LSAT Score addendum?

taytay91

So, November scores are out! Unfortunately for me, it was a bummer.
I scored 166 in October in Asia but in the hopes of get at least 1-2 score bump, I flew to Canada and set for the November LSAT. I honestly felt quite confident after the test and thought I would get at least the same score. Yet, here I am with a 162... last LR section just killed me
I should've studied more in between and maybe I shouldn't have expected much from 1 month more preparation. If I am being honest, I was quite distracted by preparing for the admissions with my 166 score. But I was scoring solid mid-high 160s and I thought that was it.

Enough with excuses, here I go with my actual question.
I have taken in total 3 LSATs and my scores are literally all over the place.

158 in June 2017
166 in Oct 2018
162 in Nov 2018

I took my June 2017 test in the middle of my master's thesis research and I was overwhelmed by the test day anxiety. But after I finished my thesis and graduated this Feb, I had more time on my hand and studied, although I had to work part time to make some money. I believe this study has resulted in the 8-point increase in October 2018. And for 162 November 2018, I have explained a bit at the beginning.

I know some schools encourage and some schools require addendum for multiple LSAT scores especially when the score gap is big. And I think mine shows a big fluctuation. In that, I have no idea how to proceed with the addendum. I would like to highlight my 166 score shows my potential the best, but the 4-point drop in Nov 2018 poses a significant challenge in doing so. I know I am going out on a limb here by saying that I have no idea how to proceed, I would surely appreciate anyone's input on my situation.

Thanks! And congrats to all who sat for Nov 2018! I wish the best for all of you in this admissions cycle!

Sam Tyler

Most schools just consider your best attempt, especially those with LSAT medians 165 and below, so i would not worry too much about this. That being said, this score will look bad to schools that consider all LSATS, since they will assume your true ability is around a 164. For your own knowledge, you should look up the admissions policies of your schools you applied and see what they list under LSAT considerations, if your interested in gauging your chances for each school.

I think that if you write an addendum, it should address your last score, and not the first lower score. Trying to make excuses for two scores at once will look bad, let the first two speak for themselves (you improved, after all). Was it simply not studying hard enough that led to the score drop, or we're there any other factors you could address? It's not really worth writing an addendum if your just going to say you didn't try hard enough. The whole point of the addendum is to address why a low score WASN'T the result of lack of effort, but factors beyond your control.

This really isn't a big deal either way and you still have a great LSAT on file!