Feb 2015 test for fall 2016 admissions?!

Marinaaa

Hi all!

I'm registered for the December LSAT but im thinking of pushing it back to February. Any thoughts on applying and then just sending in my February score. Most schools that i'm looking into have March/April deadlines. So I'm not sure if i'll still be ok.

I took a year off, and I just really don't want to take another one.

Thanks!

c.janson35

Taking the Feb test with a March deadline is really pushing it in my opinion. You will more than likely be one of the last few applications that the schools you are applying to are receiving, which obviously isn't ideal. Not only would this potentially hurt your chances of admission, but it reduces your chances of receiving scholarship money. I think most people will probably offer you the same advice. Get some cool work experience under your belt or do something that will differentiate yourself as a candidate. You can also use the extra time to save up money for law school and minimizing loans is a big win. In any case, don't take the test until you're ready to take it. If this means sitting out another year, then so be it. Law school isn't going anywhere and you can only benefit from the time off.

mcmlaw36

I am in the exact same position @marina_zee!

I am not 100% ready but knowing this has only made me so much more motivated to keep pushing through (adding in a lot of extra study time) and write Dec. I took two years off before my undergrad, and having graduated this past June, I really don't want to "waste" another year and push it back to 2017 admissions (this is exactly what it would be for me).

I completely agree that you shouldn't write until you are 100% ready, but with that being said, I also believe that the majority of people who ARE in fact ready, don't even know that they are. Tons of people go into the exam and do better than they thought they would. So, my personal advice: Be confident in your ability to do well under the given circumstances, and do your best! If it's not feasible to wait until 2017, December is your chance. I am writing Dec & Feb. This also helps with the mindset entering the Dec. exam - if you know that you have another shot at doing well, it's likely that you won't be as nervous as you would be under the impression that December is your one and only shot at getting into law school.

Hope this helps, coming from another student in a very similar situation.

EmergingAttorney180

My questions to you would be: what schools are you applying to? And what LSAT score and GPA do you plan on applying with?

This may be going against the consensus, but.. If your goal is a regional school and you are confident you can score well above their 75th percentile, I'd say go for it. Most would probably be glad to have you (even with a scholarship) despite it being late in the cycle.

If your goal is a T14 or T20, I would probably either take the December test or sit out a year. There are just too many good candidates applying for most of those schools for you to have a good chance of acceptance and/or scholarship money that late in the cycle.