Fall 2021 Admission with Feb 2021 LSAT

7829_acb

Hi all! I am taking the LSAT in February 2021 and am applying for Fall 2021. I checked the application deadlines and many schools I am looking at are not due until May/June/July, but do you think taking the test in the same year as applying has implications to admission, other than less time to raise my score? Thank you!

VerdantZephyr

Law schools practice rolling admission. If you are not a slam dunk accept (and even if you are sometimes) you are going to have a harder time after December getting in. 7sage had a predictor that shows you your odds in a given month. Applying in Spring is much harder than applying in Fall when applications first open. If you are not taking the LSAT until February you may need to be content with a lower ranked law school than your score would have gotten you in September, October, or November. This year especially applications are way up and some schools may decide to drastically reduce the number of admits after a certain point even if you have good numbers for them.

I do not say this to freak you out or beat you down, but to let you know there is a sizable difference early in the cycle versus late in the cycle and some schools close applications in March, which is around when you will be getting your February LSAT score.

My advice would be do your very best on the test and apply where you actually want to or would be willing to go. Make sure your applications and essays are ready to go the minute you get your score. If things don't work out you have an enormous jumpstart to apply the minute applications open for 2022 on September 1st.

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

if you're taking the feb 2021 test, the score will be released in march; this is considered pretty late for most schools (higher-ranked, but for some lower-ranked too) in this current cycle.
in rolling admissions, it is best to apply early not only for your chance of admissions, but also for securing scholarships.
now, i'm not saying that you should sacrifice the time you need to put together the best app as possible, and just apply early. there'd be no point in applying early if your application is not at a good state (including your test scores).
but do keep in mind that the most ideal scenario is to apply at the earliest possible date, with the best application that you can put together.