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Just discovered that LSAC updated their testing center schedule, and my local one will only be available for the December and February tests. When I last looked a few months ago, June was the only session they did not offer. As such, I've been preparing for October, and the conventional wisdom is that the earlier one applies, the better.

Unfortunately (in this context only ) I live on an island. Taking the October test will require a plane ride. The cost will not be much; in fact, it is less than LSAC's fees for opening up a non-scheduled center. My main concern relates to the consequences of travel-related stress/fatigue.

My feeling is that a good LSAT score earned in December is better than a sub-optimal October score, but this is also under the assumption that traveling to take the lsat can likely adversely affect a score.

Am I overstating the importance of an early LSAT, and thus earlier completion date? Or am I unnecessarily worried about a one hour plane ride and a taxi ride causing enough stress to lower my score?

No, my brother took the December and got a 164. He is not on the PT waitlist with a 164/3.9. If he applied in October he might have gotten in full time.

how about.... take both and use which ever score is better

BigA wrote:how about.... take both and use which ever score is better

That is always an option as well.

khanvalescent wrote:Just discovered that LSAC updated their testing center schedule, and my local one will only be available for the December and February tests. When I last looked a few months ago, June was the only session they did not offer. As such, I've been preparing for October, and the conventional wisdom is that the earlier one applies, the better.

Unfortunately (in this context only ) I live on an island. Taking the October test will require a plane ride. The cost will not be much; in fact, it is less than LSAC's fees for opening up a non-scheduled center. My main concern relates to the consequences of travel-related stress/fatigue.

My feeling is that a good LSAT score earned in December is better than a sub-optimal October score, but this is also under the assumption that traveling to take the lsat can likely adversely affect a score.

Am I overstating the importance of an early LSAT, and thus earlier completion date? Or am I unnecessarily worried about a one hour plane ride and a taxi ride causing enough stress to lower my score?

DO NOT fly the same day as the test, clearly!

Fly the night before and sleep in an affordable motel the night before like a Motel 6.

If the cost of roundtrip airfare + 2 roundtrip taxis (one set to hotel, one set to testing site) + two nights at a hotel (fly in the day before the test, fly out the day after) is lower than paying for them to create you a test site, then do it...if it works out more, then pay for them to make you a site where you are from early so you can have peace of mind while studying.

Take it in October so you can either still have your early advantage, or at least have a chance to retake in december. December for the first time means you might as well wait til September 2011 to apply.