Is January too late?

Rover Diaz

Right now I am more focused on the quality of school over scholarship opportunity. I am already signed up for November and will definitely score it, but If I am not satisfied with my score, can I still apply to a upper tier school (#10-30 range), or is my chance of getting in too low to even bother applying.

MissChanandler

Are you asking about applying in January or about taking the LSAT in January?

Ohnoeshalpme

Admissions officers have a “pile” of applications on their desk. Applications with above 75th percentile scores get pushed to the top of the pile, regardless of when they are submitted. If you score above the 75th in January, no it’s not too late. If you score around 50th or lower, best wait a cycle and apply the next year.

LCMama2017

I was going to reply to you that it depends on the school but I see from your post that you want to apply to an upper tier school - sooo, I think you are cutting it tight. I know for some regional lower-tiered school a January score may be ok but I don't think that is the case for T30 and under. I don't think its impossible but a whole slew of applications would already be in - most schools open their apps in September. Also, if your lsat and gpa are at the 75% percentile for those schools you may be ok waiting until Jan. I think it also depends on how much $$ you have to spend on applications. If you are ok taking a chance and spending the money then sure, go for it.

Good luck to you!

Alex

@"gobin.devin" said:
Right now I am more focused on the quality of school over scholarship opportunity. I am already signed up for November and will definitely score it, but If I am not satisfied with my score, can I still apply to a upper tier school (#10-30 range), or is my chance of getting in too low to even bother applying.

The short ansewer is no, not too late. However, it’s on the later side of things and there’s a lot to consider that comes with applying later. Scholarships being a big part of that. Ultimately a better score in January is going to get you further than a lower one in November.

LegallyConfused180

This is also my concern. Really want to get in this coming fall but I am not ready to take the test and still have a lot to cover.

Bamboosprout

If you have an application that doesn't cut the school's stats, then you have to retake, and apply when you get a sufficient score. Doesn't matter if it's Sep, Nov, Jan, or Jun.
If you don't have to retake, then apply ASAP. Each month can decrease your chance of acceptance by 5% or more.

keepcalmandneuron

I'm following your post because I'm in the same boat @"gobin.devin" message me if you want to talk about retakes in more detail! I've been asking admission committees a lot and the general consensus is the higher score the better even if it means applying a little later.

Well, to hell with it. I plan on taking November AND January (already took the September and impatiently waiting for the score release) because I know how my progress has been (I've plateau-ed at around 164 right now for a month) and I am confident that an extra 3-5 points can be earned with 4 more months of taking PT's intensely.

Do you also feel confident that an extra 2 months will help you increase your scores? If yes, then go for it.