Law School Admission Timeline - December LSAT

Someone e-mailed me a question yesterday that might be helpful to many of you considering applying for Fall 2008 law school admission.

"If I were to try to take the December 1st LSAT, would my chances of acceptance be lowered due to a late application?"

The answer is that while a June or September/October score is ideal because of the opportunity to re-take the exam if needed and to have applications complete at schools earlier (a benefit because of rolling admissions policies), almost every law school will accept the December exam.

If you aren't going to be able to study in the next 2 months, then December is the next best option. Just really prep for it - February is too late for a "do-over" for this application season. (Even schools that say they accept a February LSAT have already given away their seats for the class and they are only holding out for February scores in the event they get an applicant in their 75th percentile range).

And, please don't wait for your score to come back in January to start getting your applications together. This is a recipe for having to re-apply the following year. Get started on everything now - transcripts, letters of rec, resume, essays, and submit some apps before you get your score. Just save room in the application budget for additions once you know your score.

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