Writing a "Why X School" addendum

davi2526

Plenty of schools have an optional essay where you write why you want to attend that particular law school, but can you also just write an optional addendum essay explaining why you want to go to a certain school even if it's not mentioned.

I wrote down that UCLA mentioned applicants could write an optional essay on why they wanted to attend, but now that I'm looking at the application, I see that I've made that up. Still, I did some good research and have some compelling, specific reasons for wanting to go there - is it wise to just write up a short essay (2 paragraphs or so, or around 250 words) about why UCLA appeals to me and just submit it as a general addendum? Or are addendum's only supposed to be explanations for bad grades/bad LSAT scores?

dudejay25

I was told my by my pre law advisor that the addendum should really only be used to explain anything that could confuse an admissions rep or leave them asking questions. For example, you may use the addendum to explain why you transferred schools after junior year. Now, if you could find a way to use that explanation as a reason for wanting to attend law school X, go for it. But I wouldn't recommend using the addendum for just a "why law school X" essay because the admissions reps are so busy they'd rather not have to read anything more, especially something that wasn't asked in the application.

davi2526

Yeah, that makes sense. I certainly don't want to give the admissions reps more to do. Thanks for the info!