Can I Submit My Law School Application Before LSAT?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Can I submit my law school application before LSAT? The short answer is to

submit your application as early as you can

. However, don't expect offices to review it, and a decision to be made, until after they receive your new LSAT score.

Contents hide

Can I apply to law school before taking the LSAT?


Law schools won't consider your application complete until they have all required components, including your LSAT score

. If you don't have an LSAT score for them to review, they won't look at your file. You won't benefit from submitting your application early unless admissions officers actually look at your file early.

Can I submit my application before my recommendations law school?


You may submit applications before LSAC has the letter on file

, but if a law school requires letters of recommendation your file will not be deemed “complete” without the minimum number of letters, and your application will not be reviewed without them.

How long before applying to law school should you take the LSAT?

So, you should aim to start looking into the LSAT

at least three months before your expected test date

, with extra time added if you know you want to try and score very highly. Evaluate your progress after your first month of studying and then adjust your LSAT test date and application timeline accordingly.

When should I submit law school application?

In an ideal world, you would start your law school admissions process

about two years before you intend to enroll

, giving yourself ample time to research and apply to schools. So if you wanted to enter law school the fall after you graduate from college, you'd start planning around the fall of your junior year.

Can I get into law school with a 139 LSAT score?

While

you may be able to apply and even be accepted into a law school with a lower LSAT score

, there is a cut-off for acceptable application scores. If you are consistently scoring lower than 145, you may need to consider significant studying and a retake before applying to law schools.

Can you take the January LSAT and still apply?

1.

You can still apply to law school with January LSAT scores

. Some law schools consider the January LSAT as the final LSAT you can take and still submit an application for admission in the fall because their application deadlines fall in early February.

Can recommendation letters be sent after application is submitted?


Yes! You may still assign a recommender to your colleges after you submit your application

. To do this, just follow these steps. If the recommender has already submitted their recommendation to another school, it will be sent immediately to the college that you just assigned them to.

Can you send letters of recommendation before application?


We encourage you to request letters from your recommenders early, even before you submit your application

. When you request a recommendation, your recommender will receive an email with information on how he or she can access the system to submit a recommendation on your behalf.

Can you submit recommendation letters late?

Don't be afraid. It's a stereotype, but often true that many faculty members are tardy. They are late to class, late returning student work, and late in sending recommendation letters. Professors may explain that

graduate programs expect faculty letters to be late.

What month is the hardest LSAT?

Using that data, you'll find that the December exam consistently has the easiest “curve,” and the

June

exam consistently has the hardest.

Is applying to law school in December too late?

Short answer:

December is not too late

. Applying to law school with a December LSAT should not significantly lower your chances for admission or scholarships.

Can you take the November LSAT and still apply?


You can still apply to law school for admission next fall with the November LSAT

, but you won't want to waste any time. It's also in-between midterms and Thanksgiving break, which could place undue pressure on you. Remember, the most important factor in determining the best LSAT date for you is adequate LSAT prep time.

How long do law schools take to respond to applications?

There is no fixed answer for how long it takes to hear back from law schools. Generally, admissions offices start reviewing applications around October and aim to make decisions

within six weeks

. So the earliest you may hear back is likely mid-November. However, law school decisions often take an agonizingly long time.

When should I take the LSAT for fall 2024?

Because the law school admissions process is rolling, should apply by September or October for their best chance of admission. To receive scores by then, applicants should take the LSAT

by August or September

. Read: What Is a Good LSAT Score? ]

Is the February LSAT too late?


It's Not Too Late

!

Some schools won't accept February scores for admission that calendar year, some schools accept it but penalize you in their rolling admissions process, and some accept it without penalty.

What happens if you bomb the LSAT?

If you really think you bombed the test and you know your score will not reflect your ability, then I suggest

taking the test again as soon as possible

. Why? You just spent several weeks and/or months preparing for this exam. You don't want to lose the progress you made.

Is a 148 a good LSAT score?

Typical LSAT score ranges include: 120-147 Low.

148-156 Mid

.

What is the lowest LSAT score accepted?

Retake the LSAT – the lowest acceptable LSAT score is

140

.

Is it OK to apply to law school in January?

For the majority of law schools,

submitting your application between the beginning of December and end of January is considered “on time.”

There are just a few schools that don't read applications on a strictly rolling basis, and for those schools, there might not be a significant difference between applying early and …

Is GPA or LSAT more important?

While

LSAT is the most important factor, GPA is still significant

. When you get down into schools lower in the rankings (outside the top 10 schools), numbers alone become an even better predictor of how likely you are to get into a specific school. LSAT is still the more important number than GPA.

Do law schools accept February LSAT?


LSAT scores from the February and March tests are unlikely to be considered during the 2021-22 admissions cycle

. Encourage students to take the the LSAT no later than Nov, but will accept the Jan score.

Can recommenders see your application?


No, your recommenders can't see the status of your application or your admission results

. Only you can.

Can you submit applications on the deadline?

The long answer for this question is that it actually depends on a lot of things, but

most colleges will accept applications within a reasonable margin of 11:59 PM on the date of their deadline because of timezones

.

Can I submit my Common App after the deadline?

If you see the ‘Deadline has passed' message for a school (like displayed below) and you are in a different time zone,

you can still successfully submit by 11:59 your local time

. If you can successfully submit your application, the Common App has delivered it to the college to which you applied.

Should you waive your right to see your letters of recommendation?

Why should you consider waiving your right of access?

Waiving your right lets colleges know that you will never try to read your recommendations

. That in turn reassures colleges that your recommenders have provided support that is candid and truthful.

Do universities Contact recommenders?

Primarily, the universities ask its applicants to put details and contact information of the recommender(s) (on the application portal) which they may use to cross check either by personal call or email. Though they hardly (almost never) do it but they can, theoretically.

Who should you not ask for a letter of recommendation?

  • A Teacher Who's Famous but Doesn't Know You.
  • A Teacher Who Taught You Early, and for a Short Time.
  • Someone Who's Related to You.
  • Your Best Friend (Unless It's a Peer Recommendation)
  • Someone Who Doesn't Have the Best Impression of You.

What if my recommender never sent their letter?

Is 2 weeks enough time for a letter of rec?

Ideally, you should ask for a letter of recommendation at least four weeks before the due date, with

two weeks as the absolute minimum

. However, if there are extenuating circumstances and you have a good relationship with the person you are asking, it's okay to ask with less than two weeks' notice.

Do letters of recommendation need to be submitted by the deadline graduate school?

Do my recommenders have to submit their letters before the deadline?

Recommenders are strongly encouraged to submit their letters by the deadline, but will still be able to submit after the posted date

.

Can you take the November LSAT and still apply?

Do any law schools waive the LSAT?

In 2017,

Harvard Law School

announced it would no longer require LSAT scores for admission and would accept, as an alternative, scores from the Graduate Record Examination.

Which LSAT date is the easiest?

You'll look at my LSAT PrepTest Raw Score Conversion Charts and calculations of what it takes to get an LSAT score of 160 or 170. Using that data, you'll find that the

December exam consistently has the easiest “curve

,” and the June exam consistently has the hardest.

Do you need a degree to write the LSAT?

Once you have completed your undergraduate degree, and before you can apply to law school, you will need to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).

Quebec-based law schools do not require the LSAT, but it is still recommended to take it

. The standard LSAT is held throughout the year, usually eight times.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.