Addendum

[elavoy]

Hello,

I have a couple questions about including an addendum. I have two LSAT scores one from June 2014 which is a 157 and one from October 2015 and is 158. Is an addendum necessary or a good idea to include to explain two scores even if the difference is one point? My reasoning for taking the second exam was because of insufficient prep time for the exam (a little over a month!) the first time. The second time I took the exam, I was out of school for a year and working abroad while studying and taking the exam in October in Hong Kong. Also, how will schools view a one point increase on the LSAT? My PTs had been in the 162-164, so this score is kind of disappointing but I cannot take the test a third time.

My second question is about an addendum for a withdraw on my transcript. On my transcript it is stated as retroactively withdrawn (I petition the university to withdraw the semester once the deadline to withdraw had passed) from the first semester of summer courses. I withdrew from the first semester due to family issues and decided to take a different course the second summer semester, which I got a B in. So, should I include an addendum to explain why I withdrew from the first summer semester and then proceeded to take a class the second summer semester? I know that the LSAT does not include withdraws in GPA calculation but would this situation come across as inconsistent on my part?

Thanks!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi elavoy,

Thanks for your questions.

I would definitely not include an addendum to explain the second LSAT, but I would explain the Withdrawal (W) on your transcript. Many (if not most) people take the LSAT multiple times, and admissions officers are used to seeing multiple scores on applicant's reports. Given your PT scores, however, I wonder why you've decided not to take the test for a third time? There is no downside to three scores, as the vast majority of law schools will only take into account the highest score. Dave Killoran wrote a blog post on this topic a few weeks ago:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/should- ... -agree-yes

As far as the Withdrawal is concerned, it will be excluded from UGPA conversion as long as it's non-punitive:

http://www.lsac.org/aboutlsac/policies/ ... marization

From what you've said, it sounds like it was indeed non-punitive, so it won't factor in your GPA. However, it is a good idea to explain why you had to withdraw from the first semester of summer courses - it's something that could raise questions, and you want to address them preemptively. More info on how (and when) to write an addendum can be found here:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/153 ... th-addenda

Let me know if this answers your questions!

Thanks!

[elavoy]

Hey!

Thanks for the advice about writing an addenda for multiple LSAT scores. As for the withdrawal, I have one written but what if the school does not specifically ask for you to explain a withdrawal but rather this: "Please set forth any circumstances you believe may have negatively affected your cumulative undergraduate grade-point average, your performance on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and/or your participation in service or extracurricular activities." Which I took straight from the UNC School of Law admissions website.

Even though it doesn't explicitly say to explain a withdrawal, is it a smart preemptive move to include one?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Absolutely. They can't ask for every imaginable situation that could raise a red flag. I believe your withdrawal might raise such a flag, so a preemptive course of action is more than justified. Keep it brief and to the point