants who have been out of undergrad for a decade or more. It's not that they necessarily think an applicant who has a 3.68 GPA cannot do as well in law school as an applicant with a 3.8. It's just that law school admissions and rankings are a numbers game and they want that high GPA average. It's not totally fair, but it's how their system works, especially for the T14s.

The good news, though, is that a 3.68 is still a high GPA and that 172 LSAT score is going to help you out too! Put your energy into writing a killer personal statement to make it even easier for them to accept you!

Also, here's another post where Dave went into some more detail about GPA addenda that you may find helpful. This student was in a different situation, but Dave's responses have some great general info about whether or not to write a GPA addenda:

https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewt ... f=9&t=7591

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey

[Emmalinebf]

Thank you for your response! I'm more worried about how they would look at the slight downward trend than how they would look at the overall number, but that trend is due to a number of factors that would probably read as excuses more than anything else. I just needed to see someone else's opinion about it. Thank you!