Addendum Advice Needed (specific situation)

Lyndsey D.

Hello,

I recently found this site and what a great resource! I am struggling with writing two addendum's that I need for my applications. If anyone is willing to take a look and let me know your thoughts I would greatly appreciate it. The first situation is that I have a cumulative GPA of only 3.02 (my graduating GPA is a 3.23) and I need to write an explanation (or do I?).

As you will see or have already seen, my education has had a life-changing effect on my life. I was not always aware of the keys that an education would be able to give me. Prior to giving birth to my first child, at 18, and during my pregnancy, I was given the opportunity to take running start classes at a local community college. I did not do well in these classes, in fact, I did quite badly. At that time, I did not know the opportunity that I was being given and I did not appreciate it. After I began taking paralegal classes and working toward my Associate of Technical Arts degree in Paralegal Studies, I became aware of how much my education would play in my, and my families, future. I did well in my legal classes, both when completing my ATA and my BA. As you can also see, I have not been a student since 2011 and I have most definitely matured and grown as a person and student.

The second addendum that I need to write is regarding gaps in my education/employment.

There are two large gaps in my education and employment history. The first gap was after I graduated with my BA degree and I was pregnant with my youngest son. Due to my high-risk pregnancy, I was unable to take on a full-time position. I was unemployed until the Christmas season when I was hired as a seasonal sales associate at Macy’s until my son was born just prior to Christmas. After giving birth to my son, I was unemployed for eight months while I struggled to find employment in the legal field with my limited experience. I have only had one other gap in employment since I returned to work in 2012, which was when I left a position that was not a good fit for me and I was unemployed for 2 months before I found a new position.

I should add that the first addendum is not required, but the second is. Also, my LSAT score is 75% or higher for all the schools I am applying to.

Thanks in advance!

_oshun1_

Write exactly what you wrote here. Keep it to less than a page double spaced. Did you have an upward trend in grades? Keep in mind that the point of the GPA addendum is to show that you are capable of doing well in law school, despite your lower GPA. So hopefully you have an upward trend in grades which you can highlight.

Lyndsey D.

Thank you! I do have an upward trend. I was never a straight A student but I also didn't get any grade below a C+ while completing my BA, and there were only two of those. The biggest problems with my GPA came from running start and when I first began college.