Addendum for LSAT Score Decrease

[feisty-nail]

Hello,

I got a 174 on my LSAT in November, but I had been averaging higher than that on my practice tests, so I rolled the dice and retook it in June. I received a 169, which was pretty disheartening as I had not scored lower than 170 on a practice test in over a year prior.

I am certainly not going to retake the test again, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to write an addendum given my fairly large score drop. I live in the center of a city, on the street that our annual Pride Parade begins on, and I accidentally scheduled my remote LSAT to be at the same time as the parade. It was a little distracting, but not completely debilitating, and I feel a guilty blaming my performance on that as I think the major issue was just nerves and spiraling after a few hard questions.

I have read some people say that you should write an addendum for a five-point drop, and others who say you shouldn't, and others who say it depends on the cause of the drop. Given my situation, do any PowerScore staff think I definitely should/should not write an addendum?

Thank you in advance!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Feisty,

This is a judgment call and I suspect it will depend on the execution of your addendum. If you can describe what you've said is the cause here and make it sound compelling and reasonable (which should be achievable), then send it. If it comes off as sounding like an excuse (vs an explanation), then be careful.

I will say that if I was looking at your record, I'd pause for a second seeing that drop and I'd probably like to know why it happened, so I lean toward an addendum here.

For anyone else reading this: this is why we say to have Score Preview on hand so you can cancel and avoid a situation like this. Better to have it as a backup (if you can afford it).

Thanks!