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Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 3:34 am
by Danif2
I was wondering about sharing SAT information as part of a statement about the LSAT being a poor predictor of your future promise at law school. I am applying this cycle and am debating submitting this information. I got an 1820 on my SAT in 2009 (83rd percentile) and had a 4.41 GPA going into college. By the time I graduated, I had a 3.87, worked almost 12 jobs, was on the high honor roll, college honors program, phi beta kappa, and a couple of other academic honors and awards. BUT my LSAT (took it in december so not 100% sure) is hovering between a 159-161. What are your thoughts on sharing past SAT scores with schools?

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 3:38 am
by whitespider
Eh... I'd tread carefully. If your addenda comes off anything like your post, AdComs might think you suffer from Special Snowflake syndrome.

I mean, you sound like a smart enough guy/girl. Couldn't you just work hard to increase your score a bit?

EDIT: Plus, a 160 is about 80th percentile anyhow. How will your 80th percentile SAT score impress them?

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:12 am
by kcdc1
What does it mean to work almost 12 jobs?

My advice: you'll get into really good schools if you score almost a 171 on the LSAT. I'd focus on impressing schools with a good score rather than a good explanation.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:15 am
by pylon
Danif2 wrote:I was wondering about sharing SAT information as part of a statement about the LSAT being a poor predictor of your future promise at law school.
Seriously? I can't see how this would be positive for you. To me it would just come across as if you're whining.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 8:25 am
by InTheHouse
Danif2 wrote:I was wondering about sharing SAT information as part of a statement about the LSAT being a poor predictor of your future promise at law school. I am applying this cycle and am debating submitting this information. I got an 1820 on my SAT in 2009 (83rd percentile) and had a 4.41 GPA going into college. By the time I graduated, I had a 3.87, worked almost 12 jobs, was on the high honor roll, college honors program, phi beta kappa, and a couple of other academic honors and awards. BUT my LSAT (took it in december so not 100% sure) is hovering between a 159-161. What are your thoughts on sharing past SAT scores with schools?
Unless your 3.87 is from MIT in theoretical physics, I don't know that you're going to convince anyone of "the LSAT being a poor predictor of your future promise." 1. Law school exams aren't anything like college exams. 2. A lot of schools don't really care if the LSAT is a good predictor of your law school performance. They are just trying to enroll a collection of LSAT/GPA scores that help them maintain their medians.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 8:32 am
by hillz
OP, was that your first LSAT? If so, you desperately need to retake. Head on over to the LSAT forum if you want to work on a strategy for your retake.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 12:07 am
by Rigo
Honestly, your 83rd percentile SAT score isn't bad and 159-161 is ~80th% if I'm not mistaken. Those are hardly low enough to claim that you're a really bad standardized test taker.

Where are you having trouble on the LSAT? It's a super learnable test. It would be a great disservice to yourself not to retake.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:28 am
by Danif2
I have been studying since July. I just want to say like look my standardized test scores are not a good predictor of my ability to succeed as evidenced by my undergraduate performance. I know its not a bad score, but its not good enough alone to get into my top choices (USC/UCLA).

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:42 am
by sparty99
Danif2 wrote:I was wondering about sharing SAT information as part of a statement about the LSAT being a poor predictor of your future promise at law school. I am applying this cycle and am debating submitting this information. I got an 1820 on my SAT in 2009 (83rd percentile) and had a 4.41 GPA going into college. By the time I graduated, I had a 3.87, worked almost 12 jobs, was on the high honor roll, college honors program, phi beta kappa, and a couple of other academic honors and awards. BUT my LSAT (took it in december so not 100% sure) is hovering between a 159-161. What are your thoughts on sharing past SAT scores with schools?
No. You are not eligible to write a LSAT addendum as a 159-161 is not low and a 1820 is not low. You would write an addendum if your SAT was like an 820 and your undergrad GPA was a 3.8 and your LSAT was a 153. The SAT might not be a sound predictor, but you do not have a history of underperformance on standardized tests. I wrote a LSAT addendum. But you should not.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 2:52 am
by Danif2
Maybe "low lsat addenda" is a bad way of describing what I was thinking of writing. I just wanted to write an addenda saying I dont think its an accurate indicator of my future promise to succeed in law school. Thoughts?

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 2:57 am
by KMart
Danif2 wrote:Maybe "low lsat addenda" is a bad way of describing what I was thinking of writing. I just wanted to write an addenda saying I dont think its an accurate indicator of my future promise to suceed in law school. Thoughts?
Some schools say you can do this and suggest it in the LSAC App (Berkeley I remember being one of them) but I don't think your LSAT score really qualifies as "low". Personally, for a few more points which would get you into UCLA/USC. If, for whatever reason, that's not in the stars (it really should be) then I'd write one because you're going to need the help to get you into those schools.

Re: Low lsat addenda

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:34 am
by sparty99
imKMart wrote:
Danif2 wrote:Maybe "low lsat addenda" is a bad way of describing what I was thinking of writing. I just wanted to write an addenda saying I dont think its an accurate indicator of my future promise to suceed in law school. Thoughts?
Some schools say you can do this and suggest it in the LSAC App (Berkeley I remember being one of them) but I don't think your LSAT score really qualifies as "low". Personally, for a few more points which would get you into UCLA/USC. If, for whatever reason, that's not in the stars (it really should be) then I'd write one because you're going to need the help to get you into those schools.
No. You need to retake. Any person with a 3.7 or above could then essentially write that they don't believe that their LSAT score below a 165 is a solid predictor of their LSAT score. Also, you don't even know what fucking score you received! Lastly, regardless, you need to retake and take the LSAT two or three times unless you received a 170+ on your first try. Your goal should be T14 or bust or full ride at T25.