Applications are up 50.7% this year! Should I apply in December or early next cycle?

d.h.isais

Hello all!

I am trying to decide whether to apply this year or next year. I'm hoping for some feedback.

Considerations for Applying Next Year:

The main reason that I'm thinking about applying next year is that I would have to RUSH to get everything done to submit this year. Although I'm currently PTing around 165, I won't be taking my first LSAT until November. Realistically, I won't be able to get my applications submitted until mid-December. With that in mind, part of me wants to just wait and apply early next year with an application that I spent more time on.

HOWEVER...

I'm really worried that next year will be even more competitive than this year.

According to this Data from LSAC https://report.lsac.org/VolumeSummary.aspx applications are up 50.7% this year compared to last year. On top of that, it seems that the number of applicants scoring in the 165+ range is WAY up. I'm worried that if I wait another year, the competition will be much greater.

Anyway, I apologize if this is somewhat of a rant. Ultimately, I am really interested in what you guys think and would greatly appreciate any feedback.

P.S. Congrats to everyone who hit their target scores in October!

Linnnyyy

Hey, I had the same dilemma and I decided to apply for next circle. I am aiming for t14 or even t6, currently my average pt is 170 but I want a 175 so badly. Just like you said, this year is much more competitive because of many defer in last year and lot more high score in 170 or 175. I just don’t think there is much choice left. I am going to take Jan exam so just hope I can get 175+ and have more time to prepare my other material, apply as soon as next circle opens. I think this will increase my choice. Why do you think next year will be more competitive?

RaphaelP

Hey! If you decide to delay, I would probably base the decision on yourself and whether you think you can get the strongest application ready in time for this cycle. If you think you'll rush your personal statement/getting the highest possible score/etc, then I would wait.

I wouldn't base it on the applicant volume numbers - it's too early to tell, since we're only in October. It's very possible that early numbers are volatile, because corona meant more people had time to put together early applications and hit send in September (and a larger number of reapplicants hit send early). Also, the percentages seem a bit scarier than they are, because the higher score bands don't have a ton of raw numbers. The number you cite (256 vs 148) is barely a 100 people, all spread out across different schools - even if that umber remains, that won't demonstrably make your cycle harder. It may be an overall harder cycle, but it's too early to tell and doesn't seem like it would be a far, far tougher one.

Ellegoals

These are interesting stats. Where did you hear them?

d.h.isais

@Ellegoals said:
These are interesting stats. Where did you hear them?

Apologies, I didn't proofread my post well enough. The stats are from this source: https://report.lsac.org/VolumeSummary.aspx

I accidentally inserted State-level figures, not national figures (I've deleted the error). That said, the national figures tell the same story—more applicants with higher lsat scores this year.

In any case, I've decided that I will probably just wait to apply next year.

d.h.isais

@rjp12345 said:
Hey! If you decide to delay, I would probably base the decision on yourself and whether you think you can get the strongest application ready in time for this cycle.

Thanks for the comment... I think I was just getting really fixated on the idea of applying this year. But you're right, I should definitely just wait to apply with a stronger application.

Sincerely, thank you very much for talking some reason into me!