Addendum Sample

combsni

By no means, is this complete but some feedback would be great. My goal is to explain the night and day differences in my transcript between the first and second halves of my college education.
"I would like to explain the discrepancy between the first and the second half of my collegiate career.
When I started out in college, It was my first time away from home. I allowed myself to get caught up in the "experience" of being in college, rather than focusing on my studies. I was truly overwhelmed, I began to lean on alcohol and I quickly developed a problem."
Let me know what you think

Alex

@combsni I think it needs a little work for what you are trying to convey.

First, addenda should primarily be used to explain weaknesses in your applications for which you have a good explanation. Now, I'm not saying this is an excuse or what you experienced isn't a valid reason for grade discrepancy, but it may certainly read like one to an admissions officer. At least the alcohol part. Now, from what you've written above, I'm not sure if you developed a legit drinking problem, i.e., alcoholism, or just joined a frat and partied too hard. If it is the former, then it is a valid reason. However, I'm left wondering if there might be a better explanation.

Which brings me to the second issue. Bringing up that you had/have an alcohol problem can raise serious red flags. It can not only preclude one from getting into law school, but can also pose a significant C&F problem for the bar without proof you have undergone treatment.

If you had an alcohol problem that was bad enough to negatively affect your grades, they will want documentation that you received treatment of some kind to ensure the issue at hand is now no longer a problem. This documentation will also be required for the C&F portion of the bar exam.

If it turns out you just drank too much being away from home for the first time—like 90% of college kids do—I'm not sure I'd write an addendum for this. Perhaps there might be a better way to explain the grade discrepancy. For example, you could explain that when you began college, you didn't take it seriously. Then, once you discovered you wished to pursue law school, you decided to buckle down.

In sum, a good addendum should have these three things: explanation, taking responsibility, and evidence to believe the problem won't reoccur and/or has been resolved.

Hope this helps a bit!

Creasey LSAT

@"Alex Divine" said:
Which brings me to the second issue. Bringing up that you had/have an alcohol problem can raise serious red flags. It can not only preclude one from getting into law school, but can also pose a significant C&F problem for the bar without proof you have undergone treatment.

I second this. My fear would be that you're addendum might unnecessarily create more problems than it aims to solve. Mentioning anything related to alcoholism or addiction without a significant amount of time in-between (like, 5-10 years significant) will definitely raise concerns. Even if these concerns are totally unwarranted, it's only human to wonder. It's been done, though. You'd have to be pretty crafty and artful with your words, but, I really don't think it is worth the risk.

I would suggest approaching it differently. If you're grades truly show a glaring improvement after the first year or two, I'm sure that's not uncommon. You could just say that you underestimated the demands of a university curriculum. It took you time to adjust, but (as @alexdevine said) you buckled down. After "x amount of time," you changed what needed to be changed in order to be successful. In the end, you learned from from this challenge and can avoid the pitfalls of making the same mistake in the future.

Alex

@"Creasey LSAT" said:
I would suggest approaching it differently. If you're grades truly show a glaring improvement after the first year or two, I'm sure that's not uncommon. You could just say that you underestimated the demands of a university curriculum. It took you time to adjust, but you buckled down after "x amount of time" and changed what needed to be changed to be successful. In the end, you learned from from this and now you know how to avoid the pitfalls of making the same mistake in the future.

Definitely second this idea as well!