LSAT Addendum for Score Jump?

Louislepauvre

I know there's been posts about this, so I'm so sorry.

I jumped 6 points from November to January (Yay! I got my target score!). I have a 12 point deferential from the June test.

Is it required to write an addendum? Would the schools expect it? A couple explicitly state it, and I have one written. Should I sent it for the schools that didn't?

Thanks for any input!

LSAT_Wrecker

If schools don't ask, I would not provide anything. However, if they do, a simple "I knew I was capable of scoring higher, so I took the test again" should be more than enough.

Louislepauvre

@LSAT_Wrecker said:
If schools don't ask, I would not provide anything. However, if they do, a simple "I knew I was capable of scoring higher, so I took the test again" should be more than enough.

Thanks! So, when I write them about my updated score, should I just tell them the score and that’s it? I have a draft of an email that says “if you require an LSAT addendum, please just let me know.” Does that sound weird?

Peaceofmind

How did you make that jump? Can you please share how to improve on retakes?

Louislepauvre

@KarateMaster said:
How did you make that jump? Can you please share how to improve on retakes?

I’ll do that once I figure out how to contact these schools!!

Leah M B

I think if the policy is unclear or schools don't ask, I would call admissions and ask them. They should be able to give you a quick yes or no based on your circumstances. Just tell them something like, "I improved my score by about 6 points in each of my 2 re-takes. Would you recommend writing an addendum or is it not necessary?"

Louislepauvre

@"Leah M B" said:
I think if the policy is unclear or schools don't ask, I would call admissions and ask them. They should be able to give you a quick yes or no based on your circumstances. Just tell them something like, "I improved my score by about 6 points in each of my 2 re-takes. Would you recommend writing an addendum or is it not necessary?"

Thanks!

Louislepauvre

@KarateMaster said:
How did you make that jump? Can you please share how to improve on retakes?

So I'll give you my answer, but of course this is only my answer and would'n't be the same for someone else. So here's what I did:

LR:

I think LR takes deep thinking to come to your own understanding and approach for different question types. For example, a light bulb went off with PSA in December/January (started studying in March) and once that happened it was pretty much impossible for me to get one wrong, even the super hard ones. For deep thinking, I think you should write out (by hand or on a computer) detailed explanations for questions and why you think certain answers are wrong and defend why an answer is correct.

RC:

There's a lot of advice out there on RC, but once again, I think you have to find the way that works for you. JY recommends doing those summaries in the margins. I did that for months, and I annotated a lot too, and one day I realized that I spent more time marking the passage up and it was taking away from my thinking/analysis. I tried a section without marking it up extensively. All I did was write the purpose of the paragraph in the margin (ARG for "argue", EXP for "Explain", C-ARG for "Counter Argument") and I put brackets around main arguments. At the end I wrote the main idea of the whole thing. I went from reading the passage in 4 minutes to 2, and I spent more time looking up the answers back in the passage to make sure I got them right (Remember: the answer is right there in the passage; you just have to find it). I also recognized that in the hardest passage (like that Multiverse passage during the November test), I wasn't going to get the analogy or MSS question right anyway, so I didn't even do them. With this strategy, I went from averaging -10 on RC to -4.

LG:

People sing the praises of fool proofing, and while I see the value in it to get the main skills down, I think you still have to be able to adapt to any game in front of you. That's why, I think, people complain when they sit for the actual test that the games were so hard (like the Mining Game in November). So I think for LG it's a combination of drilling, yet always trying new games (from old, old tests, anything you just haven't seen before) to test your ability to adapt.

The Whole Test:

I think the main reason why people's scores aren't what they've PT'd is that they don't do 5 sections when they practice. I never did, and I wish I had (lazy...). On test day, you're doing 5. 3, then 2. I think people should practice that way. For the January test, I had LG as my last section. In my PTs I average -0 to -3 on LG, but when I was that tired (I really was forcing myself to keep going) I'm sure I was making mistakes I wouldn't have made. I didn't think the games were hard on the January test. If I sat and did that section fresh, like just that section on a given day, I doubt I would've gotten more than -1 (I thought the last game about the apartments was so fun, and I'm sure I got a couple wrong on that).

Overall, I'd say you have to find out what works for you. Your understanding. All these teachers have some wisdom to share, but your experience through deep thinking is how you get there. Hope that helps!

Peaceofmind

@Louislepauvre
Hey I appreciate you take the time to type all that! I totally agree that we should find out what works for us personally. I hired a famous tutor for a few lessons before, super expensive, but I didn't get much from that person except what really worked for herself personally haha.
Congratulations on your achievement and I wish you all the best!

Selene Steelman

I heard from a panel of admissions deans within the last year that if there is a difference of 4 points or more, they would generally expect an explanation in an LSAT addendum. Good luck!