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I have a 3.76 GPA with 168 LSAT. I won't be able to submit my application before January 4th due to LOR issues and was wondering if applying that late in the cycle would hurt my chances.
Should I just apply this cycle or wait for next cycle and apply super early?
I'm hoping for Duke, UPenn, Michigan, Cornell, Georgetown, and Northwestern

dreamer1234 wrote:I have a 3.76 GPA with 168 LSAT. I won't be able to submit my application before January 4th due to LOR issues and was wondering if applying that late in the cycle would hurt my chances.
Should I just apply this cycle or wait for next cycle and apply super early?
I'm hoping for Duke, UPenn, Michigan, Cornell, Georgetown, and Northwestern

Retake, apply next fall

BigZuck wrote:Retake, apply next fall

I wish I could. But I already have two cancellations... so I'm stuck with a 168. Gahh. I hate my score.

Well, if you're deadset on applying this cycle then I don't think it'll make much of a difference. I would just go ahead and apply as soon as you can, schools need LSAT scores and can no longer put on the charade of caring about when you apply in the cycle.

168 isnt bad at all. Its a solid score.

Lots of people still apply in January. However, there's also no rush to go to law school. If you have a decent job and you like where you are now, sit it out and apply next year. Otherwise, early january may be traditionally late but with declining applications, lots of schools will be waiting on December scores so it probably wont make much difference.

jbagelboy wrote:168 isnt bad at all. Its a solid score.

Lots of people still apply in January. However, there's also no rush to go to law school. If you have a decent job and you like where you are now, sit it out and apply next year. Otherwise, early january may be traditionally late but with declining applications, lots of schools will be waiting on December scores so it probably wont make much difference.

I didn't mean to imply it was bad. I just don't know that it's "get into Duke, Northwestern, and Penn" good when coupled with that GPA. I'm very familiar with that GPA and what happens to it when it's coupled with a 169. At the very least the OP should snag Cornell though, and beyond that you never know...

FWIW OP, I have the exact same GPA, similar LSAT and am in at Vandy and Michigan. (applied mid-Nov) I am waiting on all the other schools you mentioned

I do have a pretty interesting soft and am multi-ethic (non URM) though...

dreamer1234 wrote: Should I just apply this cycle or wait for next cycle and apply super early?

applying super early is a flame. like others have said, schools are going to be waiting to see all the scores come out before they make moves.

I think people with above a schools median will be able to apply in march and still get in. The number of test takers is down again this year and 165+ scorers are also down. Along with this, I read an article that people getting 170s are thinking twice about attending law school.

I'm also applying late to vandy, uva, georgetown, penn.

I'm a splitter however

edited for brevity

I'm in a very similar situation to you. Slightly higher LSAT, Slightly lower lsac-GPA. I have also been waiting on letters of recommendation, and will probably not be able to apply until between January 2nd and January 5th. One difference is that I'm not dead-set on t-14 schools, in fact I would almost certainly take a full ride at a good second tier school over paying sticker at Columbia, Penn, Michigan, ect. I know this is heresy on TLS, I'm after a specialized area of law so if you disagree than just forget I said it. And I do have one LSAT retake if I needed it, but I don't really feel like studying all over again.

I'm going to apply this year for three reasons.

1. This cycle is going to be really friendly. However, with slight improvements in the economy and a little bit less general animosity towards law schools, I'm not sure that there isn't going to be an uptick in applications next year. Making the 2014-2015 cycle similar to the 2012-2013 cycle and more competitive than this one. This depression in applications is not bottomless, and it will eventually start improving again... If you wait, than you're kind of gamboling that next year isn't going to be that cycle. A good indication of this will be the number of people who take the LSAT in December, February, and especially June. Are December totals out yet?

2. I'm skeptical that applying two years in a row hurts you all that much. It does probably have a slight impact, but I think that if law school applications continue to deteriorate than it will become almost irrelevant. It depends on the school, but I'm also skeptical that applying in January will hurt you all that much, as compared to December. If you look at law school numbers, most of the schools on your list seem to be holding there decisions for people with our kind of numbers (people above us are getting accepted, below rejected), but the 168/3.8 looks pretty empty as most T-14 schools (except for maybe Duke).

3. I think there is just a little bit of luck in law school applications, depending on who reads you file, etc. I think that taking an extra shot at the application process, even if it's the same shot twice improves your chances of hitting the bull's eye and getting the kind of offer that you're hoping for. If you don't get what you're looking for this year than you can always walk away and apply again next cycle (keep you job), but if you do get the perfect offer at the perfect school than you will have the opportunity to take it. Just don't piss off all you're target schools, buy playing games with scholarship negotiations and seat deposits before deciding to back out.

That said, there is also an argument for waiting tell next year depending on your life situation. One would be if you were set on a specific school and you wanted to ED

Also this should be really comforting, (not the weather), but put within the context of this cycle even Harvard is willing to wait until March for applications. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/admissions ... nes-oh-my/

^ that made my day thank you and thank god for snow storms!!!!

This is prob one of the few years schools won't consider apps late in feb because LSAT centers were closed due to weather ... Hooray