Nov 2019 LSAT & Applying in the Fall

SaraFromOC

I took the September LSAT foolishly hoping I wouldn’t ever have to think about this test again, but the LG kicked me in the teeth & stole my lunch money, so now I’m registered for the November administration. The problem is my GPA isn’t the best and I wanted to apply early to help offset that a bit, but if I take the November test, I’ll have to apply in December. How big a difference does it make applying in October vs December? And if my score is within the bracket of acceptability, should I move on or take the November test where ideally LG won’t channel the spirit of Satan?

simplayyy

I'm in the same situation.

ExcludedMiddle

A higher score will make up for applying later, in my opinion.

1234abcd-1

It depends to what school you're applying too. I am also re taking the LSAT in November and in my humble opinion, if you get a higher score above the median you will be fine. Also, applying in November is not actually that late. You will still get scholarships and what not. Anyways if you think you can get a higher score than the school's median I would apply ASAP in November.

lyric.aguigam

I'm in the same exact situation.

SaraFromOC

@ebby_luna said:
It depends to what school you're applying too. I am also re taking the LSAT in November and in my humble opinion, if you get a higher score above the median you will be fine. Also, applying in November is not actually that late. You will still get scholarships and what not. Anyways if you think you can get a higher score than the school's median I would apply ASAP in November.

I’m hoping it won’t take 3 weeks to release scores by the Nov test so I can send it early December. As long as the test has appropriate curveballs (a hard passage in RC or a rough patch of questions in LR) I do believe I can earn a higher score, given that I normally don’t miss more than 2/3 on LG. But @ExcludedMiddle is right, a higher score will probably be better than applying earlier with a lower score

Selene Steelman

Generally speaking, applying in October is firmly in the early part of the cycle. Applying in December is considered mid-cycle. You might find this tool at LSN to be useful in terms of seeing historical results for the schools on your school list: https://mylsn.info/r/pre-law/timeline/chart/.
Different schools review files at different times. Some begin admitting right away in September while others will not begin reading in earnest until Thanksgiving. Also consider your target schools and where your LSAT score is in relation to their median score. It is at the median? Below/above median? If you feel that you can improve upon your LSAT score by a few points, it may make sense to wait and apply later as a higher score could significantly change your options in terms of offers of admission and scholarship. Good luck!