Harvard LSAT addendum for a 170? Forum

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

What is the typical range of LSAT scores (25th percentile, below 25th, etc.) for people who write LSAT addendums to law schools? I know that I have just about no shot in hell of getting into HLS, but I am sending in a need-based waiver, so I will likely get to throw an app at them for free. I am just now debating whether I should write them an LSAT addendum as well, seeing as how my score is below their 25th percentile.

If I were to write one, it would address how there were multiple disruptions immediately outside my testing room which tripped me up on the first section of the test (RC), a section which contained half my total wrong answers on the test. I could also talk about how I have a history of doing better on GPA than my test scores would indicate (SAT, undergrad background).

What do people think?

[DoubleChecks]

What is the typical range of LSAT scores (25th percentile, below 25th, etc.) for people who write LSAT addendums to law schools? I know that I have just about no shot in hell of getting into HLS, but I am sending in a need-based waiver, so I will likely get to throw an app at them for free. I am just now debating whether I should write them an LSAT addendum as well, seeing as how my score is below their 25th percentile.

If I were to write one, it would address how there were multiple disruptions immediately outside my testing room which tripped me up on the first section of the test (RC), a section which contained half my total wrong answers on the test. I could also talk about how I have a history of doing better on GPA than my test scores would indicate (SAT, undergrad background).

What do people think?

wait, so you dont even have a 2nd score? not quite sure what you're trying to explain away in an addendum...i would not add one for sure. the argument that a standardized test is not a good predictor of your abilities is eh in this case because you did score well enough (170) that any GPA (even 4.0) could suggest that you're testing at exactly where you should be. If you have a REALLY low SAT score...it might be worth a VERY short addendum. imo, it wont do much.

short of that, however, I would not write one at all about 'distractions' when you have a 170 and no higher second score. it's a bit asinine, like sending an addendum for a 175, saying it should have been a 177 but you misbubbled. okay, i guess thats not exactly the same thing, but i love using the word asinine in sentences.

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

Yea. The 170 was my first try, but I felt I could have done a bit better. The distractions were real, and they did trip me up on the test. But if it won't do me much good to mention this, I will definitely refrain from stating it.

[calvmpv]

Unless the disruptions that took place during your testing were reported to the LSAC and documented by them etc etc, you probably shouldn't write about it in your LSAT addendum.

An addendum should just state the facts...not excuses. And even if there were disruptions, many things can go down on test day...you don't want it to sound like you're making excuses or looking for something/someone to blame for whatever happened on that section of your test.

[whymeohgodno]

Don't waste your or adcomms time.

[pinkzeppelin]

If your argument is that a standardized test isn't good at measuring your abilities, then use an addendum.

If your argument is that you should have scored higher, then take the test again and score higher.

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

Alright. That's totally cool. I will not be writing an addendum then.

But dammit, I always knew that RC would be the end of me...

[im_blue]

3.9/170 from USC is not getting HLS regardless of addendum.

[mst]

3.9/170 from USC is not getting HLS regardless of addendum.

This. And to make a long story short, this would be the admission officers response: "So uh... why didn't you take it again?" And in the 170 range, "half of my answers wrong on one section" is nothing to close to uncommon. When you only miss 9-12 questions total, the fact you missed 4 or 5 in one section is nothing amazing... it just means you are not unbelievably awesome at one particular section, which is usually the case with everyone...

[r6_philly]

Dream crushers! I am totally worth 185.