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another addendum question but with a twist...

Honeydew918Honeydew918 Free Trial Member
in Law School Admissions 5 karma

Hi all! I'm thinking about writing an addendum because my academic history is a little unorthodox. Considering the addendum is disliked, I wanted to get all of your opinions.

In high school I had a 3.92 weighted GPA. When I was studying for the SAT in 2012, I studied as hard as I could, but it was no use. I took a practice test and received a 1440/2400. Considering the predictive value of the SAT and future success, I was discouraged from even applying to colleges. I didn't take the SAT because I didn't want to waste money to confirm a low score and directly enrolled in a community college. When I was accepted as a transfer student to UC Berkeley I was terrified because high school was more rigorous than community college. However, I worked two jobs and graduated a semester early with a 3.92 GPA. My high school GPA was coincidently a direct prediction of my UC Berkeley GPA and future success.

When I took my first LSAT diagnostic I received a 138. I spent the next 6 months studying and in September 2016 I received a 147. I was devastated, but I continued studying because I was determined. I was working a full time job, with a 2 hour commute, and spending a minimum of 3 hours a day studying during the weekdays. (Weekends, of course, I spent 4 hours minimum.) I continued this schedule for a year and half until I took the June 2018 test and received a 161. Although this is a great score, I'm still convinced it's not reflective of my abilities*

My issues include:
1. I don't want to complain, but I feel like overcoming the burden of standardized testing truly was an obstacle and it reflects my passion and persistence. Or am I completely off base and need a reality check?!
3. I have no record of the practice SAT I took and I didn't take the SAT to officially document it

My goals:
1. BOALT! I can live with family and save money
2. Large scholarship, I can't afford law school otherwise

*Before, I hear another retake argument, I think it is safe to say that studying the LSAT for a total of 2 years is as good as it's going to get. I've memorized all the practice tests and taken them multiple times.

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Comments

  • _oshun1__oshun1_ Alum Member
    3652 karma

    You will have to write an addendum explaining the LSAT score increase. A lot of (most?) schools require it, so you can tie in whatever you think fits into there. I don't think you should write an LSAT score increase addendum as well as a the LSAT doesnt reflect my abilities addendum.

    A lot of people work full time and study so I really don't think they will put any weight on that at all but if it is a required addendum, there isn't much else you can say. If you don't have a proven track record of not doing well on standardized tests, I'm not sure you can say you have test anxiety.

    Also, you arent going to get a large scholarship from Boalt with those stats. They arent very generous as it is, and your LSAT is below their 25th. Maybe if you are URM you might get a little boost so instead of them tossing you 10k/year for the GPA, you might get 15-20k a year.

    Also, retake.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    This is tough. You probably should write an addendum but might need to take a few cracks at it and have people read it over to see if it's going to be helpful.

    As for Berkeley Law, it's going to be tough. They obviously are very selective and generally don't offer large scholarships at all.

    They have started an early decision program, which comes with a $60k scholarship (total, so $20k per year). You could shoot for that, but also know that it would take away any negotiating power and would commit you to Berkeley. So only do that if you 100% would attend Berkeley with a $60k scholarship.

    If by chance you are a first generation college graduate (your parents don't have college degrees), you could apply for the Berkeley Law Opportunity Scholarship, which is a full tuition and fee award for all 3 years.

  • JustDoItJustDoIt Alum Member ⭐
    3112 karma

    You certainly should write an addendum but also keep working at it. I started with a 135 and am now attending HLS. Don’t ever give up. Seriously. Buckle down, get to know the test, and increase your score. Not saying you need a median LSAT score with a GPA like that, especially with a compelling addendum. But you definitely need to move that LSAT up a bit.

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    @JustDoIt said:
    You certainly should write an addendum but also keep working at it. I started with a 135 and am now attending HLS. Don’t ever give up. Seriously. Buckle down, get to know the test, and increase your score. Not saying you need a median LSAT score with a GPA like that, especially with a compelling addendum. But you definitely need to move that LSAT up a bit.

    Any idea of how LSAT scores less than 25th; between the 25th and 50th; and those at the 25th are weighted in the rankings or admissions?

    I speculate that if, assuming it wouldn't result in a shifted value, a school is going to accept an applicant with an LSAT below the 25th percentile then it wouldn't matter how far below the 25th.

  • samantha.ashley92samantha.ashley92 Alum Member
    1777 karma

    I haven't heard anything about an addendum being bad. I would definitely encourage you to write one, especially since your high GPA is going to make you a "splitter" applicant. And I hate to say it, but you do have the opportunity to improve with a retake. If you've memorized the PTs, you should be able to improve a ton in LG-- which is basically memorizing the inferences you should use on a problem.

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