Addendum Advice Forum

[Kess]

So I've heard of people writing addendums explaining a discrepancy between their poor LSAT score and high GPA. I have this. I also had crappy SAT score, but still went on to get a nearly perfect GPA in college. Worth mentioning?

[CanadianWolf]

Yes.

[Kess]

How do people usually go about this? Do I contact collegeboard and get a print out of my SAT score?

[MrAnon]

no! Earning a high GPA in college is not very difficult. At lower tier colleges it is easy to rise to the top. At better schools you get grade inflation like crazy for everyone. Virtually everyone at colleges with easy admissions have low SAT and better GPAs in college. I mean, they have to right?

[Kess]

no! Earning a high GPA in college is not very difficult. At lower tier colleges it is easy to rise to the top. At better schools you get grade inflation like crazy for everyone. Virtually everyone at colleges with easy admissions have low SAT and better GPAs in college. I mean, they have to right?

I don't know if they have to. I went to a competitive high school and had strong GPA there too, but an average SAT score (1180/1600). My public college is decent and according to the transcript posted on LSAC, only 6% of all students have a GPA in my range.

[MrAnon]

So what is the point of this addendum? I made a low SAT in college but I got a high GPA, therefore I made a low LSAT but will make a high GPA in law school? Really, truly, the schools do not care. I mean, its nice that you point it out, but they are only going to admit you if you fit into their LSAT/GPA matrix, or if you don't then you must be a URM to be admitted. That's how it works, no exceptions, ever. Really.

[Kess]

I agree with you that they probably don't care, but do they also care when people have a crappy GPA because of one crappy semester? They probably don't, but people include those kind of addendums.

But anyway, thanks for the opinion, that's why I was asking if it's worth including.

[MrAnon]

Honestly I don't think they read anything anyone writes. I exaggerate a little, but not too much, because it doesn't matter much. The whole admissions process is very mechanical--If you are not URM it is all based on final GPA and LSAT. Of course they have to design an application and suggest addendums and why x school essays so that it looks like they are doing something in their administrative offices all year. In the end everybody has a bad semester because their grandma died, dog died, boyfriend dumped them, or were high as a kite before they got their priorities in order. No reason to apologize for it or explain yourself if you are an adult, that's my view.

[kublaikahn]

based on your post your GPA is 94th percentile. What percentile is your LSAT? If it comes in at 88% I would say they are near the same band. But if it is 75th percentile it should be worth explaining.

[Palavra]

The admissions lady from Berkeley told us to write an addendum to explain any discrepancy. She also wanted told us to write one if we had a high GPA but a low SAT score. I don't know how much it actually matters but that's what she said.

So I've heard of people writing addendums explaining a discrepancy between their poor LSAT score and high GPA. I have this. I also had crappy SAT score, but still went on to get a nearly perfect GPA in college. Worth mentioning?

[Kess]

based on your post your GPA is 94th percentile. What percentile is your LSAT? If it comes in at 88% I would say they are near the same band. But if it is 75th percentile it should be worth explaining.

My LSAT is at a terrible percentile. 64th =(

The admissions lady from Berkeley told us to write an addendum to explain any discrepancy. She also wanted told us to write one if we had a high GPA but a low SAT score. I don't know how much it actually matters but that's what she said.

Thanks

[theadvancededit]

based on your post your GPA is 94th percentile. What percentile is your LSAT? If it comes in at 88% I would say they are near the same band. But if it is 75th percentile it should be worth explaining.

My LSAT is at a terrible percentile. 64th =(

The admissions lady from Berkeley told us to write an addendum to explain any discrepancy. She also wanted told us to write one if we had a high GPA but a low SAT score. I don't know how much it actually matters but that's what she said.

Thanks

I would write one. Talking about your SAT score is one way to illustrate this example, but you don't have to provide extra documentation.

[Kess]

based on your post your GPA is 94th percentile. What percentile is your LSAT? If it comes in at 88% I would say they are near the same band. But if it is 75th percentile it should be worth explaining.

My LSAT is at a terrible percentile. 64th =(

The admissions lady from Berkeley told us to write an addendum to explain any discrepancy. She also wanted told us to write one if we had a high GPA but a low SAT score. I don't know how much it actually matters but that's what she said.

Thanks

I would write one. Talking about your SAT score is one way to illustrate this example, but you don't have to provide extra documentation.

Thanks, I think I will. I am going to see if I can find some documentation though.

[JamMasterJ]

1180 isn't low enough to be worth mentioning. If it was like 800, then maybe, but that's really not that bad.

[kublaikahn]

1180 isn't low enough to be worth mentioning. If it was like 800, then maybe, but that's really not that bad.

1180 type scores only warrant mentioning if you have something to contrast them with. High grades from a grade mill may not be enough. But if you have LOR's mentioning that you are the best student a professor has ever had, specific awards like winning a national engineering competition, etc., then you can show how even an 1180 is a poor indicator of your future performance.

[JamMasterJ]

1180 isn't low enough to be worth mentioning. If it was like 800, then maybe, but that's really not that bad.

1180 type scores only warrant mentioning if you have something to contrast them with. High grades from a grade mill may not be enough. But if you have LOR's mentioning that you are the best student a professor has ever had, specific awards like winning a national engineering competition, etc., then you can show how even an 1180 is a poor indicator of your future performance.

even still, a 1180 isn't that bad

[Kess]

You don't think it's sort of similar to a 155 on the LSAT? I am trying to find a table of SAT percentiles but can't find it.

I am really trying to make a case of the fact that I can do better than standardized tests may say of me (My 3.9 UGPA/4.0 LSAC GPA puts me in the top 5% of my class), but I don't want to make myself look stupid in trying to prove this.

[kublaikahn]

1180 isn't low enough to be worth mentioning. If it was like 800, then maybe, but that's really not that bad.

1180 type scores only warrant mentioning if you have something to contrast them with. High grades from a grade mill may not be enough. But if you have LOR's mentioning that you are the best student a professor has ever had, specific awards like winning a national engineering competition, etc., then you can show how even an 1180 is a poor indicator of your future performance.

even still, a 1180 isn't that bad

Right. That's what I am saying. Most college coursework today is set up such that someone who studies hard can get close to a 4.0, even if they are in the 1000-1200 range in terms of intellect. However, some very exceptional people do test poorly. If that is the case, the proof must lie in more than the GPA.

[Kess]

Right. That's what I am saying. Most college coursework today is set up such that someone who studies hard can get close to a 4.0, even if they are in the 1000-1200 range in terms of intellect. However, some very exceptional people do test poorly. If that is the case, the proof must lie in more than the GPA.

Well, I know that I have some strong letters of recommendation but I don't think that is something I can refer to- considering the fact that I had waived my right to see them.

As for awards, I had a scholarship for being in the top 10% in my high school class and won some essay contests here and there while in UG. I never entered any overly ambitious/ time consuming competitions, so obviously I've never won any. Ah, the luxuries of working to finance your UG experience.

I guess I have no alternate proof to speak of.

[kublaikahn]

Right. That's what I am saying. Most college coursework today is set up such that someone who studies hard can get close to a 4.0, even if they are in the 1000-1200 range in terms of intellect. However, some very exceptional people do test poorly. If that is the case, the proof must lie in more than the GPA.

Well, I know that I have some strong letters of recommendation but I don't think that is something I can refer to- considering the fact that I had waived my right to see them.

As for awards, I had a scholarship for being in the top 10% in my high school class and won some essay contests here and there while in UG. I never entered any overly ambitious/ time consuming competitions, so obviously I've never won any. Ah, the luxuries of working to finance your UG experience.

I guess I have no alternate proof to speak of.

That is a compelling application. If you can retake and score about a 165 you should have some very good options.

[moneybagsphd]

I'm confused. Why are we talking about the SAT? Law schools care about your LSAT score, pretty sure they don't even see your SAT score... Maybe I'm wrong?

[Kess]

Law schools do not see your SAT score. My adviser is recommending that I write one to say something to the effect of that standardized tests do not reflect my academic potential. In other words, that my average SAT score was not predictive of my success in college and the my average LSAT score is not likely to be predictive of my success at law school. Yes, I am fully aware of how lame this sounds.

[Its Always Sunny]

Your SAT is 75th percentile or so and your LSAT is 64th percentile. If you used that as proof I would assume that either you didn't study as hard for the LSAT as your SAT or you are worse at logic than math/reading. Your standardized test history is not that bad.

[Kess]

Your SAT is 75th percentile or so and your LSAT is 64th percentile. If you used that as proof I would assume that either you didn't study as hard for the LSAT as your SAT or you are worse at logic than math/reading. Your standardized test history is not that bad.

That's a very reasonable assumption, but not true. I studied a lot more for the LSAT than I did for the SAT. For the LSAT, I took a full Testmasters course (did all the homework) and after it was over, I did about 25 full length exams and went over them. For the SAT, I studied for about 3 weeks out of a Kaplan book.

My best section on the LSAT was logic games. I averaged -2. (MY PT test average was about 159-160. but I screwed up the logic games section a bit this time around and had a -5) While math was definitely my strong suit on the SAT, I was pretty terrible at reading comp for both the SAT and the LSAT.

I think one thing that can account for different percentiles are the different demographics of those who take the exams. Almost every high school student takes the SATs, but generally people with specific aspirations take the LSAT.

[Its Always Sunny]

You should have the same aspirations though of people currently taking the LSAT also. I'm just saying if you had a 4.0 being top of your class and stuff and a 800 on the SAT and a 149 on the LSAT you would have a claim. It just seems like the logic that the LSAT tests is not your strongpoint since you have performed better on other standardized tests.