165 to 177 jump, do i write addendum? Forum

[pavementfan]

Hi! So my timeline is:

February, 2018: score cancelled
November, 2018: 165
March, 2019: 177

So I do have an "explanation" (if you can call it that) for the jump. About 1-2 weeks before the LSAT, a family member was going through mental health issues so I had to move in from my college apartment, at the same time I got out of a long-term relationship. It was a pretty shattering few weeks, and I decided the right move would be to throw myself into the LSAT. I was wrong. Basically, my headspace was really off, and the LSAT is a really mental thing for me. I was too stubborn to postpone-- I wanted to have the last half of my senior year to focus on job applications and having a good time, not LSAT. My "explanation" is basically stubbornness/lack of self-awareness given the confluence of situations.

My question is, do I write an addendum? What exactly should I say?

[cavalier1138]

No.

[pavementfan]

great perfect, thanks

[kaiser]

No need for an addendum. Great job on the high score, which will speak for itself.

[cdsmith]

I'm in the exact same situation (164->176), and I've been wondering about this. I believe that addenda only matter when the numbers would raise a question within the committee. One retake resulting in a significantly higher score is self-explanatory, so no addenda is required.

[QContinuum]

I'm in the exact same situation (164->176), and I've been wondering about this. I believe that addenda only matter when the numbers would raise a question within the committee. One retake resulting in a significantly higher score is self-explanatory, so no addenda is required.

You are exactly right. There is zero need to write an addendum to "explain" a 164 to 176 jump. Maybe an addendum would be warranted if the earlier score was obscenely low, like, I dunno, a 130, and there was good cause for that, like a medical issue on test day. But a 164 first take is perfectly respectable and there is no need to explain anything.