Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q&A, a feature that provides law school admissions advice to readers who send in inquiries. If you have a question about law school admissions, email us for a chance to be featured in a future post.
I would like to know if it’s OK for me to submit law school applications before the February and early March deadlines without taking the LSAT until March or April 2022? This will be my first time taking the LSAT. — AT
The answer to this question depends on a crucial distinction: Is it more important to you to get into a more selective law school or to start any J.D. program in the fall?
For most nationally ranked law schools, the January LSAT date will be the latest date accepted in order to apply to start law school in the fall.
If your application shows a pending LSAT date, law schools will put your application on hold until the score comes in. Scores typically arrive three weeks after your test date, so scores for February or March LSAT test dates will not arrive until after most application deadlines have passed.
[Read: Decide if the February LSAT Is Too Late]
Even if a law school with a later deadline allows you to take the February or March LSAT, there are reasons to be wary. Since law schools have rolling admission, your odds of getting in decrease significantly by late winter. Most law schools tend to fill up their classes by then, so you risk wasting your application fees.
Even if this is disappointing news, it would be worth waiting to apply early in the following fall, shortly after applications open in August and September. That way, the odds will be in your favor, and you will have the time needed to implement a multimonth LSAT study plan.
[READ: How to Set an LSAT Study Plan Months in Advance.]
If you want to start planning, the Law School Admission Council recently announced dates for LSAT administrations through June 2023. The LSAT is currently offered nine times per year in the U.S.
Typically, I advise applicants to aim to take their first LSAT by June or August. That way, they have some leeway in case the test doesn’t go as well as they expect.
After all, there is no penalty for retaking the LSAT. Law schools consider your highest LSAT score, so it would be unwise to put all your eggs in one basket by planning to take the LSAT only once instead of leaving yourself a potential back-up date or two.
On the other hand, many part-time, hybrid and online J.D. programs have more availability in spring, since their academic calendars and admission deadlines are more flexible and meant to accommodate mid-career applicants.
Likewise, lower-ranked or unranked law schools are more likely to still have seats in their class available in spring. Although admission is still rolling at these schools, standards are less competitive and deadlines tend to be later. With lower median LSAT scores, it is less important to leave room to take the LSAT multiple times.
[READ: How to Decide Whether to Attend a Lower-Ranked Law School]
However, such programs are not always worth the cost, particularly if tuition is high or scholarships are only offered with strings attached.
Thus, if you simply aim to practice locally, especially in an area with an underserved legal market, and are less concerned with the prestige of your law degree, then it may be worth reaching out to local or online law school programs to ask whether they can accommodate spring applications. But if you have your sights set on a more selective law school, then I recommend waiting until fall to apply.
More from U.S. News
Conditional Scholarships for Law School: What to Know
When to Take the LSAT to Apply to Law School Next Fall
How Late Can You Take the LSAT to Meet Law School Application Deadlines? originally appeared on usnews.com
