Hello I have a few questions Forum

[metsfan2017]

Hello I am new to the group here. My goal is to try to get accepted to a law school in the fall of 2017. I am taking the LSAT this February. And I have looked at many different law schools in the southern California area. I have started on applications however I have not finished them yet. I am also currently an undergraduate and I won't most likely be graduating until June 2017. Will this increasingly lessen my chance of getting into a law school by next fall? Yes, I know I need to get a good score on the LSAT and I have started studying this week. I have familiarized myself with the questions long before. Thank you.

[floatie]

Being a current undergrad won't lessen your chances as much as trying to apply this cycle with a Feb LSAT. A lot of schools don't even accept the Feb LSAT for the current cycle, as their deadlines are 2/1 or 3/1, and you won't get your score back in time. And even for the schools that have later deadlines, you'll be applying as a very late applicant. From your post it kind of seems like this is a rushed decision - you'd be much better off applying early next cycle to start in Fall 2018. That'll also give you time to look into the schools you're interested, gauge your stats and where you'd be a good candidate, and to have a better game plan in general.

Also - there's a search function at the top of the page. Use that.

[cavalier1138]

Yeah, taking the February test will torpedo your chances at getting admitted for the fall.

Take the LSAT in February; you've got plenty of time to prepare before then. Just don't bother applying this cycle.

[Rigo]

Sit out the cycle and apply early next cycle.

[Keilz]

Everything in this process takes longer than you expect, and you don't want to rush anything.

Here is my experience:

Originally planned to take June 2015 lsat, pushed it to October 2015. Didn't score as high as I wanted. Didn't have personal statement done until December and still didn't like it, but because I felt that it was already getting late for the cycle, I applied to one top school that I think I had a shot at. I got denied. Decided to retake in June 2016 to apply for the next cycle, and personal statement wasn't done until September 2016. I just finished all of my apps (including school specific essays) day after thanksgiving. I submitted apps from late September all the way through 11/28. I've been accepted to 5/12 so far!

As you can see, the lsat itself is like a 6mos-1 year long process, and the essay writing for the apps takes another 6months. I did all of this while having a FT job with lots of overtime.

You're in school currently, so your studies also count toward your law school applications. You should focus only on school to raise your GPA as high as possible.

I think the most conservative timeframe would be to get a job for two years to give you ample time and flexibility to study for the lsat and prepare your essays. For a quicker timeline, study for the sept/oct 2017 lsat as soon as you graduate, and then work on your essays so that you submit by thanksgiving/December 2017.