Not your average addendum question... hopefully Forum

[farszandian]

hey all,

so i'm going to submit an addendum to explain that i'm a chronically poor standardized test taker to explain lower LSAT. it's also been suggested to me that i should submit an addendum explaining why i haven't completed my Master's thesis 2 years after having completed my Master's coursework. i have legitimate reasons for submitting both according to an admissions consultant. my question: should i explain both in one addendum or submit separate addenda?

any input would be much appreciated!

[Zapatero]

What does your consultant suggest?

[FromRussiaWithLove]

I don't think either addendum is needed.

Do you need to finish the thesis in order to get your degree or is it a non-thesis masters? Unless you write on your resume that you completed a thesis track masters, you don't have to explain to the law school why you haven't finished it.

As for the LSAT addendum, I don't think you will get any benefit out of making excuses for your score and you run the risk of sounding whiny.

To answer your question, if you are set on sending, I would submit two separate ones.

[Kiersten1985]

I've read that if you want to make a case for being a poor standardized test taker, you have to really back it up with official past standardized test scores like SATs, etc. So be prepared to drudge those up and hopefully you did poorly on those, too.

I would be cautious not to send too many addenda. You don't want to be an "excuse-maker," no matter how legitimate your reasons might be.

[FromRussiaWithLove]

I want to add that an addendum regarding poor standardized test taking is ok in some cases. Maybe you have only been speaking English for a couple years or you have some sort of cognitive disability or, as some studies show, people from different cultures test differently as a group.
Factors like these are legitimate.

[farszandian]

FromRussiaWithLove: i do need to finish my thesis in order to complete my Masters degree. i should also mention that, traditionally, students from my graduate program and similar graduate programs do not complete their theses during the 2 years of coursework. would it be a good idea to mention that?

Kiersten, you raise an issue i didn't consider. i definitely do not want to be labeled as a whiny, excuse maker by submitting multiple addenda. i'll take your advice into consideration.

With respect to the addendum for my lower LSAT score (153), I do have evidence of prior poor standardized test taking (SAT: ~1000; GRE: ~1000) despite pretty decent ungrad (3.56) and graduate (3.91) GPA.


thanks for the info, guys.

[annapavlova]

I've read that if you want to make a case for being a poor standardized test taker, you have to really back it up with official past standardized test scores like SATs, etc. So be prepared to drudge those up and hopefully you did poorly on those, too.

I would be cautious not to send too many addenda. You don't want to be an "excuse-maker," no matter how legitimate your reasons might be.

+1. Those scores better be pretty bad, and your GPA better be pretty awesome. I submitted a standardized test addendum because I did shitty on the ACT and awesome in college. Did sub-par on the LSAT, and lo and behold, rocked my first semester of law school. You can use it to your advantage so long as the disparity is pretty clear. Your transcript should suggest you are a hard-working student and that you are capable of handling a rigorous academic load (taking more than you have to and getting top grades in those class, etc).

PM me if you're interested in seeing my old addendum (if I can drudge it up) or at least talking about it. I am reasonably sure this helped my case with a few of my acceptances.

Also, you better get working on pulling your old standardized test scores now. It took me about 3 weeks to get my ACT transcript, and you have to pay them big dough to hunt for a physical copy if it has been more than (I think) 4 years.