Question about addendum - interruption of education - need advice

The Wizards Baker

I am struggling with whether to attach addendum to several applications in order to explain a break in my education. Several schools ask for that information explicitly and I have provided it, but some do not and simply give the opportunity to add additional addenda at the applicant's discretion. Basically, I graduated high school in 2005 and I withdrew from college 3 times in addition to several breaks from school between 2005 and 2012 due to severe mental health issues. I also failed a couple classes. I discuss overcoming this obstacle in my personal statement but I do not go into details like "I withdrew from X school Spring 2006 to seek inpatient treatment..." to explain specific gaps in my record since I figured that would bog down the story. Long story short, my health took a sharp turn for the better and I returned to school in 2014 and my academic record has been very strong since then with no further breaks or issues. In addition, my CAS GPA is still good and my GPA/LSAT are over median for most schools I am still applying to, so I don't feel I need to "apologize" for poor performance. However, I still wonder if committees will see that weird stuff on my transcripts from years ago and have unanswered questions, which is why I am considering attaching a very brief explanation of the specific times I left school or took a break. On the other hand, since my numbers are good for these schools, I wonder whether it would be a bad idea to attach an addendum drawing attention to issues from the distant past when my GPA/LSAT and recent academic record are competitive for the schools I am considering attaching this to? My personal statement and applications are pretty brief overall and I am not attaching other optional statements. Any advice would be much appreciated. I am happy to provide more details on the situation. Thanks for reading!

Selene Steelman

Rather than forcing an admissions reader to put together his or her own timeline of your academic history by looking at your transcripts and dates of attendance, you should put together a brief, factual explanation of the interruptions in your education from 2005-2012. You could also use this space to explain any failed classes. I wouldn't think of this addendum as drawing negative attention to an element of your application or making excuses for failed classes. The admissions reader is already looking for withdrawals from schools or interruptions in your studies and will surely be looking for an explanation. Good luck!