I'm not feeling super confident in my September score, and I'm not positive that I will have done much to improve by October. Do we think that taking the November LSAT and applying as soon as I get my scores on December 2nd will absolutely ruin my chances at t14s? My dream school is UMich, but my current 167 is below their 25th percentile...
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Two things can be true at once, @abbysandz7777. On the one hand, we have data from last year that applying in December was really problematic for a number of the T14 (Columbia, NYU, Duke, etc). On the other hand, the #1 rule of admissions is that you should apply when your application is at its best. How you balance those competing realities is very personal and subjective.
So here's what you may want to consider:
Do you have reason to believe that you can improve enough by the November LSAT in order to get above a school's median or are you just hoping? If you have a reason (eg, "I'm PTing in the high 160s consistently and I think I can crack the 170s with a little more practice"), that's a good reason to put things off until the November LSAT.
If it's just a hope, you can continue to hope and that's alright! But it could be prudent to also consider expanding out your app list to include schools where you're currently in range.
If you put things off until November, you should try to use a little bit of time to get your app docs up to a good baseline. You just don't want to leave all the heavy lifting until November. Heck, if/when you decide to reschedule from Oct to Nov, that would be a good time to spend a few days to get these things nailed down.
Fingers crossed!
Thanks so much for your reply! I think I can get where I need to be by November, and I intend to have all my application materials finished well before that December 2nd date. I would much rather apply with a strong application and see where it leads me than apply earlier and end up somewhere I'm not keen on.
I am in the same boat as you! You can do this and you will get into your dream school
Thumbs up!
Then the key is just to make sure you're using your time wisely to get those app docs ready. I'm just saying this from the perspective of someone who sees the same "the ant and the grasshopper" fable come to life every ... single ... year....
Good luck!