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How bad is it to apply late (i.e. after Dec LSAT scores are released)? I don't really have a choice but it would be nice to know how badly it will hurt my chances. Is it likely to affect all my applications or only the ones at schools where I'm already borderline?

first off, i dont think late dec/early jan is that late - i don't see that HURTING your chances at all. if anything, applying earlier that that may only help ur chances marginally with the major benefit being that the schools might make a decision a bit earlier with less applicants to compete w/.

Honestly, applying in December isn't that late. There are some people who take the LSAT in February and apply by March 1st.

cinephile wrote:Honestly, applying in December isn't that late. There are some people who take the LSAT in February and apply by March 1st.

The people who do what you describe are of course idiots. To OP, cinephile is correct that late December/early January isn't that late, in fact more than half of all law school applications go out at or after that time. The caveat is that this statistic ignores the fact that applicants applying to top schools usually get their applications in earlier than average. If you're applying to the T14 and are sending your applications in after Christmas they will probably be later than most other applicants.

It all comes down to the law school/your numbers. Certain schools applying Jan 1 has ZERO change in your admissions chance. If your numbers are on the razors edge already for your school, Jan 1 won't help you any but its hard to say with any degree of certainty that if you applied Oct1 you would be in anyways.

Thanks guys, that makes me feel a lot better. I guess the obsession on TLS with applying super early has skewed my sense of a reasonable application timeline.