LSAT Addendum Question - Worth it to write?

[toledoal234]

Hello! I'm sure you get a million addendum questions every day, so I apologize for being duplicative, but I'm in a pickle and could use some advice!

I recently retook the LSAT in November 2024 (the crystal ball was insanely helpful, THANK YOU!). I prepared for months to retake it, as I knew this was the last time I could take it against the cap and because my most recent score was 2 years old (I have gone back and forth on applying to school for years and am five years removed from undergrad--the first time I took the test was 2020, and I was naive and unprepared). I was originally going to retake it in October 2024 but had to postpone because I had the flu, and I was excited to finally take it in November and felt good about it.

Two days before the test, I effectively lost my job (I work in government and the election changed my plans significantly). One day before the test, I lost a significant personal relationship. While I pushed through and thought the test went okay, I ended up receiving a 166, which is one point lower than my high score from two years ago. I retook the test because I genuinely thought I could do better, especially because of the recent test changes, but ended up doing worse than my practice tests because of the unexpected circumstances of that week. I couldn't cancel the score because of the five-year caps on taking the test, and I could not postpone the test to January because of the uncertainty in my employment situation.

I am pretty devastated, especially as I held off applying until December to wait for this score. I'd like to be competitive for top schools and have decent materials otherwise (a good GPA from a great school, strong letters of recommendation, and a great professional background), and I'm not sure if writing an addendum in this situation would be a good idea or would just look like making an excuse. I understand that schools only take a look at the top score, but would the extenuating circumstances in this case be a good idea to unpack in a short addendum, or would it be better to not bother? I feel like I need to explain why I somehow did worse, especially two years on, but I also don't want to draw unnecessary attention to it or look like I'm trying to tell the admissions folks to just ignore my LSAT score (which is of course unrealistic). Thank you in advance!

[Dave Killoran]

Hello! I'm sure you get a million addendum questions every day, so I apologize for being duplicative, but I'm in a pickle and could use some advice!

I recently retook the LSAT in November 2024 (the crystal ball was insanely helpful, THANK YOU!). I prepared for months to retake it, as I knew this was the last time I could take it against the cap and because my most recent score was 2 years old (I have gone back and forth on applying to school for years and am five years removed from undergrad--the first time I took the test was 2020, and I was naive and unprepared). I was originally going to retake it in October 2024 but had to postpone because I had the flu, and I was excited to finally take it in November and felt good about it.

Two days before the test, I effectively lost my job (I work in government and the election changed my plans significantly). One day before the test, I lost a significant personal relationship. While I pushed through and thought the test went okay, I ended up receiving a 166, which is one point lower than my high score from two years ago. I retook the test because I genuinely thought I could do better, especially because of the recent test changes, but ended up doing worse than my practice tests because of the unexpected circumstances of that week. I couldn't cancel the score because of the five-year caps on taking the test, and I could not postpone the test to January because of the uncertainty in my employment situation.

I am pretty devastated, especially as I held off applying until December to wait for this score. I'd like to be competitive for top schools and have decent materials otherwise (a good GPA from a great school, strong letters of recommendation, and a great professional background), and I'm not sure if writing an addendum in this situation would be a good idea or would just look like making an excuse. I understand that schools only take a look at the top score, but would the extenuating circumstances in this case be a good idea to unpack in a short addendum, or would it be better to not bother? I feel like I need to explain why I somehow did worse, especially two years on, but I also don't want to draw unnecessary attention to it or look like I'm trying to tell the admissions folks to just ignore my LSAT score (which is of course unrealistic). Thank you in advance!

Hi Toledo,

I'm sorry to hear all that happened just before your LSAT. I'm usually in favor of writing addenda, but in this case I'd suggest you not do so. As you note in your final paragraph, I fear this could come off more as an excuse than a real explanation.

Law schools tend to be sympathetic when they see conditions beyond your control--technical problems with the test, death of a family member--and while job concerns and a significant relationship loss certainly register, I fear they'd simply look past those and say, "Why didn't you postpone then?" And I think it would be hard to say your job uncertainty made it impossible. It's not impossible to do it well, but it's a really difficult challenge to write one from this angle, and a real tightrope. If anything you could write a draft on it and see how you like it, but unless you feel it is an exceptionally clean and smooth piece of writing and thinking, I'd be hesitant to send it.

Thanks!

[toledoal234]

Thank you so much for this answer, Dave! This is so helpful and made me decide to not submit one on that. Regarding the cap on how many times one can take the test, do you think that it would be worth writing an addendum for that? As I mentioned, the first time I took the test was in 2020 and the most recent time was last month. They've all been on an upward trajectory, with a large score increase from the first to the last, but I'm not sure if that warrants writing an addendum or if the amount of time taken between the tests and the improvement between each score is self-explanatory.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Toledo,

You mentioned that this was the last time that you could take it "against the cap." I just want to double check exactly how many times you've taken the LSAT?

Per LSAC, you are allowed to take the LSAT 5 times within the "current reportable score period" (i.e. since June 2019). I'm assuming from your post that November was in fact your 5th time taking the LSAT? If not, then you haven't reach the cap yet.

You also wrote, "I couldn't cancel the score because of the five-year caps on taking the test." I'm not sure that I understand this. If you have a recorded score from 2 years ago that is higher than your November score, why would you need to keep a lower score than what you already have on record? Or did you not use Score Preview and therefore not have the option to see your score before deciding whether to cancel it?

You asked, "Regarding the cap on how many times one can take the test, do you think that it would be worth writing an addendum for that?'

Again, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Do you mean should you write an addendum addressing the fact that you've taken the test 5 times over the past 5 years? In my view, this may be warranted, as it may raise questions among the admissions officers. Also, if there are any significant score changes (such as more than 10 points between tests), you may be asked about the "score discrepancy."