December LSAT

emilycyoung1

Does taking the December 4th LSAT lower your chances of getting accepted to a law school? I want to go to HLS and I was told if you don't apply before thanksgiving it is then extremely difficult to get accepted because so many people have already applied.

Cant Get Right

My understanding is that there may be a slight edge at the beginning, but that if you can raise your LSAT score by even a single point, that outweighs all the advantages of applying early in the cycle. I know that sometimes HYS can be exceptions to some of the norms, but I’d think the LSAT score would still be way more important.

Alex

@emilycyoung1

@"Cant Get Right" is absolutely right! So it looks like he got right, lol. (Thank god I am going into law and not comedy)

I actually asked this same question to Dean Meeker, a former dean of admissions and a consultant at Spivey Consulting. I did specify in my question that I was applying to the HYS. This was part of his his reply:

"My advice is to wait and take in December if you're not feeling ready for the September test. BUT work on getting your applications completed before then. I'd still submit the applications by Thanksgiving if you can (or at the latest just after the LSAT in those first few weeks of December). I know that it means you'd be submitting applications without knowing your score, but it at that point you're feeling more confident about your score, better to get the apps in before January. The schools will begin processing your application when they receive it, and it will remain incomplete until they receive your score. But at least once they receive the score your application is ready to be forwarded to committee for review. If you wait until January to apply, you're delaying the processing of the application by at least a few weeks. Plus it is right after the holiday break - many admissions offices are closed for the week from Christmas to New Year's - so there is always a deluge of applications and mail when they return, so the processing time is even longer than it is in the fall.

Bottom line: better to apply with your best application in December than with a weaker application in October. The benefit of the higher LSAT score and overall stronger application will outweigh the benefit of an earlier application with a lower LSAT score."

Cant Get Right

@"Alex Divine" said:
@"Cant Get Right" is absolutely right! So it looks like he got right, lol. (Thank god I am going into law and not comedy)

Lol, this joke is actually the only reason I’m still doing any of this.

Sprinkles

Try to apply early but taking the Dec LSAT is pretty much the last shot to have a good chance at applying to HYS - you should be ok