Feel free to send it my way. I would try to be as helpful as I can.

David Busis stated in a video that October was a good time to apply for law school. If you take the LSAT in December, you would receive your score by [Mid]-January. Therefore your application would only be completed by Mid-January. I have read that Law School Admission Officers put candidate application in piles depending on LSAT scores and Grades. I would advice that you apply for the 2018 class. That way you can maximize your chances of getting into northwestern [with potential scholarships]. Applying early in the process with a higher LSAT score would put you head of those who may have gotten similar scores and/or people with higher GPA, but lower LSAT scores.

However, if you cannot wait until the next application cycle, then apply in December and contact your chosen schools. I would not suggest that you write an addendum about why you received a lower score -to me it would seems like you making excuses for that score. Keep in mind that there are many students in that same situation who may have scored higher than you. Own your score. Better yet, just tell admissions that you'll be taking the December LSAT and your score should be release by January.

Also contact LSAC to know more about how to submit applications without admission officers seeing that you're already taken the LSAT. They can access that information once you retake the actual test.

Do not RUSH.

Best of Luck.

Please add me

You are in the running for Georgetown, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, Michigan,UPenn, Virginia, and Duke if you score at least a 169