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December 2009: 159
June 2010: 170

Truth: Was getting 168-172 on practice tests, but the anxiety of test day, bad strategy, etc. made me choke a couple sections on the Dec. 2009 test. I changed up my strategy, had a great experience on the June exam and did well.

Do adcomms want to hear the story of how I worked REALLY hard to strategize and do better the second time around, or will they be picking my addendum apart with hypotheticals like "well if anxiety makes him choke the LSAT, will he choke in court?"

In other words, am I better off giving them the "I had the flu, but didn't want to cancel because I didn't think I did that bad" story?

The short answer: don't write an addendum.

tl;dr

Tell the truth in an addendum, if you need to write one. If you don't need to write one, don't write one.

If you retake and score significantly higher, I think you can write a addendum saying you had anxiety on the first test and believe the second is more indicative of your true ability.

Why even bother writing anything? You had one bad test and one good test. It happens all the time. Why bother them with even more stuff to read that they probably don't care about?

A 170 is a 170.

kalvano wrote:Why even bother writing anything? You had one bad test and one good test. It happens all the time. Why bother them with even more stuff to read that they probably don't care about?

A 170 is a 170.

Most schools state that they want an addendum if there is a discrepancy of more than 4-5 points. Believe me I wouldn't bother, but I don't want to leave something out of the application that they explicitly ask for.

Sick, didn't think it would affect you the way it did.

Dear Admissions Committee -

During my initial LSAT exam, though I had done well on practice tests, I suffered from test day anxiety and my score was nowhere close to my practice scores. On my subsequent test, having studied further and knowing what to expect, I received a score commensurate with my practice tests.

Sincerely,
I.M. Sinistar

iamsinistar wrote:

kalvano wrote:Why even bother writing anything? You had one bad test and one good test. It happens all the time. Why bother them with even more stuff to read that they probably don't care about?

A 170 is a 170.

Most schools state that they want an addendum if there is a discrepancy of more than 4-5 points. Believe me I wouldn't bother, but I don't want to leave something out of the application that they explicitly ask for.

Agreed. Just say you were anxious. I don't think schools will care that you have anxiety before an important test like the LSAT. We were all nervous for it. And I doubt that schools will transfer that quality to your courtroom demeanor. Anyway, your high score on the second test indicates that you were able to overcome your anxiety and perform extremely well. Write the addendum.