Law School Discussion

I can't speak to the effect that your prior arrests will have on your application. However, some good advice about submitting an addendum: don't think of it as a burden, a kind of tap dance to explain away negative elements of your application. Think of an addendum as a positive thing: another way to get your voice and yourself before adcomms, a way to highlight your achievements and positive elements of your application.

I don't know the details of your alcohol + autumn events, but you should generally be angling your explanation so that it demonstrates *positive* personality traits. Your loyalty, courage, commitment to your goals, etc. Then, after painting a heroic picture, you confess that in THIS PARTICULAR situation, you were too young/immature/careless. And thus, you were arrested/convicted. You repent and have never committed X act again; moreover, here are some tangible examples of how you're very responsible.

One of my friends had to explain breaking and entering. The story revolved around being bored in a small town -- seeking all kinds of challenges -- and then being dared by a friend to commit a crime. Of course, he acknowledged how dumb his actions were, and how he learned from them, and how he never did it again, and how X, Y, and Z all served as proof positive that his former transgressions were in no way indicative of who he is now. However, the critical part is that he went into the "apology, swear to do better, give me a chance!" portion of his addendum after first describing his many positive traits and how those traits had generally served him well. It puts his arrest and indiscreet actions in a better light, without detracting from his sincere remorse.

Good luck!

Two of my friends are volunteering at law clinics while waiting. I know a few people working in government agencies. Their goal is to network while waiting for their results.

For my part, I did apply to a few jobs before I received my results; mostly, though, I traveled and took care of the myriad details that had fallen through the cracks until that point. My theory was that I would be looking for work and then working basically non-stop once the results came in. (I had some savings, which I used to pay bills during that time.)