A disclosure of this nature does not necessarily make you inadmissible for law school. However, non-disclosure of such an event is a far more serious problem than the impact disclosure may have upon your application outcome. It is not necessary for you to express remorse or shame when providing these disclosures. But, if you have learned a lesson, or if a further discussion beyond the basic required disclosure described above helps the reader s get to know you better or helps to complete the puzzle that is your application — be sure to discuss the event s in greater detail.
Addendum of this nature can be very helpful to those evaluating your application, as it can explain circumstances that present questions during the admissions review process. A good example is poor performance during a particular period in school. Were there circumstances that led to poor academic outcomes i. Help us solve the puzzle! Tell us what the issues were.
It is important that you address whether the circumstances that you describe still prevail and if so, how they might or might not impact your success in law school. Help us understand anything that potentially detracts from making your application stand out.
Our job is to notice these things! Although most schools including Seton Hall place the weight of admissions decisions on the highest LSAT score in cases where multiple exams have been taken , if your scores show a disparity of more than five points — I highly recommend submitting an addendum. Lacking any further explanation, evaluators will be left to come to their own conclusion about the score difference.
Provide the reader with the puzzle piece! The Diversity Statement is another writing sample that you can utilize to make your application stand out. Diversity statements are usually optional essays that allow you to illustrate how you will bring diversity to the law school and highlight ways that your unique perspective can add to the richness of the learning experience. Diversity statements are not just for underrepresented minorities.
Admit your own shortcomings. This is the best way to look like you have truly grown from the experience! For example, say when the event occurred, what happened, and why. Turn your negative in to a positive! We recommend this formula in crafting your statement. You only need three parts, as follows:.
Introduction — Why are you writing this addendum? It is always best to be safe than sorry, please ensure full disclosure of the circumstances. Body — Elaborate on your experience.
Discuss the impact it had on your life, what you have accomplished since, how this made you grow as an individual, and what you learned as a result. Conclusion — Tie everything together, discuss future goals, and how you are moving forward.
Remember — this is a statement. While your personality should shine through, it is pivotal to not come off as overly emotional. Also, keep it relatively short. If you have something like a low LSAT score to explain away, this should not be a five-page essay.
It should be closer to a half-page. If you law school addendum is on the longer side, check to see if you are following the four steps above i. Do not include to merely add as much information about yourself to your application — this will only hurt you. This article was written by Ashley Miri, who is our law school application consultant. If you need application assistance or statement review, please contact us at info jdadvising. Our admissions experts offer exceptional assistance to students as they prepare for the law school application process.
You can read about our various pre-law options here. These include LSAT tutoring , application assistance , and our new prelaw guide! If English is your second language or you have a history of underperforming on standardized tests, this would be a good idea to include on an addendum; the essay should provide a simple explanation for your score and offer examples of how your ability to succeed in law school isn't necessarily tied to your ability to perform on tests.
You should also keep in mind that some law schools may require you to explain a large dip in LSAT score—usually more than 6 points from one administration to the next. In cases like these, check the law school's admissions website to ensure what information needs to be on the addendum, and then form a concise explanation as to why your score dropped significantly.
Though keep in mind that if you genuinely don't know why your score lowered, you are allowed to say this on a required addendum. Anomalies on your transcript, such as a leave of absence, multiple withdrawals from classes, or multiple transfers are all good reasons to write an addendum. Your addendum should give context to these issues and clearly give an explanation as to what happened.
Explanations can range widely, and can include everything from illnesses, to deaths within the family, to poorly accommodated learning disabilities, to work and financial obligations. Just make sure to keep your explanations objective and stick to the facts without any embellishment when you are explaining something about your transcript. Addendums that cover criminal records can vary greatly.
In most cases, you will not need to worry about a speeding ticket or a fine over something small in high school; law schools are generally only interested in things that you have been either convicted or sentenced for. It is important to read the individual application requirements if you find yourself having to write an addendum like this, as law schools differ in what they require their applicants to report. When explaining a criminal record, you should take care to give the facts surrounding the issue and then provide a concise explanation admitting that you were wrong and stating what you have learned from your experience; you should always end an addendum like this on a positive note and describe how the issue shouldn't affect your application eligibility into law school.
If you want to read more in detail on character and fitness or criminal record addendums, check out this article here. When they reach the optional addendum part of a law school application, many students begin wondering if they should submit an addendum just because they can, or simply in order to explain something minor. However, you should only submit an addendum when it is absolutely necessary in order to explain something on your transcript or personal record that could negatively affect your admissions chances.
You should not include an addendum on your application if you only have one bad grade on your transcript, you "just feel" like your LSAT score doesn't showcase your abilities, or you plan to be argumentative about why a certain professor in your undergraduate college shouldn't have given you the score they did.
Before deciding to write an addendum, ask yourself if it is necessary in order to help the admissions committee understand something they would not have known otherwise, and if your addendum will be more of an explanation than an excuse.
If the answer is yes to both of these questions, it may be okay to write an addendum—as long as there is a very good reason to. You should keep in mind that if you do end up including a superfluous addendum, it could reflect badly on you as a candidate. You don't want to draw attention to one or two bad undergraduate grades, nor do you want to seem like you are making excuses for something you should have otherwise been prepared for, such as the LSAT or undergraduate finals you may have scored poorly on.
The most important part of your law school addendum is how you write it. Follow our tips below to craft a concise, professional addendum that will perfectly complement your law school application.
These key points should be included in most addenda, as they make a good base for starting your essay and can help you craft a concise, professional addendum. This is the most important part of your law school addendum.
You should start by discussing the part of your transcript, test score, or criminal record you are writing the addendum about for instance, saying "my transcript reflects a withdrawal during my second-semester classes" , and then follow up with the facts or circumstances that surround the issue.
Don't make excuses and don't try to push the blame onto others for the issue in question. You should be writing nothing but the plain facts and discussing necessary information surrounding your issue, without any embellishment or emotional pleas. This part is generally only applicable if your addendum deals with a personal choice that caused an issue on your academic or criminal record, such as an academic misconduct report or a possession charge.
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