September or October test? (will be sitting for July)

johnnylaw

I’m a non-traditional that took the LSAT in 2016 after taking a local prep course. I scored in the low 160 range (diagnostic was mid 150s) and decided against applying as I felt I hadn’t reached my potential, and primarily because I had remaining commitments/goals I wanted to achieve before school (I’m military). So, I decided 2020 would be the best time for me to attend law school. I recently restarted my studying to apply this fall, and will be sitting for the test on Monday.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to bring my score up significantly enough on practice tests so realistically I am looking at using July as my gauge—being able to see the score before deciding if I should cancel or not has its advantages despite not being fully ready to go. Given registration deadlines, I’m torn on if I should register for September and give myself roughly 8 weeks to close the gaps I still have on the test (my BR is averaging 10 above actual), giving myself enough time to apply early (by thanksgiving) or if should give myself 12 weeks of study and take the October LSAT—and likely push applying to before Christmas.

Pending finances, I do plan to do the 7Sage Admissions as well, so any insight the community can provide would be really helpful!

cqas190517

You won’t be able to use the free retake for sept. So keep that in mind. The earliest you can use the free retake is October. I’m in a similar boat, and if I need to cancel and retake in October, the score gains I will make will surpass the 2ish months I’ll have to wait when applying in the new cycle this year. Aiming for 170, which is above all the Medians at my intended schools. good luck!

ExcludedMiddle

I will say that I think there's a lot of value to getting a good score early. If you have a score with which you're happy in, say, October and can go ahead and apply, that's a nice situation to be in. Say you take it in October and then maybe need to retake in November, etc. - suddenly you start "feeling the pressure" of the app season beginning, of not having your goal score yet, etc. The September test is still really, really early, so you can sit for it and October and know you'll be early regardless if it takes you two shots. Just thought I'd chime in and give another opinion.