I am a senior. Should I graduate in May 2020 or extend to Dec 2020? (quite a few thoughts going on right now) Forum

[nicole1994]

I will be entering my senior year and am graduating in 2020. My LSAC GPA is 3.62, after receiving a 4.0 for this past semester. If I maintain this grade trend throughout Fall 2019-Spring 2020, I'll finish with a 3.68. For the most part, I am confident that this can be achieved, because of the nature of the courses that I will be taking. However, I might also finish with a 3.66 (ish), since there is one, but no more than two, classes that I anticipate POSSIBLY receiving an A minus in as opposed to an A in. If I do get an A, I was thinking about extending my graduation date from May 2020 to Dec. 2020, since the classes I'd take in May & DEC 2020 would pretty much consist of easy A's.

Prior to this summer, I wasn't sure about when I'd graduate, so I don't have an LSAT score. I have already started studying for it since the end of sophomore year, but wasn't in a rush to put in a serious effort until I knew that I wanted to go to law school for sure. Since I graduate in 2020, I am going to resume studying for it as soon as possible. I have decided to forego a part time job during this upcoming school year in order to devote all of my energy to finishing my undergrad classes and mastering the LSAT with hopes of taking it in July 2020. My diagnostic was a 140, so I feel that to score 171+, I will need at least 8 months, but I could see how that number could turn into 12 or 13 after hearing about what the process was like for people who started out with 140 and eventually scored 171 plus. Although I can't guarantee nor predict that my LSAT score will be 170 or anything close to it, I do intend to study for the exam until I feel that I've done everything that I possibly could to prepare for the test.

So my question is, what would be better?

option A: Would it be better to finish with a 3.65 (+) LSAC GPA and aim to take the LSAT in July so that I can start applying in August 2020 assuming that I get the score that I want in July 2020?
option B: Or should I extend graduation to December 2020 to finish with a 3.7, and therefore apply to law school in 2021 as a result?

The only advantage of option A over B in my eyes is that option A MIGHT allow me to send in applications by fall 2020 as opposed to fall 2021. However, this advantage is contingent on me being able to score in the 170's or at least close to it by Summer 2020 as opposed to Fall 2020. While Option B would require me to apply to law school in 2021 anyway(kind of sucks given that I'm going to be graduating undergrad at 25 already), there are no guarantees that I would actually be able to score as high as I possibly can in July, so I might have to apply in 2021 either way.


School goals: While t14 would be great , I know that my GPA is below that of any t14's median. However, I'll be receiving financial help from my parents, so I could settle for any other school if I get a decent sized scholarship, so I am aiming for that. Regardless of the school I will eventually attend, I just want to score as high as I possibly can.

***I'm Sorry for the length of this post and thanks so much if you we were able to read all of it!
I'm just contemplating my decision because I feel like the only benefit of graduating in May 2020 as opposed to December 2020 is being able to apply a year earlier. However, this benefit is contingent on me taking the LSAT in July, which would be hard to foresee happening based on how long it took others with similar diagnostic sores to improve their scores. I posted and read about a similar question a few months ago, but decided to ask again after receiving my GPA from LSAC and since I will be a senior.

Thank you!

[notinbiglaw]

As you note, your GPA will be below median anyway so you should just focus on the lsat.

[cavalier1138]

You shouldn't rush the application process, and a <0.1 difference in GPA isn't going to affect your future chances.

So you should delay applying, but you shouldn't do it for the reasons you've identified. Take the route to graduation that minimizes your debt (i.e. if another semester is going to add to your tuition debt, just get a job). You'll benefit greatly from taking a year (or more than a year) to work/live in the world after undergrad. That'll give you time to make sure you're serious about law school and to get the LSAT score you need for the schools you want. A 3.6x absolutely gets you into the T13 with a strong LSAT. Don't rush things.