Family Problem Addendum Forum

[burge104]

I have heard of addendums for an unrepresentaive LSAT being (death in family, bad test taker) but it it acceptable to write one involving a family member being diagnosed with a serious illness which in turned affected my weak LSAT score due to high stress levels?

[rw2264]

that's a family crisis that would definitely affect your LSAT score. a bad LSAT score + an addendum is not the best you can do, however. you can wait and retake.

[BriaTharen]

Depends on the closeness of the family member, how close the diagnosis was to the date you took the LSAT, and what the diagnosis was. Uncle diagnosed with asthma =/= mother diagnosed with 3rd stage cancer. I would definitely say you have a case. If you can retake, then I would think that is a must to show the ad-comms that that is your true score.

[ruleser]

Depends on GPA and what the score is. If you have a 3.8 and only pulled a 165 instead of the 172 you can do, maybe. But honestly, if you are a 3.4 and got a 158, don't think any addendum will matter much. A retake would be in order I think - especially since law schools prefer people take their time before applying, maybe work a bit first...

[burge104]

hey guys thanks for the replies... heres my situation: oldest brother was hopitalized (behavioral institution) multiple times and eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Because of the situation I was required to tend to my family, my mother is a full-time student and my dad had just started a new job which required him to stay three nights a week out of town. (off topic- new job=new insurance which caused a lot of hassle and stress w/ the illness, but i dont plan on adding this in the addendum) anyways, this lead to incredible stress as it occured in november and the problem is existent today. should i write an addendum, and how should i phrase it. I greatly appreciate your help guys.... thanks

[ruleser]

Again, without your numbers can't say. If you are just a few points below, or say are toward the 25th%, then that may be a good addendum. If you are far below the 25th, don't know what will help - especially without knowing GPA and what schools you are referring to.

[chadwick218]

I'm just not sure that it really matters all that much with respect to the LSAT ... it comes off as being unrealistic. You could have cancelled your score or sat for another exam ... if you think that you score is unrepresentative of your abilities, then sit for the Feb test and notify any schools where you have already applied of your intent to do so and ask them to hold your file for later review.

[burge104]

my gpa is a 3.43, and my LSAT was 150. I realize this is really low, and most people would advise me to retake, but I'm going to apply regardless. The addendum is seriously legitimate, and with the score, there really is no loss. I've got good soft factors, work experience in a State Attorney's office, graduated in 3 years, but really I'm not worried about retaking. If I don't get accepted somewhere mediocre at the least, I'll accept that fate and move on. I'm going to apply to CUNY, Catholic University of America, Syracuse, Hofstra, Notre Dame (A MAJOR REACH) and some Florida Schools.
Thanks for the help. I was just wondering if an addendum would really have any impact given my situation. Also, any school suggestions? SCREW COOLEY, I'll go into the Marine Corps before Cooley.

[burge104]

bump

[GeePee]

Honestly, the best you can do with those stats is maybe sneak into a T4, regardless of the addendum. I'm talking, maybe Touro in NY or FIU in Florida. Really, you need to take the LSAT again. There's no way around it; no softs that you could possibly have could be that good. Take the test again, get the 160 that you're probably capable of, and go to a decent school. Until then, I wouldn't apply. It's not worth it.

[burge104]

where would you place my chances at CUNY, Hofstra, FIU, or Catholic University of America...

[GeePee]

Still looks like you'd need a 151, even for FIU. You really do need to retake regardless.

[BriaTharen]

You definitely need to retake if you want to break into T100 since your GPA isn't high enough to make it realistic that it would pull you up. Also, if you are going to use the addendum, mention in it that you have paperwork to back-up your story.

[kate1721]

I'm also writing about a family problem for my addendum. Is it completely inappropriate for my addendum to be about the fact that my father revealed he had a six-year-old daughter that we never knew about during my freshman year, and there was a ton of conflict after that? It would really only be one sentence that says that, and then I would talk about my academic progression throughout the rest of college.

[BriaTharen]

You're softs are going to have as much affect as you think. For the schools you listed, this is what I think your chances are (based on medians and LSP):
CUNY: WL/Reject
Catholic: Reject
Syracuse: WL/Reject
Hofastra: Reject
Notre Dame: Reject (complete waste of money to apply there IMO)

Florida Schools:
Florida: Reject
FSU: Reject
Miami: Reject
Florida Costal: WL/Admit
Florida Int: WL/Reject
Nova Southeastern: WL/Admit
St. Thomas: Admit
Florida A&M: Admit
Stetson: WL/Reject
Barry: WL/Admit

Right now, the only schools that you are an auto-admit for (by LSN) are: Southern (LA), St. Thomas (FL), Cooley (MI), Florida A&M, Inter-American (PR), and Pontifical Catholic (PR). Four American schools and two Puerto Rican schools. You aren't looking at mediocre schools- you are looking at TTT, some with rankings that are lower than Cooley.

No amount of addendums are going to help the way a better LSAT will. Really consider taking it again. I'm sorry that was harsh, but better to hear it now than to waste your money on a bottom ranked school.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =2&t=99654