Should I take the LSAT in October or November?

ceramt18

I am about to enter my senior year of college. I took the LSAT for the first time in April of 2021 and was about 5 points away from my target. I am taking the LSAT again this fall and I am unsure if I should take it in October or November. I have been studying all summer and plan to study up until the LSAT. Of course it would be beneficial to have an extra month of studying but I have heard mixed reviews as to whether November is too late because of the advantage of applying earlier. Please let me know your thoughts! Thank you

lethal_bacon

Hello! The best piece of advice I've heard when it comes to this kind of thing is to take the LSAT when you feel the most prepared. You're never going to feel 100% ready, but the key is to feel comfortable, prepared, and confident. That means different things to different people, but to me it means getting my goal score at least a few time on PTs and even trying to score above my goal score in case I have test day jitters. If that point for you coalesces in October that's awesome, sit for the test in October. If October comes around the corner and your gut or scores are telling you another month would really help, then don't be afraid to push back. I think technically you could take Jan and still apply, although that would be very late in the cycle -- only mention it because Nov./Dec. is still relatively in the thick of everything.

With the flex you can change your test date a few weeks before at no charge, so you could always sign up for October and see how you feel a few weeks out. Moreover, since you're still going to school which is a huge commitment, your test date may depend on some other factors like your midterms/papers/finals schedule.

The general consensus that I've heard from an application standpoint (from tutors, admissions counselors, law school literature, etc.) is that any points you can gain on the LSAT are worth delaying in the cycle, especially if we're talking about October to November. Sure, it's ideal to apply as early in the cycle as possible, but if you can bump that LSAT score up even a point or two, it's my understanding that the score boost will more than compensate for being a few weeks/month later in the application cycle.

I really hope that helps and best of luck whatever you end up doing!

ceramt18

@lethal_bacon thank you so much, that was very helpful! I think I am going to do November.