Not sure if this is the ideal way, but I just make three staples on the left sides. Feels close enough to the real thing to me.

@ Exactly this! The only concern anyone should have is for test center availability. I assume seats are generally less-filled on February, but you should still look into it, maybe contact the test center.

I'm spending it making a pros and cons list for Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Full-ride Columbia, Chicago, and NYU, fully knowing it will soon become a useless file.

Both @ and @ hit it right on the money with the correct answers, so I'll pitch in with my biased personal opinion. If I was set on biglaw (I am), I would go to the lower T14. However, it's important to consider that while attending a higher ranked school may open up more possibilities, the enormous amount of debt may actually limit your options and force you to go to the highest paying jobs for your first 5 years or so.

I am 90% set on NY Biglaw for reasons that are irrelevant to this question but I'd be glad to share on another platform, which is why I would (and will) choose the school that places well in biglaw. That being said, the other 10% of me wants to work in California, so if UCLA or USC gave me a near full-ride, and Michigan, Northwestern, Cornell, and Georgetown were offering me change, I would most likely go with USC or UCLA. I would, however, go with the mentioned T 14 schools (especially Cornell), over the other 16-20 schools such as WUSTL, Emory, and maybe even Vandy).

Could it be possible that LSAC may make their replacement test on January 9th a little easier to make up for it?

GSU is right, except for a few number of schools that don't require LORs (Berkeley is the only one that comes to mind). In that case, your application will be completed and possibly put under review. If you know you'd like your LORs to be a part of the application, you should not submit for those schools. As for the other schools that consider your application "complete" when you have the required amount of LORs, it honestly doesn't matter whether you submit now or when you have the LORs. I would suggest not sending it in, simply because you never know if you may wake up one morning and think of a way to enhance your application.

Nooo. Clicked into this discussion expecting a "today" by Mike Spivey :(

Yes, try and train yourself to make that a habit, preferably through timed lr sections, not PTs.

JY's extremely helpful yet casual and playful lectures and explanations.

For the longest time, I read the stimulus over and over again, and so I always had difficulties finishing LR sections. I saw a dramatic improvement with timing when I decided to just read the stimulus once, eliminate obvious wrong answer choices, then quickly glance at the stimulus one more time. If I am still unsure by then, I pick one of the two or maybe three answer choices and move on. A fresh second look is much more likely to lead you to the right answer, so I would suggest focusing on finishing with some time left to go back to those questions.

@ I am with you in what you're trying to say, and I'm only half-jokingly pointing this out, but "very high possibility that you can score a 180" is just a tad bit strong. I would not say that to anyone. But I agree with the spirit of your comment and word for word with every other point you made.

I strongly suggest waiting for June. Unless you have an overwhelming reason to apply this cycle, applying in June makes more sense in so many levels. 1) Your diagnostic (not a true diagnostic but close enough) is much better than most students, even the ones that do end up scoring the mid 170's that you're aiming for. The chance that that will happen in a month and a half. HIGHLY unlikely. You should give yourself more than that to go through the curriculum alone, before the PTs come in. 2) Applying in February, although acceptable in most schools, just limits you in so many levels. You're aiming for mid 170s, so I'm going to assume you want either a shot at HYS, or significant money at other T14~20s. Both are much easier to achieve early on in the cycle. Your decisions will come out very close to the deposit deadlines, which will give you a very small time frame to negotiate for scholarships. Also, even if the consensus is that there is very minimal advantage in applying early (say September or October) over December or January, applying late Feb. and March will certainly have an impact in your chances. Most schools will have filled most of their seats, so at that point they are picking and choosing the applicants that will bolster the stats (or type of diversity) they need to meet their goals.

Again, you have a great potential to reach that mid 170s score range, but aiming for February is highly unrealistic and will likely cause you to stress and use up all your PTs in a desperate effort, which will then impend your preparation for a June retake as well. So I highly recommend prepping for June, then even considering October if you're not ready or want to retake.

@ Hi, I don't think I'll be taking the June exam, unless I really under performed on my December test (unfortunately, a true possibility). But it would be easier for you to find someone if you provide more information about yourself, like how far along you are in your studies and your pt score range (if you're taking pt's at all, if not then your diagnostic). These additional information should make it easier for you to find someone who can help you and benefit from you as well. Good luck!

@ To your original question on what advantage sitting in June gives you. I'd say applying earlier gives you a very small advantage if everything else is the same. However, if waiting for October would have any positive impact on your test (increase in score, better preparation, confidence), then it is certainly worth waiting. Most schools are not going to first-glance admit border candidates anyways, so applying early hardly gives you an advantage for admissions.

@ Like Pacifico said, HYS only gives need-based aid. This is a big reason why some HYS admits with 175+ LSATS will choose CCN. CCN near-full ride is very tempting vs. HYS full cost.

@ Not my post, but was just wondering, did your PS contain any "why law" component to it? I've already finished my PS and I really like it, but it's got no mention of law or law school. That works for most schools, but not for a selective few.

I'd be willing to help as well, if you need a second (or third) eye.

@ Someone else should verify this, but I remember JY mentioning some time later in December. So, I'm guessing no.

@ Yes, I believe that's how most of us get it. The other option would be to contact the specific schools and ask for it. Many schools are receptive to such solicitations.

@ absolutely! No matter what your score is, you will receive at least 10 waivers the minute you sign up for CRS. Trust me, I got like 15 at the beginning of the cycle before I had an LSAT score and with only self-reported GPA. And among those 15 or so were UVA, UPenn, WUSTL, and BU, so its not like they're all Tier 3+ that will take anyone who applies.

Yes, I always read the question stem first. My reasoning is very similar to that of @ , I like to go into the stimulus knowing what I'm looking for. Once you go through so much of the LSAT questions, you generally have an understanding of what each question type is looking for.

A great example may be the main conclusion questions. Once you know you're looking for the main conclusion, sometimes all you have to do is look for that "But these scientists are wrong", then just skim through the rest of the stimulus just to be safe and go right at the answer choice that best rephrases that. Those questions can really take like 20 seconds, while going in and reading the whole thing, then reading the question stem, then most likely having to go back to the stimulus just to verify what the conclusion is, will more than likely take more than that.

Also, if you are rewriting, June will give you plenty of time. In choosing between June or October, something that I don't hear often emphasized but I think is actually a big factor may be your usual prep times. If you usually study in the afternoon (and are not a morning person in general) June may work better. I record the start time of all my prep tests, and while my morning average (a majority of the tests) is 168, my afternoon/evening average (granted just 4 tests) is 172. I've heard it work the other way for morning people too, so that may be something you can consider. As far as time is concerned, if you are already PTing at 169-171, June should give you enough time.

If you are able and willing, I think the ultimate package is the way to go. I say that because RC, LR, then LG seems to be the order for your needed area of improvements. the ultimate will give you access to video explanations for the latest tests, which will help you get more comfortable with the LR. I'm exactly like you in that LR is a wild card. It's anywhere between -0 to -8 combined, and that's just not a chance you want to take.

As for RC, do you have Mike's LSAT Trainer? I only bought it a month before the test, and it made a world of difference for my RC. I never even looked at the LG and LR sections in the trainer (I'm sure they're great too, I just had to make a decision due to time). RC is still my weakest section, but it's gotten much better in my recent preps and I get -0 to -2 on blind review. Before the trainer, I used to get -6 to -8 BR, which was devastating for me every time I took the test.

@ First of all, I agree with @ and his advice, but in the end, I think that's your call to make. I'll just answer your question to my best knowledge. Most school's will accept your February scores for this cycle. Even the few that say they won't will most likely accept your application if you can explain it well enough. So yes, taking it on December, and then taking in February again, is fine for this cycle. Once again, I don't recommend this, but everyone has their own situation, and while waiting a year out may be more plausible to some, it may not be to others. Either way, if you are taking the December test, stop stressing about this immediately. Whatever stressing, prepping, you do between now and Saturday will make, at best, no difference.

If your December score is good enough to get an acceptance letter, then yes, a better February test score can be used for scholarship negotiations. If your December score does not put you in a comfortable spot, then you run the risk of an early rejection, in which case you are completely out for the cycle (for the particular school).

My suggestion would be to go ahead and take the December test (assuming you are in fact comfortable that you will do well enough) and then decide once the scores come out if you want to apply with it or wait for the February retake. If you are not comfortable, just wait for February.

Hope this helps.

I've seen discussions about how the "fake" sections can be identified, but I would steer away from actually attempting to do so. The LSAT is difficult enough with all your mind focused on the questions, the last thing you need is one more thing to think about during the test.