Top Law Schools

If I keep up my 170+ track and manage to knock out out a nice 99th percentile score in October, I'll be a reverse splitter with a high LSAT, low GPA of 3.0.

I read about what ED, EA, waitlisted, etc. means but how does a reverse splitter like me use that information?

According to mylsn I have a small chance at UPenn if I get a 173+ so does that mean I ED there?

Someone please explain.

ED - early decision
Some schools allow you to apply for early decision (usually need to apply October, with decision due by December) which improves your odds of acceptance. However, ED is binding and if you are accepted you cannot attend any other law school
Edit: and no, you can't get around this by giving it a year. Fucking with ED has resulted in students being blacklisted from top law schools

EA - Early Action
Like ED, but non-binding; if you get in somewhere better you can attend there

Waitlist - not a yes, not a no. If not even accepted students matriculate, people are pulled off the waitlist. You might not year whether you've been accepted or rejected until July

So if I DO well in Oct should I ED to the best school at which I have some chance of getting into?

laww wrote:So if I DO well in Oct should I ED to the best school at which I have some chance of getting into?

The October test's results come out too late to ED

Damn... is there a chance then for a splitter to get into a good school with regular decision? or am I screwed?

laww wrote:Damn... is there a chance then for a splitter to get into a good school with regular decision? or am I screwed?

There's a chance. ED isn't some magical category that circumvents regular decision making. It just ensures you get considered first. It gives a slight bump, but it's not a panacea for the under qualified candidate

Is there any guide here on how to apply if you're a splitter?

laww wrote:Is there any guide here on how to apply if you're a splitter?

use the search function

sweet found one in case other splitters are curios:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=162680

guano wrote:

laww wrote:So if I DO well in Oct should I ED to the best school at which I have some chance of getting into?

The October test's results come out too late to ED

Err, what? No. That's just not true.

Every single one of the schools in the T14 has an ED deadline that falls after the latest possible October LSAT score release, with most deadlines falling on 11/15 (UChicago and Northwestern are both 12/1, GU 2/1, Virginia doesn't have a hard date).

If an applicant put together the entirety of their application ahead of October and submitted everything except their October score, they'd easily make ED deadlines. The only real cause for concern would be somebody who waits to process their transcripts, LOR's, etc. until after receiving their score, since there's a small chance processing delays would put them behind the deadline.

guano wrote:

laww wrote:So if I DO well in Oct should I ED to the best school at which I have some chance of getting into?

The October test's results come out too late to ED

I thought ED wasn't due til mid-November for most schools? Is it important to get them in long before those deadlines?

Vexed wrote: If an applicant put together the entirety of their application ahead of October and submitted everything except their October score, they'd easily make ED deadlines. The only real cause for concern would be somebody who waits to process their transcripts, LOR's, etc. until after receiving their score, since there's a small chance processing delays would put them behind the deadline.

Butting in- is it important to submit your application asap while registered for the Oct LSAT? I know the application will be on hold. Does it matter whether you just submit the whole thing after October scores, or is it important to send what you can and have your stuff on file while they wait for the LSAT score?

gatorgal wrote:

Vexed wrote: If an applicant put together the entirety of their application ahead of October and submitted everything except their October score, they'd easily make ED deadlines. The only real cause for concern would be somebody who waits to process their transcripts, LOR's, etc. until after receiving their score, since there's a small chance processing delays would put them behind the deadline.

Butting in- is it important to submit your application asap while registered for the Oct LSAT? I know the application will be on hold. Does it matter whether you just submit the whole thing after October scores, or is it important to send what you can and have your stuff on file while they wait for the LSAT score?

Like I said, you do help yourself in avoiding the risk of processing delays if you're planning on applying ED... there may be an advantage to having a complete file earlier w/o the LSAT versus just sending everything in at once, but if there is, I'd imagine it's incredibly negligible.

If every part of your application is ready to go before you get your LSAT score, you might as well just get everything in rather than waiting, IMO.

gatorgal wrote:

guano wrote:

laww wrote:So if I DO well in Oct should I ED to the best school at which I have some chance of getting into?

The October test's results come out too late to ED

I thought ED wasn't due til mid-November for most schools? Is it important to get them in long before those deadlines?

Ok, I was wrong about this