Letter of Reccommendation Question

A. Henderson

So I was meeting with one of my LOR writers yesterday and they informed me that they will not be able to have my LOR completed until the first week of January (the 4th). Is waiting these extra 2.5 weeks something that will negatively impact my application? I was originally planning to request a hold until my January LSAT anyway so I don't think it would really affect when it would be read.

EagerestBeaver

Depends on where you are applying. If it is to T14 schools and schools that have hard February cutoffs, you are cutting it close, so sooner is better than later. If it is to schools that have rolling admissions and acceptances until August, sooner is still better, but two weeks won't harm you. I don't know how much work will be done between Christmas and New Years at admissions offices. That being said, people have been applying since September, we are reaching the point in the cycle where acceptances and scholarship have already gone out. That is not to say that you will not receive $$$ by applying in January, but we are reaching the point where the pool of resources is being tapped. Thus, if you are competitive where you are applying, it should be ok but be swift. Make sure everything else is perfect so when the LOR comes in you are ready to go.

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

@"A. Henderson" said:
So I was meeting with one of my LOR writers yesterday and they informed me that they will not be able to have my LOR completed until the first week of January (the 4th). Is waiting these extra 2.5 weeks something that will negatively impact my application? I was originally planning to request a hold until my January LSAT anyway so I don't think it would really affect when it would be read.

if you were planning on using your jan lsat score for your app (and request a hold on your file), i think the point is moot.
schools won't evaluate anything on your app until your app goes to "complete" status, which won't be for a while until they get your jan score.
you will be fine if you get your lor by january because your jan lsat score will be released in feb anyway.
good luck on your jan test!