Top Law Schools

Here's my situation:

-Was going to take the LSAT in June '09 (had registered earlier that year)
-After registering, was accepted for a public policy fellowship that would require I be out of town the day of the test
-Discussed my situation with the program coordinator to see if I could fly up the day after the test and was told that would not be allowed
-Coordinator then told me I could be excused from the day's events to take the test in the area (I then went to LSAC and changed my testing location)
-Thought I'd be fine if I just signed up for a two-week LSAT cram session taking place immediately before the test
-Realized I wasn't ready and having to drive two hours each way to take the test out of town probably wasn't ideal anyway
-My LSAT instructor told me that if I didn't want to take the test, to just not show up and it wouldn't go on my record

I foolishly did not verify this last piece of information. Now I have an absence on my record with LSAC. Anna Ivey mentions this as looking really bad on an application.

Should I include an addendum explaining the circumstances? I don't want them to think I just overslept or didn't feel like showing up or something. Yes, I realize in retrospect it was stupid of me not to verify this information for myself.

I'm almost certain that law schools won't care about one absence. Perhaps someone can confirm this.

I've asked some law schools about this and they said it was ok as long as it's an one-time thing.

hope this information helps!

schools wont care about one absence. I was planning on taking the test in June, but with 2 weeks prior to the test, i wasnt happy with how i was doing, and it was too late to cancel. I ended up not showing up for the test. An absence still lets you have 3 tests ( 2 if you allready took one, or cancelled your score after seeing the test). Just make sure that you are ready to take the test when you sign up for it ( or cancel the test befdore the cut off date)