This question may be putting the cart before the horse, but I am planning on sitting for the September 2016 LSAT and applying this same cycle (and would like to have apps out ASAP because I'm an aspiring splitter). Assuming all goes well with LSAT prep, how should I time the drafting of my personal statement and letters of rec. Obviously any work on these two areas trades off directly with LSAT studying, so should I plan on using the time between taking the test and getting results to hammer all of this out? Any insight or links to threads where this has already been discussed would be very helpful. Thanks!
Comments
With your Letters, you do need to go ahead and contact your writers. It is good etiquette to allow them as much notice as you can. This will also give you adequate time to wait before a follow up if your writers aren’t on the ball. If you ask them two weeks before you want to submit, it’s going to be awkward having to press them.
Now: Send Recommenders an email with a deadline of Oct 1st. Follow up as necessary.
1. Finalize resume before July.
2. Finalize personal statement mid-July.
3. Begin working on specific application components for each law school after PS is done.
4. Finalize all applications by end of August.
5. Spend final month relaxing a bit more before LSAT.
6. Spend post-LSAT, pre-score time reviewing and doing a final edit of all applications.
7. If score is in range I want, then send applications away. The LSAT score range is an almost necessary conditions for many of my desired schools, so if I don't get the score, I'll get back in the bunker and study my butt off for December.
Hope this helps!
At this point, studying for the LSAT should be your first priority, but you should be able to work on your application in the interstices that might otherwise be wasted. Give your best hours to LSAT study. When you can't study any more, or when you're giving yourself a break, take a crack at your personal statement.
It's true that you can submit your application before your LSAT score comes in, but I recommend that you hold fire. Admissions officers won't look at it until it's complete, and in the meantime, you might discover a typo, or make a more drastic improvement.
I made a timeline of the admissions process for the Admissions Starter package: https://7sage.com/lesson/admissions-overview/