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Hiya!

Kinda strange question I have today. I'll try to keep this brief. So originally I was pting in the 170's and confident I could get around there on the actual test day.

So less than a week before the test and I get extremely sick. I mean like on deathbed fever here, haha.
Unfortunately, whether it was hubris or a fear that I'd lose all the time and energy I spent studying, I surmised I'd just white knuckle it and be fine. Well...I wasn't fine. I ended up getting an abysmal 143.

Originally, I planned on cancelling the score, but thought I couldn't have done THAT poorly. Obviously, I was wrong.

Here is where it gets interesting. I prep again, wait for the next test day, and this time (while I'm feeling great) take it again.

I ended up with a 171 which I'm very happy with.

Now, my question is- how are schools going to approach this? Will they see the drastic discrepancy in these scores as a sign I either got lucky or am attempting to cheat? I'm terrified I've hurt my chances at top schools because of my first score.

Does anyone know what the protocol is for a situation like this or have heard of a similar story?

Thank you so much for your time and help!

There's like, mild anecdotal evidence that Yale and maybe Stanford care. Everywhere else, you're fine. If you were sick, an addendum is appropriate as well, but it won't really matter.

This might be the first time I've typed these words on TLS: I think you should write an LSAT addendum.

Keep it short. Explain that you were very sick. If you were so compromised that you mis-bubbled an entire section (it almost seems like something like that had to happen in order to explain how a 170 scorer could get a 143), then say that. You should be fine.

I've heard that the LSAC will sometimes ding high discrepancy scorers with a Misconduct and Irregularities report- as in, because of the startling difference in scores, they may suspect I cheated.

Obviously, this is not a road I would relish going down, but at the same time I'm not sure how to explain the difference other than I was sicker than I've ever been in my life.

Does anyone have any advice or knowledge about such scenarios?

i guess i would worry about a school assuming that i had accommodations (extra time, etc.) the second time around. i would maybe assure them otherwise (if that is the case). not sure if thats a great idea, but just a thought.

EpochNeed wrote:Does anyone know what the protocol is for a situation like this or have heard of a similar story?

I have indeed heard of a similar story: https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/ ... ecause_of/

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