Making Applications Before I Take the LSAT

Ohnoeshalpme

Hello All,

I'd like to preface this by saying that I know very little about the admissions process ie. the similarity of applications across schools, submission procedures, school specific essays and the like.

Some context: I will be taking the LSAT in September. Unfortunately, I will not know my scores until October. My plan so far has been to prepare and complete applications for prospective schools prior to knowing my scores, and then sending them off as soon as my score come arrives in October. This way I would have the best shot at early scholarships and acceptances.

What I am concerned about is the possibility of making applications to several schools that end up being too highly ranked for my LSAT score. For example, my aspirations are for the T14 but if I score a 165 I needn't apply to any of them as statistically (3.69 GPA non URM) I have no chance of getting in.

TLDR; I don't want to spend all of my time making applications to schools that I potentially won't be able to get in to.

Should I go ahead and make applications to several schools even though my LSAT score might be too low? Should I wait to make applications until after I get my LSAT score even though it would set me back significantly by having to apply several months later?

I appreciate any advice that you all can give me.

Thanks

spitzy11

I think it could be a beneficial use of time between taking the test and waiting for the results! I know although I had all of the materials completed, I wished I had completed all of the applications ahead of time. I would recommend prepping the applications for schools that would accept your average LSAT leading up to the test. That seems like a pretty safe bet. And also, HIGHLY recommend the 7sage LSAT Comprehensive Admissions Consulting!!

JPJ July2021

I second @spitzy11 for the admissions consulting. I'm not using the comprehensive option (I wish I could) but I'm using it for the personal statement and so far it's amazing.

Lanecaha

HI All - just stumbled across this thread. I am taking the July LSAT and plan to apply to schools beginning in October. Do you think it's too late to sign up for Comprehensive Consulting? I am pretty much 80% dedicated to studying outside of work right now so I don't think there's much room to focus on applications until mid-July once I've take the LSAT. Thoughts??

Selene Steelman

Your general plan sounds fine. I would recommend that you take the summer and September to prepare the basic parts of a generic law school application. Most law schools will require a resume and personal statement. Some will allow optional diversity essays. If given the opportunity to show more writing, I would recommend you make the most of it. You can also take this time to reach out to your recommenders and let them know why you want to go to law school and what your short/long term professional goals are. Basically, you can do a lot to construct the narrative of your law school application right now. Once you get your LSAT result back, you can research and put together a realistic school list based on your stats using the 7Sage Law School Predictor: https://7sage.com/admissions/predictor/. Depending on the schools on your school list, you may have to tailor your foundation personal statement to answer specific questions or meet word or page limit requirements. But this is much easier to do when it is a matter of revising essays that have already been prepared. If you get your applications submitted by October 31st or even by Thanksgiving, you are still very much in the early part of the cycle. Good luck!