How much does applying early matter?

[aguaman13]

For a variety of reasons I am just now finishing up the majority of my applications. While I would significantly prefer to begin school in the fall, I would consider waiting if I had a better idea of how big of a difference an early application makes. I know that applying early helps, but does anybody have solid information regarding how much? Obviously, if I were to wait I could submit as soon as the next cycle started. How big of a difference is there between submitting on the first day of a cycle as opposed to the end?

[blink]

For a variety of reasons I am just now finishing up the majority of my applications. While I would significantly prefer to begin school in the fall, I would consider waiting if I had a better idea of how big of a difference an early application makes. I know that applying early helps, but does anybody have solid information regarding how much? Obviously, if I were to wait I could submit as soon as the next cycle started. How big of a difference is there between submitting on the first day of a cycle as opposed to the end?

The difference is huge. Schools are on a rolling basis for admissions and it essentially acts as a first-come first-served system for students. If you come calling in the middle of February when 2/3-3/4 of the classes are filled, your numbers are going to need to be much more competitive to gain admission this late in the game. Put it this way: applying early DIRECTLY INCREASES YOUR CHANCES OF ADMISSION. I didn't even mention the fact that all the scholarship money dries up at some point, why wait not wait around for that to reload again next year? Wait a year.

[robotclubmember]

it's no secret that the majority of top schools favor early apps. some, such as boalt, pretty much give you no chance if you're applying in january. some, like yale, actually have a genuine rolling admissions process and there really isn't any penalty for applying late. it depends. where did you apply? not every school is as competitive for seats. guessing by your numbers i'd say you're applying to schools that it won't probably matter except for $$$. reaches will be a little tougher.

also apps are down this year. first-time lsat takers were down in dec too so late apps should be down by more than normal apps which were already down. the knee jerk response that it's a "huge" difference may not be accurate. circumstances change.

[bhan87]

it's no secret that the majority of top schools favor early apps. some, such as boalt, pretty much give you no chance if you're applying in january. some, like yale, actually have a genuine rolling admissions process and there really isn't any penalty for applying late. it depends. where did you apply? not every school is as competitive for seats. guessing by your numbers i'd say you're applying to schools that it won't probably matter except for $$$. reaches will be a little tougher.

also apps are down this year. first-time lsat takers were down in dec too so late apps should be down by more than normal apps which were already down. the knee jerk response that it's a "huge" difference may not be accurate. circumstances change.

I don't get how people conclude January applicants have no chance at Boalt. Plenty of TLSers that applied with December LSAT scores report getting in. Also, it would seem that a big round of administrative review ended a week after December scores were released. Certainly it helps to apply early, but it's not impossible (not even THAT disadvantageous) to apply in January.

That said, February is way too late. If you want to maximize your chances you should submit on Day 1, but higher December LSAT > early submission

[ClosetStateSchooler]

I would say it does and it doesn't. For schools that get a rediculous amount of apps, I think it is best to apply early. Having said that, I took the December LSAT/ went complete late January early February/ and was accepted to UT-Austin which was a semi-reach for me.

[lawschooliseasy]

I think its less how much applying early helps you and more how much applying late hurts you. Answer: at this point, a lot.

[ClosetStateSchooler]

I would say it does and it doesn't. For schools that get a rediculous amount of apps, I think it is best to apply early. Having said that, I took the December LSAT/ went complete late January early February/ and was accepted to UT-Austin which was a semi-reach for me.

Those were supposed to be commas.

[aguaman13]

it's no secret that the majority of top schools favor early apps. some, such as boalt, pretty much give you no chance if you're applying in january. some, like yale, actually have a genuine rolling admissions process and there really isn't any penalty for applying late. it depends. where did you apply? not every school is as competitive for seats. guessing by your numbers i'd say you're applying to schools that it won't probably matter except for $$$. reaches will be a little tougher.

also apps are down this year. first-time lsat takers were down in dec too so late apps should be down by more than normal apps which were already down. the knee jerk response that it's a "huge" difference may not be accurate. circumstances change.

Thanks for the feedback. I have already submitted to my reach schools, one of which was Hawaii who does not use rolling admissions. However, after reading some of the stuff out there about the importance of early application I was beginning to worry that I may have taken myself out of the running by waiting to apply to the rest. I'm interested in P.I. and am looking solid (near the 75th %) iin terms of LSAT at schools such as San Francisco and Miami, who has a very late deadline. At other schools that interest me such as UDC, Howard, CUNY, Cal Western, Golden Gate, and FIU I am very strong in terms of LSAT (above or well-above the 75th), but still a splitter with GPA. I did finish pretty strong (3.5 over last 70 units), have URM status and worked substantial hours during school. Do you think I will be alright submitting within the nxt two weeks for these schools?

[robotclubmember]

I don't get how people conclude January applicants have no chance at Boalt. Plenty of TLSers that applied with December LSAT scores report getting in. Also, it would seem that a big round of administrative review ended a week after December scores were released. Certainly it helps to apply early, but it's not impossible (not even THAT disadvantageous) to apply in January.

That said, February is way too late. If you want to maximize your chances you should submit on Day 1, but higher December LSAT > early submission

http://www.top-law-schools.com/images/d ... /Boalt.jpg

or go to lsn. i don't mean literally no chance, clearly some people get in with january apps, but i think we can agree its the exception. but this isn't a boalt thread. my only point was, op should let us know where he is applying because all of them are different. but in his range for his lsat/gpa (158/3.1), i'm not convinced it will make a huge diff for any of those schools.

[Malcolm8X]

A LOT! Especially if your numbers are below median.

Edit: http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

[robotclubmember]

it's no secret that the majority of top schools favor early apps. some, such as boalt, pretty much give you no chance if you're applying in january. some, like yale, actually have a genuine rolling admissions process and there really isn't any penalty for applying late. it depends. where did you apply? not every school is as competitive for seats. guessing by your numbers i'd say you're applying to schools that it won't probably matter except for $$$. reaches will be a little tougher.

also apps are down this year. first-time lsat takers were down in dec too so late apps should be down by more than normal apps which were already down. the knee jerk response that it's a "huge" difference may not be accurate. circumstances change.

Thanks for the feedback. I have already submitted to my reach schools, one of which was Hawaii who does not use rolling admissions. However, after reading some of the stuff out there about the importance of early application I was beginning to worry that I may have taken myself out of the running by waiting to apply to the rest. I'm interested in P.I. and am looking solid (near the 75th %) iin terms of LSAT at schools such as San Francisco and Miami, who has a very late deadline. At other schools that interest me such as UDC, Howard, CUNY, Cal Western, Golden Gate, and FIU I am very strong in terms of LSAT (above or well-above the 75th), but still a splitter with GPA. I did finish pretty strong (3.5 over last 70 units), have URM status and worked substantial hours during school. Do you think I will be alright submitting within the nxt two weeks for these schools?

Why would you wait another two weeks? I dunno about Miami and SF but I think you can get in, but you should send the apps now still. The rest of those schools, I can't see this mattering. This isn't a big deal.

EDIT - Ignore the guy above me, he doesn't know what he is talking about and is spewing regurgitated nonsense.

[aguaman13]

Why would you wait another two weeks? I dunno about Miami and SF but I think you can get in, but you should send the apps now still. The rest of those schools, I can't see this mattering. This isn't a big deal.

EDIT - Ignore the guy above me, he doesn't know what he is talking about and is spewing regurgitated nonsense.

Thanks again. San Fran will be turned in tomorrow or the next day, but the other schools have either funky prompts or want my desire to attend their school specifically addressed. I am therefore having to tailor my P.S. to each school. I should be able to get them in on a day-to-day basis with 2-weeks being the latest I see myself turning one in.

[Malcolm8X]

it's no secret that the majority of top schools favor early apps. some, such as boalt, pretty much give you no chance if you're applying in january. some, like yale, actually have a genuine rolling admissions process and there really isn't any penalty for applying late. it depends. where did you apply? not every school is as competitive for seats. guessing by your numbers i'd say you're applying to schools that it won't probably matter except for $$$. reaches will be a little tougher.

also apps are down this year. first-time lsat takers were down in dec too so late apps should be down by more than normal apps which were already down. the knee jerk response that it's a "huge" difference may not be accurate. circumstances change.

Thanks for the feedback. I have already submitted to my reach schools, one of which was Hawaii who does not use rolling admissions. However, after reading some of the stuff out there about the importance of early application I was beginning to worry that I may have taken myself out of the running by waiting to apply to the rest. I'm interested in P.I. and am looking solid (near the 75th %) iin terms of LSAT at schools such as San Francisco and Miami, who has a very late deadline. At other schools that interest me such as UDC, Howard, CUNY, Cal Western, Golden Gate, and FIU I am very strong in terms of LSAT (above or well-above the 75th), but still a splitter with GPA. I did finish pretty strong (3.5 over last 70 units), have URM status and worked substantial hours during school. Do you think I will be alright submitting within the nxt two weeks for these schools?

Why would you wait another two weeks? I dunno about Miami and SF but I think you can get in, but you should send the apps now still. The rest of those schools, I can't see this mattering. This isn't a big deal.

EDIT - Ignore the guy above me, he doesn't know what he is talking about and is spewing regurgitated nonsense.

Regurgitated, maybe. Nonsense. Absolutely not.

To qualify my statement: yes it does matter, depending on the school. But I now see that you all have figured that out already.

[aguaman13]

Thanks for the lawschoolnumbers link. I hadn't seen that before. I know that isnt everyone, but I feel much better after checking that out.

[09042014]

Schools aren't stupid (except Boalt), and they know how to plan a class. Applying early isn't a huge boost, but applying after the Dec LSAT scores release is a bad idea. Some target schools will be more liklely to waitlist you. Depending how the year goes taht might be fatal, or it might not be too bad. Last years cycle there wasn't much waitlist movement.

[clintonius]

Last year I applied around Jan 25th with a 3.8/172. My only acceptances were NYU and Georgetown (post-waitlist). I was waitlisted at HLS, CLS, UofChi, UVA, Duke, and Minn, and outright rejected at SLS, Boalt, and Michigan. Applying late hurts, folks.

[Malcolm8X]

Thanks for the lawschoolnumbers link. I hadn't seen that before. I know that isnt everyone, but I feel much better after checking that out.

You're welcome man! G/L!!

[swampthang]

I think it's really more that applying late hurts than applying early helps. The negative of applying late as has been discussed is that there are just that many fewer spots open. Plus who really cares when they read the 1,000th "Why I Want to be a Lawyer" essay of the cycle? What seemed fresh 3 months ago now seems stale and unoriginal.

While applying early does seem to convey some small advantage, let's not forget that schools can easily negate this by deffering an application. So again, per above, you're just putting yourself less at a disadvantage by applying early (which I suppose is an advantage in a way).

Can someone please explain how Yale is not "rolling admissions"? I've read the (203) blog, I understand their process, but how is faculty review any different than adcomm review elsewhere? Asha calls the auto-admits early, and everyone else goes through the process. This makes me think that the same principles apply as above and that once again, it is to your advantage to be the first sub-median applicant than the 500th. Can anyone explain how this isn't the case at Yale?

[fragged]

I think applying early helps if it's a target or (slight) reach, but for a definite reach, I don't know if it matters much. My reaches are still holding my app after almost 5 months, so apparently submitting on day 1 didn't help me much.