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Advice on addendum regarding January 2019 LSAT incident
futurelawstudent
Member
Hi everyone,
I just took the January LSAT.
After the break, we had a RC section, an LR section, and the writing sample.
I had been feeling ok about things before the break and since I like RC (I know...I'm a freak) I was kind of thrilled to see the second RC section when I opened to it after the break.
About six or seven minutes in, the person sitting next to me raised his hand and was waving it in such a way that I was aware he was trying to get the proctors' attention. I tried to ignore this and carry on with my test. Not super successfully. The proctors were not noticing him, I guess, so eventually he had to ACTUALLY SAY, "Excuse me, sir..." At which point a proctor came over. Me: still trying to focus, though dismally unsuccessful at it by this point. I did not look up to see what was going on, but he did get up, walk behind my chair, and left. Then a few minutes later, he came back. Such a disturbance.
CAN YOU IMAGINE the wrench this threw in my game? I totally lost focus. I could not (not that this is to my credit, but is true) get my game back on after he came back and sat down because freakout. I ended up vaguely doing 3 sections in the 4 section LR. Just not able to take in what I was looking at. When I went on to the next section, which was an LR section, I was still freaking out about having screwed up the RC. And so it went. Not good. Tres sad, actually.
After the test was finished, I went and spoke to the proctors and asked them to write the incident up because I am going to write to LSAC and formally state that I feel certain my score suffered as a result of the disturbance.
Since my application deadlines are 1/31(they do accept the January test scores), do you think I should write an Addendum about this incident and state that I've sent a formal complaint to LSAC and include it with the rest of my application material?
This is my first time taking the LSAT.
BTW, I learned that the person next to me had a nose bleed, is what it was all about. Poor guy. Poor me. Argh. Life sometimes...
I'd really appreciate any and all input.
Thanks and I hope everyone else did ok.
Comments
Honestly, this isn’t an “incident.” instead of dead silence there was like, a 3 word exchange in your vicinity. it probably had no effect on your score.
If someone needs to go to the bathroom during the exam, that’s what happens, they have to try to get the proctors attention and then leave the room and come back to their seat.
@oshun1 Thanks for your perspective. I guess, to me, it did feel like it had an impact. Also, no one I know has ever left an LSAT to go to the bathroom. I do realize it's an option.
I feel bad for you, but as much as I hate to say it, you should've been aware of the possibility of something like this happening. I took the LSAT in November and there was this chick with this really loud cough at my test center; at some points, she would cough repeatedly for a minute or so. Not that that was her fault. But it was really annoying in that context. You can't go around looking for someone to blame (I'm not saying that's what you're doing - I mean in general, none of us can). I'm sure many of us could come up with something similar if we wanted. Don't write an addendum for this in your apps. It'd probably look bad. If your score turns out to be disappointing, just plan on a retake. It sucks, but at least we're able to retake.
Also, check out the post by David.Busis entitled "be staunch." The attitude he talks about is the one you have to try to have on test day.
If you had two RC sections, I think the one right after the break was experimental (the one with cacao trees and fungi, and the comparative passage with privatization). So it's probably not as detrimental as you think.
And yeah, you can't really do much about the environment unless it's a constant disruption over several minutes (which it doesn't sound like it is). I know it's not the same but in the Nov exam the guy next to me had horrible body odour and every time he shifted a waft of pungent BO assaulted my senses. I feel your pain.
@ExcludedMiddle Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. And @Guillaume : Yeah, same RC. I didn't realize it was experimental, yep, privatization. So, does that mean they don't count it 'at all?' That is so weird. Thanks for the input. It really helped me get some perspective.
Yep, if it is experimental they don't count it, which is great cause the privatization one messed me up.
@Guillaume : Wow! I had no idea. That privatization one was gnarly. What did you think of the earlier RC section?
Could have been a much bigger distraction to have this poor guy bleed out all over the desk or sneeze or something. I think you suffered the lesser of all possible evils there. Look at it not as a huge slight to you, but on something horrible that happened to the guy next to you, and he was professional enough to try and not disturb anyone, as much as he could.
@AudaciousRed Thanks for commenting. And yeah... for sure. The guy was totally as quiet as he could be and I feel awful for him. If what I said made it seem like I felt it was some fault of his, that's not what I meant. It's just that I did have the experience of my concentration breaking and not being to get it back. The comments here have been invaluable because they have forced me to consider that that is a problem with my concentration, my preparedness, whatever. So, point taken. I'm so happy for 7Sage. Such an amazing learning community! Thanks everyone.
BTW, last night I came across this crazy incident account on Reddit, and a few others, which really put things in perspective... @ExcludedMiddle @"David.Busis" 's 'be staunch' advice is more key than one knows before going through this mill!
https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/9e99km/proctor_started_talking_to_me_during_test/
I thought it was alright, quite representative of the other PT's RC sections.
I wish I could say more, and I know it feels unfair, but I don't think you should write an addendum about it unless you really think it was an extraordinary circumstance that deserves the attention of the admissions team. Otherwise, you risk appearing whiny or petty to them, which is much worse. All I can say is, refer to this: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/19235/lsat-takers-be-staunch
The guy who sat behind me had massive phlegm problems and sounded like a motorized saw, and the girl on my right got two violations during the test, once for having her water bottle on the table during the test, and once for using ear plugs (lol), and the girl two seats left of me went to the bathroom twice. We simply have to zone out/in and keep disciplined. If you write to the school, and don't show sufficient reason to believe that the circumstance was beyond your discipline, then it will only hurt your chances. This is my belief, anyway.
Agreed with all the above advice. And if you do end up taking it again--or if anyone reading this is going to be taking it soon--I can't recommend more highly the strategy of taking it "anywhere and everywhere, even in bad conditions"! I did sections and even whole PTs on planes, on trains, in coffee shops, in the library, in my room while my roommates partied one room over, in the back table of a living room where my friends were watching a movie... you get the picture. (Of course, I did do a lot of studying in dead quiet too.)
Not only did I get a TON of practice, but it helped me to learn to tune things out and focus in. And the psychological benefit was HUGE. When noises happened in my actual test, I felt confident and could tell myself, "Nah, I've done a whole LSAT on a plane ride before. Kids coming in and out of the bathroom aren't going to bother me!"
LSAC won't do crap about that and i'd be worried if something like that took you off your game..you need to get used to being around distractions.
Glad it helped. You could look to take it at a smaller university next time if there are multiple centers near you, but definitely do what you can to prepare for distractions and get in that mindset before you go in next time.
@futurelawstudent Everyone else already pretty much said what I thought when I first read your post, so I instead share some strategies that helped me focus on my retake (when my proctor's cell phones rang twice), which I presume is an option you're considering. I found practicing in the public library and other noisy areas to be extremely beneficial for my concentration on test day since people have their phones going off all the time. The key is to constantly switch locations so that a new test day environment wouldn't bother you. Definitely try that out and drink tea regularly to help calm your mind and body for test day nerves.
Overall I actually think you are keeping a pretty good outlook on this incident, everything considered. You show some good introspection and I think it will bold well for you moving forward. Also, in general, addenda that sound like excuses (even valid excuses) will hurt more than help. Personally had a lot of help from others on 3 addenda that I wrote for my apps. I will be happy to read over yours if you were ever sure you needed one.
Thanks for this @eRetaker. I appreciate the tips and the input. Past Saturday, and the immediate distress following the test, I was more clearheaded and could see beyond the one experience. I am grateful for the input here. My take away from the incident is that I need to work on my focus so as to make it a bit more shatter-proof. Definitely, your strategies sound like just the ticket and I will put them into practice. Thanks also for the offer to look at the addendum. I think I've made my peace with Saturday's incident, but should I decide to write one at any point, I'll take you up on the offer. Thanks again!
I also had distractions. During my test two cell phones went off for roughly 45 seconds each, the first during section 1 and the second during section 3. The ringer wasn't a normal sound either, it was some terrible pop song lol. Also, someone sitting behind me was was kicked out...fun times! When the cell phone was going off I literally plugged me ears so I could continue reading in peace lol.