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Hello,

I'm planning to take the LSAT next June (June 2018) and I plan on applying to law school school 4 or 5 years from then. I know that your LSAT score is good for 5 years, but I would like to clarify that deadline....
If I were to apply for the 2023/2024 school year, would my LSAT be accepted? I would be applying and sending my scores around October/November 2023, which is within the 5 year time limit. However, the 2023/2024 academic year starts about 5 years and 3 months after I will have taken my LSAT.
Also, if I apply for the 2023/2024 school year and I'm waitlisted, the decision about my admission may not be made until mid-summer after the 5 year time limit.

What do you guys think?

The time limit refers to when the applications are sent in and evaluated, not the start of the next academic year. But I think this is a weird plan.

I'd wait a few years. Plans change.

Rigo wrote:I'd wait a few years. Plans change.

I'd argue this is a reason for taking it now. Gives them the most flexibility.

JamesBlahDeBlah wrote:

Rigo wrote:I'd wait a few years. Plans change.

I'd argue this is a reason for taking it now. Gives them the most flexibility.

seems way more likely their score will expire then them needing it in the next couple years though, so it sounds way better to wait it out. And with the test moving to 5x a year, they can easily adapt if they decide to go sooner.

Rigo wrote:

JamesBlahDeBlah wrote:

Rigo wrote:I'd wait a few years. Plans change.

I'd argue this is a reason for taking it now. Gives them the most flexibility.

seems way more likely their score will expire then them needing it in the next couple years though, so it sounds way better to wait it out. And with the test moving to 5x a year, they can easily adapt if they decide to go sooner.

Maybe... but it also matters what they are doing in the intervening years. If they are going to work a demanding job, maybe they have more time to study now and won't later. Plus having the score in your back pocket means you can put together an application quickly if you decide in say, November, that you'd like to start next year. If they didn't have the score, they'd likely have to wait a cycle.

Okay whatever. I, personally, would never spend the time getting a good score if there was a good chance it'd expire before I could use it.
I'm just conforming to the situation OP laid out while you're considering possibilities that are, yes, possible but not rooted in the situation at hand.

Rigo wrote:Okay whatever. I, personally, would never spend the time getting a good score if there was a good chance it'd expire before I could use it.
I'm just conforming to the situation OP laid out while you're considering possibilities that are, yes, possible but not rooted in the situation at hand.

Planning on going in 5 years is weird, too. Bot many intentionally pre-law school career paths where that's the norm. Maybe military service but if OP is doing IB with the plan of jumping ship after 5 years it would be an oddity

JamesBlahDeBlah wrote:

Rigo wrote:

JamesBlahDeBlah wrote:

Rigo wrote:I'd wait a few years. Plans change.

I'd argue this is a reason for taking it now. Gives them the most flexibility.

seems way more likely their score will expire then them needing it in the next couple years though, so it sounds way better to wait it out. And with the test moving to 5x a year, they can easily adapt if they decide to go sooner.

Maybe... but it also matters what they are doing in the intervening years. If they are going to work a demanding job, maybe they have more time to study now and won't later. Plus having the score in your back pocket means you can put together an application quickly if you decide in say, November, that you'd like to start next year. If they didn't have the score, they'd likely have to wait a cycle.

Yes, right now is the best time for me to take this test. I've got more free time and fewer commitments than I'll have in awhile. And yeah, I think that it will definitely give me more flexibility. Plus I'm trying to explore a few things before committing to law school. So, I just wanted to know the absolute latest cycle I could apply to. But maybe I'll end up applying earlier.