My Bachelors undergrad GPA is a 3.81, with my final semester being a 4.0, but my cumulative is much lower because when I first started college (to get my associates degree) it was at the outbreak of COVID + my living situation was not the best and my grades suffered. Should I be worried about this as it was now 6 years ago and since then I have been constantly getting presidential's list, etc.? Is this something I should write an addendum for? I feel since I have consistently gotten dean's and presidential lists since, then those alone show that I am a good student, but is it still important to write an addendum to explain the difficult situation I was in? SHOULD I RETAKE SOME OF THE COURSES I HAVE LOWER GRADES IN FROM 6 YEARS AGO?
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5 comments
Just a quick chime in from the admissions perspective, @KSki!
1) This is a classic and normal reason for writing an addenda! I'll see your transcripts and will guess that you struggled with Zoom U, but you might as well control the narrative. And per the other thread on this question, a quick explanation on the addenda would suffice. We all lived through the COVID era and I can read between the lines of "I had to take courses remotely and - unfortunately - my home situation at the time was unstable."
2) Retaking the courses won't do anything. LSAC's GPA policies are such that a retaken grade doesn't count.
3) I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about this. Why? Because it's already happened and you can't control those grades anymore. Rather, focus on the things you CAN control (like writing an addenda, prepping for the LSAT, etc).
I hope that helps
@JacobBaska Thank you for your input!
Write addendum and you're good. Explain why the grades were lower and why the higher grades are more indicative of your situation.
@Bagle Thank you.... there are various factors that impacted it, should I try to focus on 1-2, or should I try and give an overview of that point in my life?
@KSki I think you should be ok describing just 1 or 2 factors - your recent strong grades will speak for themselves! :)