Explanation Grades/Scores

keevinkim

I went to a military academy where we were mandated to complete various physical education, survival, and combatives courses. The classes were notoriously difficult with less than 10% of the class receiving A grades. Because these classes provided course hours and were not considered "pass/fail" the LSAC included my grades in its GPA calculation.

Is it worth providing a similar background in my applications' "Explanation of Grades/Scores" sections? I have a 3.64 now, but believe that if these courses were not considered, then my GPA would receive a notable boost.

ClaudioD21

I would definitely address that. GPA addendums are for the most part ways to explain why you received bad grades. Maybe you were diagnosed with something, a family member passed away, you took time off from school, you were working a job or more, etc. I think the most important part is that you don’t make it sound like an excuse but rather own up to it while explaining why you don’t believe these grades represent your full potential for law school. “The class was hard” or “I had a bad professor” are examples of things to stay away from, in my opinion. Nonetheless I would still address this. Believe me I hate the LSAC’s way of calculating GPA. But law schools also don’t like seeing addendums that sound like excuses so I think as long as you own up to it and explain why it’s not fully representative of your potential in law school you’ll be fine!

valentina.soares-1

Hi @keevinkim ,

It sounds like you have pretty good reason to write a GPA Addendum, but the experts on 7sage's admissions team would love to talk through this question further with you! If you'd like to schedule a free consultation to talk with an admissions specialist about your question, here is the link:

https://calendly.com/7sage-admissions/free-consultation-with-7sage-admissions?utm_source=F_W_Re&month=2023-01

Best,

Valentina