How Is This GPA Addendum? Forum

[b.j.]

Please excuse my GPA, I didn't make the best friends, and math is really hard. I grew up, and took easier classes. Kthanxbai

You realize plenty of math, science, econ, and engineering majors apply to law school and don't get any amazing boost, do you really think they are going to be sympathetic that you had to take Calc 1?[/quote]

Once again, it's not that I expect them to excuse it. I just want this to be a sort of, "Hey, I know that it sucks; I'm with you on that. I don't have an illness or other tragedy to offer as an excuse, just the realization of how badly I screwed up and how I learned to face the obvious a lot sooner and how to deal with a difficult situation." Or something long those lines.

By the way, I went up to linear algebra and number systems/intro to higher math (or whatever the hell that intro to proof class was called). My stupidity didn't end at Calculus I.

[b.j.]

I wish to reveal the causes surrounding my low undergraduate grade point average.

I like the lead-in... it's sooo mysterious. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for a John Grisham novel, but I got something else.

e: "causes surrounding" sounds like an idiomatic error to me.

I'm sorry to disappoint you.

[b.j.]

But a short 1) I chose the wrong major, 2) it took me awhile to figure that out, and 3) once I did my grades improved addendum will in my opinion not hurt, and will direct the adcomms to compare grades between class types (Can probably do this in 3-5 sentences).

However, perhaps the easiest way to draw attention to this is to split out your GPA between majors on your resume. E.g.., 3.8 Economics, 2.8 Mathematics, 3.3 cumulative.

I think this is the best advice if you really want to explain your grades, except I would say 3 sentences max.

That makes sense, except that it'd be something along the lines of -.2.0 for math-econ/3.something for history.

If I end up doing it, I will do it like that.

[cubswin]

I wish to reveal the causes surrounding my low undergraduate grade point average.

I like the lead-in... it's sooo mysterious. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for a John Grisham novel, but I got something else.

e: "causes surrounding" sounds like an idiomatic error to me.

It bothered me for precisely that reason. It sounds like he's introducing a magic trick.

IMO, telling the ad-comms your bad GPA is a result of lack of maturity is the exact opposite of what you want to do in a GPA addendum. I know you go on to say you picked the wrong major, but at that point you had already told me that you were immature and didn't have any friends.

If you were able to say something like, I was in the wrong major for the first two years, then switched and got a 3.9 for the remainder of college, that would be a good story. With this addendum, I felt like you told them all the bad things you should just let them infer on their own.

[calicocat]

Please excuse my GPA, I didn't make the best friends, and math is really hard. I grew up, and took easier classes. Kthanxbai

This is really funny

[fl0w]

If you were able to say something like, I was in the wrong major for the first two years, then switched and got a 3.9 for the remainder of college, that would be a good story. With this addendum, I felt like you told them all the bad things you should just let them infer on their own.

only problem is that it is difficult to say "I was in the wrong major" when you chose that major. You just made a bad choice. There's not really a good way to phrase it because you made a choice, it turned out to be too hard / the "wrong fit" and you performed poorly. I don't think there is a way to write this that will make admissions say "yeah, i understand" instead of "why is he shooting himself in the foot?"

[09042014]

Please excuse my GPA, I didn't make the best friends, and math is really hard. I grew up, and took easier classes. Kthanxbai

You realize plenty of math, science, econ, and engineering majors apply to law school and don't get any amazing boost, do you really think they are going to be sympathetic that you had to take Calc 1?

Once again, it's not that I expect them to excuse it. I just want this to be a sort of, "Hey, I know that it sucks; I'm with you on that. I don't have an illness or other tragedy to offer as an excuse, just the realization of how badly I screwed up and how I learned to face the obvious a lot sooner and how to deal with a difficult situation." Or something long those lines.

By the way, I went up to linear algebra and number systems/intro to higher math (or whatever the hell that intro to proof class was called). My stupidity didn't end at Calculus I.[/quote]

Whether you want to use it as an excuse or not, it sounds like one. In fact a GPA addendum is an excuse by definition. I actually do think you get somewhat screwed by it, but adcoms don't care, and this gpa addendum makes you look a little pathetic.

I thought linear algebra wasn't that bad, but you couldn't pay me to take a proof class.

[b.j.]

If you were able to say something like, I was in the wrong major for the first two years, then switched and got a 3.9 for the remainder of college, that would be a good story. With this addendum, I felt like you told them all the bad things you should just let them infer on their own.

only problem is that it is difficult to say "I was in the wrong major" when you chose that major. You just made a bad choice. There's not really a good way to phrase it because you made a choice, it turned out to be too hard / the "wrong fit" and you performed poorly. I don't think there is a way to write this that will make admissions say "yeah, i understand" instead of "why is he shooting himself in the foot?"

In other words, don't make a bad situation worse? Write good PS, get a better LSAT score, and then hope for the best, more or less?

I know a lack of maturity and everything else that goes along with it and not being in the right major isn't the greatest excuse in the world, but that's what happened. It's not like I expect them to suddenly be okay with what happened. I just want to convey that I understand the weight of the situation and convince them that I am determined not to make the same mistakes again.

[calicocat]

In other words, don't make a bad situation worse? Write good PS, get a better LSAT score, and then hope for the best, more or less?

Best idea.
/thread

[b.j.]

Please excuse my GPA, I didn't make the best friends, and math is really hard. I grew up, and took easier classes. Kthanxbai

You realize plenty of math, science, econ, and engineering majors apply to law school and don't get any amazing boost, do you really think they are going to be sympathetic that you had to take Calc 1?

Once again, it's not that I expect them to excuse it. I just want this to be a sort of, "Hey, I know that it sucks; I'm with you on that. I don't have an illness or other tragedy to offer as an excuse, just the realization of how badly I screwed up and how I learned to face the obvious a lot sooner and how to deal with a difficult situation." Or something long those lines.

By the way, I went up to linear algebra and number systems/intro to higher math (or whatever the hell that intro to proof class was called). My stupidity didn't end at Calculus I.

Whether you want to use it as an excuse or not, it sounds like one. In fact a GPA addendum is an excuse by definition. I actually do think you get somewhat screwed by it, but adcoms don't care, and this gpa addendum makes you look a little pathetic.

I thought linear algebra wasn't that bad, but you couldn't pay me to take a proof class.[/quote]

I was never great at linear algebra, but considering I took the class twice, I learned to appreciate it. I guess that was because I had actual human beings as professors each time, instead of the half cyborg, half human concoctions that I had for most of my other classes. (I'm not saying that I fucked up because of the professors, only that they weren't the easiest people to deal with.)

[fl0w]

I was never great at linear algebra, but considering I took the class twice, I learned to appreciate it. I guess that was because I had actual human beings as professors each time, instead of the half cyborg, half human concoctions that I had for most of my other classes. (I'm not saying that I fucked up because of the professors, only that they weren't the easiest people to deal with.)

Linear / Matrix algebra was my last prerequisite course for computer graphics. That sounds fun, until you realize that computer graphics in the computer science department is writing the CODE for a photoshop-like program as opposed to computer graphics in the sense of graphic design.

And then computer graphics was the prerequisite for video game development where I did my senior project. And THAT class made me glad that I took all of that physics because I had to "re-write the universe" as it were in terms of all those laws. Thanks for the trip down memory lane guys.