Question about extenuating circumstances

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>Although I am posting as a new member, I actually have another account and have been a marginally active member for over four years. I’m posting under a new screen name because I would like to maintain a bit of anonymity and privacy regarding this question. Thank you in advance for any responses…I have been mulling this issue over for sometime, but I would really appreciate some outside views from those who observe the admissions process closely.</p>

<p>My situation is that I am a rising senior at an Ivy League school. I have a 175 LSAT, but a 3.0 cumulative GPA (3.59 Major GPA). My extremely low grades stem from a traumatic event during my first semester of college. To be brief, I was raped and subsequently spent the next year and a half in a depressed and listless state. The problem was compounded because I had a single room freshman year with no roommates to notice that I almost never left my room to attend class, and my family was on the other side of the country. My grades freshman year were abysmal, including one F, and they were also bad the summer following freshman year (because of my low grades, my parents wanted me to attend summer school to try and catch up, so I got an A and a D during that summer.) The trend since then has been upwards—As, Bs, and a couple Cs sophomore year, all As and a couple Bs junior year. I have good recommendations, including one nationally prominent professor with whom I took two seminars, and a well-respected summer internship coming up in a few weeks.</p>

<p>My question is whether I should explain this situation in my essays, and if I do, might I have a shot somewhere in the top 20? Also, would I be better served to wait a year before applying so that my whole GPA (I expect a couple points increase over senior year) will be calculated? I apologize for the length of this post, but although brevity was the goal I wanted to include enough information for people to offer informed advice. Thank you.</p>

2

<p>I am fairly confidant that you will be fine. I think you can even do better than top 20 considering your circumstances and your very high LSAT. Keep the hope and apply!</p>

3

<p>I would indeed wait one more year, if I were you. However, even without the extenuating circumstance, I'd already suspect you stood a pretty good chance at Georgetown. Add the extenuating circumstance, the year off for the slightly higher GPA, the Ivy undergrad... you might well end up doing pretty well in this process, although of course it's hard to say.</p>

4

<p>I'm so sorry to hear about your situation.</p>

<p>I would suggest mentioning it in your application, but in a short addendum (the gist being "I was raped, I was traumatized, my grades were bad, I sought treatment, I have been working hard ever since and think my later grades are more reflective of my current capabilities") rather than in your essay--an exception might be if your attack made you decide to go to law school....for example if you plan to be a prosecutor, or do womens' rights work.</p>

<p>Anna Ivey's book has some good advice about writing addenda.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the responses, especially the specific advice about how to approach it in my application. I actually am planning to pursue a path dealing with womens' rights and perhaps family law, so I will mention in my essay that my experiences have, to a large extent, shaped my career interests. I just want to avoid having my whole personal statement focus on one aspect of my life, or appear as though I am exploiting my situation to explain the bad grades. I just ordered Ivey's book--thanks for the tip, Stacy.</p>