Addendum Help/Submission

[Tj2464]

I am just about done with my applications while awaiting the test but my first year of college I was placed on academic probation but came off that following semester. I am lost as to start or breakdown the addendum. Please help, thank you.

[Robert Carroll]

Tj,

Keep in mind that you want to paint a good picture of your progress throughout your academic career. Since it seems as if you improved after an initial stumble, you'll want to focus on showing that your lapse was something you overcame. Generally law schools like to see an upward trend in academic performance and it's understandable if you had a bit of trouble very early on.

I don't know specific details so include what you know about yourself in a way that plays up your positive aspects.

Robert Carroll

[Tj2464]

I am still a little confused....I don't know if I should tell them it was because I was homesick and first time away etc...also how long should it be?

[Tj2464]

So I am asking what would be a way to start it....for example, My freshman year began as a struggle because etc?

[David Boyle]

So I am asking what would be a way to start it....for example, My freshman year began as a struggle because etc?

Hello Tj2464,

While the essay would be strongest with your own verbiage and ideas, the idea you mention doesn't sound too bad. (Though it risks sounding "whiny", if one may say.)
There is probably a balance, in cases like this, between the one extreme of "Woe is me, my life sucks, please have pity on me", and the other extreme of, "Everything's fine, this little glitch is nothing". There may also be a balance of length, e.g., lengthily explaining every little piece of context (I got beat up; my dog died; Teacher X hated me and made faces at me every day; etc.) versus explaining nothing at all and saying you had a bad year, with no further details.
So feel free to attend to the various sorts of balance. Also, you can read the essay back to yourself and see if it sounds convincing and coherent, or not. Is the essay something that would sound credible to an admissions officer?

Hope this helps,
David