Addendum needed?

kevinteng2585

Hello all,

I have taken the LSAT 4 times (158 160 163 (flex) 167(flex) upward trend) would an addendum be necessary? I do not have much to say about the score increase, other than I studied and improved my nerves and comfort with the exam.

Additionally, do I need a GPA addendum? I only have a 3.19 which is below the 25th for most of the schools I will be applying to.

Appreciate any insight.

avoro002

I was told be a dean of one of the schools I'm looking at to write an addendum if my score had an increase of 10+ points. Yours is close so I would just write one. It's better to send more than less and leave less room for guessing. Just say exactly what you said here about your progress.
Same would be about GPA.

noonawoon

I disagree with the above user. You had incremental increases in your score, not one massive leap. I've heard deans say they assume that score increases come from studying more and don't want to read an addendum that just says "I studied." Unless the school's specific app says to write an addendum for your score increase, don't do it. Extraneous addenda shows bad judgment. If you got an A in French 101 and an A+ in French 102 because you studied harder for French 102, you wouldn't write an addendum to say you studied harder.

VerdantZephyr

@kevinteng2585 I would say it depends on the school. I was at a webinar about PS statements and addendums with Michigan the other morning. They said they ask for one if your score increases more than six points. In Michigan's case I think you should clearly write one. At another school perhaps not. The best advice I could probably give is contact schools and ask them, or attend one of the LSAC forum events and ask there.

As for your GPA, that really depends on other factors. Was there a mitigating circumstance that affected your GPA for part or all of your undergrad career? Did you start out with a really poor GPA and it got better over time? Did you just graduate this year or last year or are you 5 plus years out? These are all factors that go into writing a GPA addendum. If you graduated last year and you had the same GPA senior year as Freshman definitely do not write a GPA addendum. If you had one bad semester because your apartment burned down and your grandmother died they will definitely want to know that. Any addendum you write about GPA (or LSAT as well really) should contextualize your poor performance in a way that makes them more confident that you will not have those issues in law school. If there is a strong reason or if enough time has passed between now and the poor grades you should definitely write an addendum. If you cannot point to a mitigating circumstance or strong evidence of change in your life than an addendum is just going to point out poor performance or immaturity in your past that you have given them little reason to believe you addressed.