Addendum or Not?

[RyanM12]

Hello,

Is an addendum warranted for two dropped courses (non punitive) in one semester? Other than that one semester, I have never dropped a course. I dropped two courses as my mother was battling cancer making it difficult to concentrate on school that semester. To compensate, I reduced my course load and received A's in my other courses. In addition to the emotional aspect of it being harder to study, I missed on classroom instruction time as my family wanted for me to be with her for her operations.

I have a 3.7 overall GPA and an upward trend of a 4.0 my past two years so I'm not sure if an addendum is necessary. If I had just dropped one course, I would likely bypass an addendum but since I had two drops in one semester it gives me pause.

I've always wondered too, in a broad sense, do adcomms make any assumptions on academic performance based off a non punitive drop notation on a transcript if there is no addendum? I understand many people who drop classes do so because they are academically struggling or even failing....but it is possible that a student with a B or even an A may elect to drop a course for a variety of reasons....(For instance I had B's in the courses at the time I dropped them not because a B is a bad grade but because I knew I could do better under more normal circumstances so I don't want an adcomm to assume I was struggling and/or failing)

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the questions! While I don't think it's essential for you to write an addendum here, I probably would.

Why isn't it essential? Because the adcomms won't make an inference about why you dropped those classes. They simply don't know, and there are enough possible reasons that they can't assume it was due to a negative situation. They'd lose their minds if they acted on every unknown in all these apps

Why do I then recommend that you write one? Because you have the most compelling reason possible for dropping those classes. Explaining that to them eliminates that unknown, which is never a bad thing. The exception I'd make here is if your personal statement referenced your mother's situation. If it does, then I might consider skipping the addendum and instead adding in a sentence that explains what caused you to drop the two classes. Otherwise, I'd write a short and sweet addendum here and thereby have the situation fully covered.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[kelseyrw]

Hi Dave,

I am wondering whether there is something to be said about writing too many addendums. On the one hand, I would like to write one for my LSAT as there is a discrepancy between my first and second score, the latter being higher than the first. On the other, I am intending to drop a course this semester (the drop won't be on my transcript, though, as I would drop it before the deadline). I remembered that I had an AP transfer credit and would like to, instead, spent more time at my internship. I have a 4.0, but I don't want schools to think that I can't handle a full course load. Do you think that it's not necessary to include this latter addendum? More generally, do you think it'd be a bad idea to drop this course in the first place? That is, do law schools look badly on students who make use of their transfer credits and take a lighter course load for a semester? It might be relevant that I am applying to T14 schools.

Thanks so much!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Dave,

I am wondering whether there is something to be said about writing too many addendums. On the one hand, I would like to write one for my LSAT as there is a discrepancy between my first and second score, the latter being higher than the first. On the other, I am intending to drop a course this semester (the drop won't be on my transcript, though, as I would drop it before the deadline). I remembered that I had an AP transfer credit and would like to, instead, spent more time at my internship. I have a 4.0, but I don't want schools to think that I can't handle a full course load. Do you think that it's not necessary to include this latter addendum? More generally, do you think it'd be a bad idea to drop this course in the first place? That is, do law schools look badly on students who make use of their transfer credits and take a lighter course load for a semester? It might be relevant that I am applying to T14 schools.

Thanks so much!

Hey Kelsey,

Thanks for the question. Yes, I agree that there is such a thing as too many addenda! In this case, I'd say the course drop addendum is unnecessary. They will focus on your GPA, and one semester where you take one less class isn't going to stand out as an issue. Three or more semesters would, but not just one.

By the way, unless your two LSAT scores are significantly different, I wouldn't write an LSAT addendum either. But I'd need to know more there before making a final call.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[kelseyrw]

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for your response. The discrepancy between my first and second LSAT is 9 points. Do you think I should write an addendum in that case?

Relatedly, I'm finding myself in a similar situation this semester in re: choosing whether to drop a course or risking my 4.0. Do you think that law schools will look badly on two consecutive terms of taking 4 (rather than 5) courses?

Thanks, again!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for your response. The discrepancy between my first and second LSAT is 9 points. Do you think I should write an addendum in that case?

Relatedly, I'm finding myself in a similar situation this semester in re: choosing whether to drop a course or risking my 4.0. Do you think that law schools will look badly on two consecutive terms of taking 4 (rather than 5) courses?

Thanks, again!

Hi Kelsey,

9 points isn't a huge deal but it never hurts to provide more information, so I could see writing one here. The controlling factor would be how good your explanation is for the increase. If it's just "I studied harder the second time," then I wouldn't write one, but if you could point to a specific factor that affected your first score, then I probably would write one

Two consecutive semesters of 4 classes isn't going to cause any issues. There are so many reasons why you might do that that a law school won't read into it.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!