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Applying "early" as a strategy gets tossed around a lot on here, but I'm confused exactly what it means.

Specifically, is there much of a difference between the end of September and the end of October when it comes to applying? I can certainly see on when you get into November, but I'm curious if you get that much of a leg up between September and October. Thanks!

early is before thanksgiving

northwood wrote:early is before thanksgiving

i'd say before november

see: cornell. complete before 11/1, decision sometime in the fall/winter months. complete after 11/1, decision hopefully before seat deposits are due but probably not

paulinaporizkova wrote:

northwood wrote:early is before thanksgiving

i'd say before november

see: cornell. complete before 11/1, decision sometime in the fall/winter months. complete after 11/1, decision hopefully before seat deposits are due but probably not[/quote ]

So if I take the October LSAT, would my application be processed by 11/1?

Thanksgiving is late. If you want the "early bump" we're talking two weeks after the app is released, august-september depending on the school.

paulinaporizkova wrote:

northwood wrote:early is before thanksgiving

i'd say before november

see: cornell. complete before 11/1, decision sometime in the fall/winter months. complete after 11/1, decision hopefully before seat deposits are due but probably not

No.

If you have good enough numbers to get in right away on EA at Cornell, applying early isn't a benefit anyway.
If you aren't exceedingly good, you'll be deferred and receive a decision after most of the regular applicants receive theirs.

So in the case of Cornell, the ideal time to apply would be Nov-December, unless you're an auto admit.

Thanksgiving is not late, and that Cornell timeline is off (at least from my experience).

It's relative; tons of people on TLS apply very early, and I've seen friends being happy that they're getting their apps in a week before the deadline.

When I was applying last year, someone wrote this, and I bought into it:

September/October: Super Early
Before Thanksgiving: Early
Before Christmas: On-Time
After Christmas: Late

Think of it not in terms of what day you apply on, but rather how many people have applied before you do. If you can get your application in before the rush of October LSAT takers, you're in really good shape. If you're taking the October LSAT, and you get apps done as soon as you get your scores, you're fine.

After getting waitlisted at H this year after an application updated with a December score, for me the classification is as follows:

15 September: On time
16 September+ : Too late.

Yeah.