GPA Addendum help :)

alysha

so i took some community college classes while in high school many years ago and did well on all except one class where i got a C because my aunt was having breast cancer surgery the week the final project was due so i wasn't able to finish it (i emailed the professor asking for an extension but she didn't allow one, and i emailed her years later saying it would affect my law school chances and she refused to retroactively withdraw the grade) and since i wasn't in college yet i didn't know what an "incomplete" was so i just took the L... but now its dropping my LSAC GPA by 0.04. how do i write about this in the addendum? i was thinking of just explaining the situation above but should i also write what my GPA without it would be since it's so much better? thanks for the help ) and good luck to everyone else applying!!!!

Selene Steelman

Speaking as a former admissions officer, if you decide to do a GPA addendum explaining the C, you should offer a concise and factual explanation of the unique circumstances of that time in your life and how it prevented you from performing to the best of your ability. I would not try to recalculate your GPA for the admissions reader or grade-splain your cumulative LSAC GPA. Good luck!

alysha

@"Selene Steelman" okay thank you for your advice! I was just worried bc my GPA with the C and without it are so different and without it I fall in the 75th or above percentile for most of my schools, and I was thinking including the number would help point that out. Do you think if I include the GPA addendum they would consider my gpa as slightly higher than the number presented? (I'm not sure if that makes sense lmk if it doesn't I'll DM you to try and explain better hahahah)

Selene Steelman

@alysha , I don't think the GPA addendum will cause the admissions committee to bump your numerical GPA. The schools have to report the numbers that appear in your CAS Report. However, during the holistic review, the addendum could answer any questions the committee might have or correct any misinterpretations about things they see in your materials. Good luck!