Applying before December LSAT

jack.igoe

Hey Everyone,

I was scrolling through the forum and saw a post that gave me an idea that I wanted to inquire about. I scored a 165 on the September LSAT and have a 3.93 LSAC GPA that'll likely go to ~3.96 after this semester of school is over in the beginning of December. I was thinking about applying to the bottom schools of the T14 (UC Berkley, Cornell, UT, UCLA, and Georgetown) with those numbers before the December LSAT (which I am registered for). I still have to get my LOR's from professors but I know who I'm going to ask already & my transcripts are in etc...

I'm hoping that those numbers will get me accepted to at least one of those schools and that I'll get the notifications earlier than if I used my December score. My main worry is the chance that I get outright rejected. If that happens before the December score comes out, would I be able to have my application considered again with a presumably higher LSAT score or would I end up being out of luck? What do you all think?

Thanks a ton everyone, you guys rock.

10000019

"still have to get my LOR's from professors "
You're assuming that your professors are going to complete your LOR in under a month.

Whether you can be re-considered depends on the school. So look at each school and check.

I would personally spend the extra money on fees to apply.

tylerdschreur10

I posted a conversation in had with a admissions rep from michigan just a few days ago about this topic. The gist is that yes, they will evaluate you as is, but if you score higher, they will reevaluate your application at that point. I assume most schools use a similar system, but you should ask

jack.igoe

@tylerdschreur10 said:
I posted a conversation in had with a admissions rep from michigan just a few days ago about this topic. The gist is that yes, they will evaluate you as is, but if you score higher, they will reevaluate your application at that point. I assume most schools use a similar system, but you should ask

Interesting! U Mich was definitely on my list. So was it your understanding that they would send an admit decision before the December scores if they deemed fit?

jack.igoe

@10000019 said:
"still have to get my LOR's from professors "
You're assuming that your professors are going to complete your LOR in under a month.

Whether you can be re-considered depends on the school. So look at each school and check.

I would personally spend the extra money on fees to apply.

Sorry I should've been more clear. I asked my professors a week ago and both of them said they could have it done in a few weeks.

Yeah I'll definitely check out the websites again but I it seems like it could be too specific of a situation to be General info.

Thanks!

tylerdschreur10

Yes! They said if you're application was good enough with a 165 they would admit you straightaway, if not they would wait until receiving your December score.
I'm in the same boat as you, sending in my michigan app hopefully tomorrow!
Excited, terrified, and impatient!

10000019

Not sure about other schools, but Georgetown addresses it
"
If I am denied through Early Decision, may I apply through the regular admissions process?

No. Since an applicant has a better chance by applying through the Early Decision process, we do not allow applicants to reapply through the regular admissions process during the same admissions cycle.
"

I'm not sure if it's a hard rule though.

jack.igoe

@tylerdschreur10 That's awesome! Keep me updated with how it goes!

@10000019 Thanks for that info! I really want to submit my apps to Georgetown and Cornell in hopes that I'll get some acceptances sooner in the cycle but I'm just nervous that I'll be rejected outright. Thanks for finding that blurb from Georgetown!

Sammie215

I talked to a rep for Berkeley at a law school fair last week and she made it sound like if you were already registered for a December LSAT and not applying early decision, then the committee would just hold off on looking at your application until the December score came in. Schools can see if you're planning on taking the test again, and it makes sense that they would want to boost the selectivity of their numbers, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was a pretty common approach.