Is it too late to take the November LSAT and apply this cycle? Will it significantly affect scholarships?
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Is it too late to take the November LSAT and apply this cycle? Will it significantly affect scholarships?
12 comments
I'm not an expert, but I would suggest having the rest of your app ready beforehand. That way, you can fire everything off the day of score release.
It really depends on the school! Based on the past two cycles (and especially this past one), applying in December and beyond was detrimental for the T14 and T30. It wasn't as mission critical for schools ranked further down the ladder.
So if you know that you're going to take the November LSAT, I would echo the advice from other folks! You have 2.5 months until test day. I'd really encourage you to get your app materials together ahead of time. That will ensure that you can then apply ASAP in November. You can do this!
@JacobBaska
I'm assuming schools review applications chronologically?
But still, wouldn't getting a higher LSAT score ultimately benefit you more than risking applying earlier with a lower score? I'm in the boat where I may have to take the November LSAT in addition to Sept/October.
@JacobBaska thank you Jacob! If I’m looking at T-14 and T-30 would you recommend waiting a cycle? I believe the November LSAT score comes out the first week of December.
@soleluna883 Schools may review apps chronologically but then don't have to. Imagine that their file reading queue is like a big Excel spreadsheet. There are columns for things like First Name, Last Name, Undergrad School, GPA, LSAT, Date Applied, Date Completed (since some applicants click "Submit" on one day, but their app isn't completed until a future event happens, like taking a later LSAT), Gender, etc. I could read the apps in the order that people applied. I could read them by date completed. Or I could read them by undergrad school. I could sort the queue by LSAT. I always told my staff that we wanted to balance giving applicants a decision within a certain time frame (we tried to do it no more than six weeks after their app was completed), but that we also had to consider that we needed to get the admitted students admitted sooner so that we could have more time to recruit them.
To your second question about applying later with a better score, that's absolutely preferable. You should apply when your app is at its strongest. You just have your own balancing act to pull off - applying when your app is at its strongest, but the reality that the national app pool is so big that there were people who applied post-Thanksgiving who seem to have gotten squeezed out at a lot of T30s. For example, we know from lawschooldata that schools like Notre Dame and USC had barely touched apps from Christmas by the time their deposit deadlines hit in April.
So I would plan for the best. Assume you'll get the score you're targeting in Sept/Oct so have your apps ready to roll. That's the ideal. If you then need to take the Nov test, that's alright!
@cooperpaco What you can always do is prep your app materials now and then make the call to apply once you see your LSAT score. If it's in a good range to shoot your shot, then you're in a position to shoot said shot quickly. But then if you get your score back and it's not what you were hoping for, at least you aren't immediately put into "Panic Mode" regarding taking the January LSAT and applying at the last minute.
@JacobBaska Thank you Jacob! This is all so helpful!
Highly dependent on what school(s), your stats, etc. Here's the best way I've found to analyze that:
Go on lsd.law and click on "Admissions Predictor" on the left sidebar (it's at the top, under pinned).
Input your LSAT and GPA. If you don't have an official LSAT score yet, input what you've been testing at lately.
Then select a school.
On the right side, you'll see a graph titled "Probability at Decision Time." Assuming 4-6 weeks to process your application, look 4-6 weeks ahead of when you plan to apply.
That'll give you a rough idea of where you stand. LSD Law has tons of great resources like this too.
I think it also depends on the school. If there's one in particular you have in mind their admissions team is usually very receptive to personalized questions if you join a webinar or something
As long as it is before December, you should be good; it is considered on time, so there are still tons of scholarship money. While you're not considered super "early," you're definitely not "late"
Also looking for the answer!
I am thinking about this too! I am mainly concerned with how applying earlier impacts scholarships offered. Does applying in November as opposed to October limit scholarship/aid opportunities?