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Scored substantially lower on the October LSAT as opposed to the June one. Woke up sick the morning of the test, can provide medical documentation. Should I be writing an addendum? All the schools I am applying to state they take the highest score but I dont want them wondering why my score dropped. Please advise.

in the same boat my friend..i have to excuse for why my score dropped but tomorrow i plan on calling all schools i'm applying to and ask if they would like an addendum. i feel like for some schools even if you give them one they wont bother to read it while others might, guess it depends on the applicant pool. i'd say for you to call your schools too.

I saw your post. Sorry to hear that you are in the same boat as I am. This was actually my third retake. I didnt do too well in February, retook in June and got a much better score. Thought I can get an even higher one in October. Studied hard and was PTing around what I was hoping to score but unfortunately since I was sick on the test day, I could not concentrate and froze on one of the sections. As a result, scored much much lower than expected. I am afraid the addendum will sound like a bunch of excuses, although I can provide medical docs. Not sure what to do. In terms of calling schools, they usually dont give direct answers so not sure how much help that is going to be.

Eve0000 wrote:Scored substantially lower on the October LSAT as opposed to the June one. Woke up sick the morning of the test, can provide medical documentation. Should I be writing an addendum? All the schools I am applying to state they take the highest score but I dont want them wondering why my score dropped. Please advise.

You can write one. Just state what happened and be factual. Also, you can offer to provide said documentation in your addendum.

For more info: --LinkRemoved--

Thank you.

You should write & should have written & submitted an LSAT addendum already since your second LSAT was seven (7) points higher than your first sitting. If you have not already written & submitted an LSAT addendum for the first large scoring difference, then take this opportunity to briefly & factually explain both of your large score fluctuations.

Would something along these lines suffice....


After a substantial amount of preparation, I took the LSAT in June 2011 for the second time and had a seven point increase from my previous February 2011 score. I decided to continue studying, in the hope to increase my score after the October 2011 retake. However, on the day of the test, I woke up ill. As a result, I feel that my score on the October LSAT is well below my real potential. Therefore, I feel that my June 2011 LSAT score is more representative of my abilities. Medical documentation can be provided upon request.

Eve0000 wrote:Would something along these lines suffice....


After a substantial amount of preparation, I took the LSAT in June 2011 for the second time and had a seven point increase from my previous February 2011 score. I decided to continue studying, in the hope to increase my score after the October 2011 retake. However, on the day of the test, I woke up ill. As a result, I feel that my score on the October LSAT is well below my real potential. Therefore, I feel that my June 2011 LSAT score is more representative of my abilities. Medical documentation can be provided upon request.

That's fine.

Thanks for your help everyone. Just submitted my applications. Time for the longest waiting game ever.

If the same thing happened, but my only reason is general idiocy/ psyching myself out, do I just leave it?

The content of your proposed addendum is fine, but the writing needs editing.

CONSIDER: "Hoping to increase my score further, I continued studying and I registered for the October, 2011 LSAT."

franklyscarlet wrote:If the same thing happened, but my only reason is general idiocy/ psyching myself out, do I just leave it?

Probably better off leaving it so that it doesn't come off as an excuse, which it most likely will since you don't have any reason and stating that you were too nervous on test day is not likely to help. Sorry to hear that you are also in this same boat.

Eve0000 wrote:

franklyscarlet wrote:If the same thing happened, but my only reason is general idiocy/ psyching myself out, do I just leave it?

Probably better off leaving it so that it doesn't come off as an excuse, which it most likely will since you don't have any reason and stating that you were too nervous on test day is not likely to help. Sorry to hear that you are also in this same boat.

Thanks. I'm just relying on schools to take my 168 and not my 161 at this point.

franklyscarlet wrote:

Eve0000 wrote:

franklyscarlet wrote:If the same thing happened, but my only reason is general idiocy/ psyching myself out, do I just leave it?

Probably better off leaving it so that it doesn't come off as an excuse, which it most likely will since you don't have any reason and stating that you were too nervous on test day is not likely to help. Sorry to hear that you are also in this same boat.

Thanks. I'm just relying on schools to take my 168 and not my 161 at this point.

Many schools no longer average, or even consider, multiple scores, but only consider the highest.

Here's a list (info may be outdated) of various schools' policies (scroll down):

http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html