Top Law Schools

Long story short, I've been on the fence about law school and recently decided to start seriously studying for the LSAT. Unfortunately, I also discovered that I missed the deadline for the November LSAT by a few days and the January 26th one is the next available option. I know that the earlier is better rule factors into law school admissions, so I'm a little pessimistic about how my application at top schools would be affected by a late LSAT date; not even including the 2 or 3 that I was very interested in whose application deadlines I would be missing. Ideally I'd like to enter law school sooner than later as I don't have anything engaging going on in my life until then other than bartending. But Plan B is studying for and taking the test in June and applying in the next cycle.

Currently my top score is a 162 and I graduated from a small state school with a 3.68 GPA, and I think that I have a realistic chance of achieving a competitive score with three months. But in the same spirit, I'd like to not squander all the time and energy and not get into schools I might otherwise have gotten into had I waited for the next cycle or miss out on scholarship money.

If it's relevant at all, my goal is to eventually work in the public sector, preferably on the federal level.

Don't apply until you have a good score (above 168 for GULC at least). I have several friends who applied on the very last day to my CCNP and got in (and they had similar stats to you albeit with LSATs between 169-172). You're closing yourself off to pretty much all good schools with a lowered score while you're not closing the door completely by applying late but with good stats. I'm not too sure about fed work but from my friends who are going into it they seem to place a great emphasis on attending a school with a good feeder program.

dknightisyoung wrote:Don't apply until you have a good score (above 168 for GULC at least). I have several friends who applied on the very last day to my CCNP and got in (and they had similar stats to you albeit with LSATs between 169-172). You're closing yourself off to pretty much all good schools with a lowered score while you're not closing the door completely by applying late but with good stats. I'm not too sure about fed work but from my friends who are going into it they seem to place a great emphasis on attending a school with a good feeder program.

I second the above advice. I also think that in general, it's a bad idea to apply in January. Almost all law schools do rolling admissions and late applicants have worse chances of being accepted AND worse chances of getting merit $. IMO, much better to get the best LSAT score you can possibly get (retaking if needed), take the time to write a great PS and scare up some very strong LORs, and apply early (i.e., before December) next fall. You can also use the extra time to double-check your passion for law. Law school's a big, life-changing commitment, and I don't necessarily think it's a good idea to rush into it when you've only just decided you want to pursue it.