GPA addendum?

[galena]

Degree 2.74/LSAC 2.91/171. GPA is from 2002. I've since started two companies and have ten years of corporate work experience. I'm getting an MBA and have a 4.0. Borderline explanation for my undergrad disaster (HS valedictorian/dual enrollment/34 ACT but "needed to find myself" in college after a haywire upbringing--I imagine an admissions officer burning my app upon reading that).
Would a GPA addendum risk annoying the reader? Will my work experience, MBA GPA, and LSAT score overshadow an 18-yr.-old UGPA? Is it ludicrous to even consider mentioning high school?

[nowornever]

I'm in a similar situation (details are different, but same idea). I'm also curious about the answer.
Good luck!

[galena]

Also, and this is another stretch, is it worth noting that ten of my twelve MBA grades were 97%+ though only three show as A+ on my transcript (the highest possible grade in the other seven classes was an A)? Looking for as much ammo as I can muster.

Best of luck to you, too, nowornever!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Galena,

Thanks for the message! A few thoughts here:

• * If there's one thing I hate about law school admissions, it's the way undergrad and grad GPAs are treated. Because undergrad GPAs are the reported figure, they are used for rankings and somehow they have now become the standard measure, even if they are from another life for many people. So, that undergrad GPA is not going to be ignored despite your tremendous accomplishments afterward.
  
  * Because of the above, you should write an addendum about it. I would indeed mention high school (briefly), and explain that academically you've been a top student except during college, and then very carefully explain what happened. And use humor—it's the ultimate equalizer! I could easily see a variation of "I imagine an admissions officer burning my app upon reading that" in your closing sentences. If you can salt that addendum with some levity, it will score points and it will address what would otherwise be an open question (Why is this person so good except for their college GPA?).
  
  * The addendum and later accomplishments won't totally offset the GPA since none of them are reported, but it will counter it to some extent. You're clearly a different person than you were in college, and that will be clear to them. Let's hope they can then use someone else's GPA to offset yours (and then use your LSAT to offset someone else's LSAT).

I hope that helps. Thanks!

[galena]

Great advice. Many thanks!