Is November 2019 too late to apply this cycle?

sumz1117

Hi All-- I was wondering if November was too late to apply? I already took the LSAT once before, I sprained my ankle in the prep center but still took the test so I did terribly. Would November (which means scores/application in December) mean I'm getting into more competitive territory application wise? I've heard the later you apply the tougher your chances are. I've been out of undergrad/grad school for 5 years now and don't want to put law school off any longer so will be applying this year and just want to know if my chances would be slightly lower if I applied with November scores.

Thanks!

Pride Only Hurts

So what I've taken away from some admissions officers is that anything before Thanksgiving is considered "early". Applying in December should not hurt your application. Thats around the time when most people apply. Perhaps there's some incentive to get your application in before winter break but I honestly don't know. Ultimately having the best score possible and a clean application is the way to go so be careful thinking you absolutely need to have your apps in by a certain date to maximize your chances. I doubt anyone would advise rushing your apps if it means getting it in a week or two earlier. If you're applying in Dec I think you'd fall in the middle of the pack which is certainly better than applying in Feb or later.

SuperMario929

Earlier is always better. However, I applied four years ago as a joint JD-PhD, so my apps took a bit longer to complete, and I technically only applied in March with a feb LSAT score. I think I applied to 10 of the T14 and got into about half of them, so it’s certainly feasible to apply later. I also reapplied this past March to a T14 I had been accepted to and had declined in 2015 (I ended up just doing straight PhD work instead the last four years) and got re-accepted, so it can happen. It’s not a recommended strategy but it can work. Good luck!

EagerestBeaver

I just spoke with an admissions officer at University of North Carolina (I know it is not T-14 but perhaps still relevant) and she gave me a good perspective on timing. UNC does not begin even looking at applications until at least November. In that sense, she said it makes literally no difference whatsoever if you apply September 15th or October 30th. It may be useful to ask admissions offices at schools you are applying when/how they view applications. Is it in a big stack on a certain date? Is it literally one at a time as they arrive? Those questions may vary by school and impact your answer.

That being said, on a macro-level, all the advice I have gotten from 7sage admissions is that in general earlier is better, but November should still be fine and is certainly not too late.

sumz1117

That's really good to know! It definitely settles my nerves a bit more! Thank you