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I've read that usually admission officers don't start reading apps until after Thxgiving. So how early is early? Would your chances be better if you apply in Sep > early Oct > late Oct > early Nov? Thanks!

sooner the better! at most schools it should better your chances (rolling admissions).

I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

thanks! i know it'll be a question hard to answer, but would my chances be comparable if i submit mine before thxgiving, compared to before halloween?

Swimp wrote:I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

hanmoumou wrote:thanks! i know it'll be a question hard to answer, but would my chances be comparable if i submit mine before thxgiving, compared to before halloween?

Swimp wrote:I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

I don't think anyone knows the answer to this question for sure, but in general, law schools start making the first round of decisions around Thanksgiving, so the bump you'd get by submitting much earlier than that is probably negligible.

So the way to do it is probably to submit as early as you can, but don't sacrifice the quality of your application materials to do so, unless it's getting really late in the cycle.

your input is tremendously helpful. i was weighing in btwn the quality of the apps and the timeline. thanks!

Swimp wrote:

hanmoumou wrote:thanks! i know it'll be a question hard to answer, but would my chances be comparable if i submit mine before thxgiving, compared to before halloween?

Swimp wrote:I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

I don't think anyone knows the answer to this question for sure, but in general, law schools start making the first round of decisions around Thanksgiving, so the bump you'd get by submitting much earlier than that is probably negligible.

So the way to do it is probably to submit as early as you can, but don't sacrifice the quality of your application materials to do so, unless it's getting really late in the cycle.

Swimp wrote:I don't think anyone knows the answer to this question for sure, but in general, law schools start making the first round of decisions around Thanksgiving, so the bump you'd get by submitting much earlier than that is probably negligible.

So the way to do it is probably to submit as early as you can, but don't sacrifice the quality of your application materials to do so, unless it's getting really late in the cycle.

I would say the bump is small but tangible, so I would disagree with negligible. Certainly not enough of a bump to submit a not-quite-ready app, though.

Enter your numbers into this search, and switch between "early" "in-between" and "late" on the "Show me Applications Submitted" to see some anecdotal evidence.

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Before thanksgiving should be your goal, not your "early" point. Why not give yourself the best chance possible, IMO.

For example, x-mas would not be on time for Berkeley. They have already made a bunch of decisions at that point and most of the people after it go to faculty review or get rejected.

shifty_eyed wrote:Enter your numbers into this search, and switch between "early" "in-between" and "late" on the "Show me Applications Submitted" to see some anecdotal evidence.

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oh my god. thank you for this website. i will be having nightmares about it for the next four months.

francesfarmer wrote:

shifty_eyed wrote:Enter your numbers into this search, and switch between "early" "in-between" and "late" on the "Show me Applications Submitted" to see some anecdotal evidence.

--LinkRemoved--

oh my god. thank you for this website. i will be having nightmares about it for the next four months.

+1

Thanks everyone for your input!

Swimp wrote:I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

Before Thanksgiving is more "on time" than early.

Thanks again! So before Nov 1 is considered sort of early? And late Sep/early Oct to be very early? But I read in a book that admission officers don't really read any apps in Sep.

Ti Malice wrote:

Swimp wrote:I believe the way people usually think about it is:

before Halloween = very early

before Thanksgiving = early

before Xmas = on time

Before Thanksgiving is more "on time" than early.

Also, are we talking about app submission in terms of electronic submission or the snail mail way?

Say that I make the e-submission via LSAC on Nov 1st. Is the earliness determined by this date or by (say) ~Nov 15 (I heard it takes about 2 weeks for LSDAS to mail the hard copy to LS)?

Thanks!

hanmoumou wrote:Also, are we talking about app submission in terms of electronic submission or the snail mail way?

Say that I make the e-submission via LSAC on Nov 1st. Is the earliness determined by this date or by (say) ~Nov 15 (I heard it takes about 2 weeks for LSDAS to mail the hard copy to LS)?

Thanks!

LSAC doesn't mail a hard copy to schools. Who told you that?
LSAC notifies a school that there's some more submitted apps ready, and the school logs in and downloads the latest batch.

I think I read on this forum that LSDAS/LSAC mails a hardcopy (of the grades report/LORs etc) to some schools via Fedex.

See my confusion lies in the timeline and the process. Say I submit everything on Nov 1 via lsac.org. Then what happens? The school requests my info from the LSAC? (and how long would this generally take?) Then LSAC sends the school an e-copy instantaneously but also sometimes mails out a hardcopy which would take 2-3 weeks (or shorter)?

If anyone has info and can clarify, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

rinkrat19 wrote:

hanmoumou wrote:Also, are we talking about app submission in terms of electronic submission or the snail mail way?

Say that I make the e-submission via LSAC on Nov 1st. Is the earliness determined by this date or by (say) ~Nov 15 (I heard it takes about 2 weeks for LSDAS to mail the hard copy to LS)?

Thanks!

LSAC doesn't mail a hard copy to schools. Who told you that?
LSAC notifies a school that there's some more submitted apps ready, and the school logs in and downloads the latest batch.

hanmoumou wrote:I think I read on this forum that LSDAS/LSAC mails a hardcopy (of the grades report/LORs etc) to some schools via Fedex.

See my confusion lies in the timeline and the process. Say I submit everything on Nov 1 via lsac.org. Then what happens? The school requests my info from the LSAC? (and how long would this generally take?) Then LSAC sends the school an e-copy instantaneously but also sometimes mails out a hardcopy which would take 2-3 weeks (or shorter)?

If anyone has info and can clarify, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

I won't state categorically that NO schools get applications via FedEx, but I'm reasonably certain that most schools use electronic transmission. Because this isn't 1972.

When you hit 'submit,' the LSAC system instantly generates a PDF of your entire application package. You can (indeed, I think you must) preview it before submitting it. (If I remember correctly, the preview doesn't include the academic summary report, but obviously the schools also get that.)

It takes the schools anywhere from a day to a few weeks to process it at the other end (NOT including reviewing it for an actual decision). Most schools report the app as 'received' within a few days. Most schools send you login info for a status checker system. The statuses (stati?) that your app will go through vary by school. Some schools use a detailed series like Received>Processing>Complete>Under Review>Decision Sent. Some schools go Received and nothing after that until you get an email with a decision. It totally depends.

So does applying in mid-November (early side of on time) become a detriment or is it just a neutral condition?

I guess I am asking whether applying mid-November will disadvantage me overall. Obviously it will relative to people who have applied in September/October. If the benefit of applying early is maybe that one can have a point or two below the median doe applying on time just mean you better have the appropriate statistics for the school?