JMC2433

Should I write an addendum for my low LSAT score? I only took the test once in October. I can't retake the test--I work about 60 hours a week, and have signed a contract agreeing not to have any other responsibilities for six months (until February), so I couldn't study much before, and can't put much more time in. This job was a huge resume builder and I didn't want to pass it up. I have a high GPA, and very strong softs. Should I write an addendum to explain why my score is low, and that I can't retake the test? Would telling them this give the impression that I'm undisciplined?

bluebayou

Not worth your time (because they just won't care.) The LSAT is a sorting mechanism, plain and simple.

btw: you could retake in 6+ months, such as June, right?

JMC2433

But will it hurt?

Others have any input?

sybbie719

IF you have a low score, you need to study and retake. Writing an addendum is not going to help your cause one bit. It is just this plain and simple. Take a prep class, wait and apply next cycle if you must

Axelrod

Why do you think that you scored low ?

jonri

Unless you found out you had a cancerous tumor 45 minutes before the LSAT, don't bother.

JMC2433

Everyone seems to think that I shouldn't bother. But what I'm curious to know now is will it hurt to write one? Will it give the impressions that I make excuses instead of attempting to improve?

@Axelrod, I already got the score back. It's not as high as I wanted it to be.

sybbie719

YES, this is exactly the impression it will make. IF you are serious about attending law school, sit it out, study and retake. Being a high gpa/low lsat splitter is not going to help your cause.

bluebayou

What could you possibly say other than you were not ready? OTOH, if your mom just called to say that she was in a serious car accident....that might be a good excuse, but then adcoms would wonder why you showed up at the testing center as opposed to going to the hospital.

Any addendum is lose-lose.

Other than those that score a 180, every other tester that day had the exact same thought. And an adcom would think your story/excuse is that special?

Neonzeus

My kid wrote an Addendum to his application, to address something he felt he needed to explain. Who knows if it helped or hurt. The LSAT/GPA predictors like lawschoolnumbers were on target either way. He did make it onto the wait list on a few schools that would have been slight reaches so maybe it made a marginal differences.

However, the Addendum should include something pretty strong as bluebayou suggests. Excuses for taking the test even though you weren't prepared for it (or for chosing not to retake because of other choices) may not be particularly persuasive. The reaction might be negative, instead of the positive that you hope for.

As others have suggested, this might be a situation in which you defer retaking the LSAT for a year until you can give it the time it needs. Otherwise your current score is going to affect your admissions no matter what you do.

Neonzeus

Just a note, my kid's Addendum was on GPA (a bad semester) not LSAT. He did re-take his LSAT and went up 3-4 points. That increase put him into the LSAT and GPA range of a different level of law schools. Two of his friends retook the exam, and ended up with lower scores even after studying.

You would need to research the schools where you were applying to determine how they would look at scores if you decide to wait a year and re-take. Some schools will average the scores, and some schools will take your highest LSAT. Either way, your first LSAT score is going to be on your record.

The point that people are making is that law school admissions tend to be all about the numbers. Schools are protective of their numbers and want them to increase, not decrease. I recall reading one law school admissions book when my kid was considering law school, which said that if your scores aren't high enough, they probably wouldn't be referred to an admissions committee where an Addendum would be read.