My DS1 is graduating in fall of 2018. What is best time to take LSAT and when does admission process start? Any useful tips and advice in this matter are welcome?
best time to apply to LS is in the fall since that’s when all the seats are available. Early January is good too, assuming a good LSAT score. But the LSAT is only offered 4x per year. Results are available 3-4 weeks after the test.
I recommend taking the LSAT after graduation, to maximize A’s and GPA. So that means taking a gap year. In other words, take the Feb test after graduation - but that is really late in the admissions cycle for that year, or June, or wait until the following October.
@bluebayou Would your advice regarding a gap year be the same for a student with a 4.0 going into senior year? In that situation there would seem to be no need to maximize As assuming the GPA held of course.
^^A 4.0 is awesome, but depends on the LSAT score. The higher the better. If a senior can find time to pull a 17x on the LSAT than a 4.0 would garner a lot of merit money.
But an even higher LSAT, say 173+, would be competitive for a near full ride to a top school like Columbia. Since that is all tax-free money, I still recommend the gap year. (Plus, all professional schools like to see someone out earning a paycheck after college.)
@bluebayou Thank you for taking tkme to help.
Does anyone has some useful tips?
@bluebayou gave you the best tips. If you feel you can adequately prepare for the LSAT while in college, take it in the fall of your senior year and apply immediately after receiving your score to maximize your chances. If not, take advantage of a gap year to get some work experience (always viewed positively in law school admissions), prepare for and crush the LSAT and apply for the following fall. It’s really as simple as that. Crush the LSAT and apply early in the cycle (early fall).
How many times may one take LSAT?
Does one has to report all scores or just their highest score?
Do you have any tips for efficient LSAT prep?
I was told that you can only take the LSAT once… but I don’t know if my source is correct.
My coworkers daughter is in a top law school after having been in the work force for two years. She spent this time taking a review class and studying… for what totaled one semester, and researching programs to see where the alumni work, where the clerkships are… and how these things factored into her interests. It might be harder to do this if you attend right out of college.
1- I believe you can now take the LSAT as many times as you want. This policy went into effect in September 2017.
2- Scores are reported by LSAC and all scores in your file are reported - how schools handle multiple scores varies.
3- Best way to study for the LSAT depends on you - most students take an LSAT prep class or self-study using available materials, including official practice tests based on prior released LSAT exams.
I’m not sure what you mean by efficient…there are multiple sections of the LSAT, each addressing different academic strengths. The Logic Games section is often said to be the most coachable. Preparation for the LSAT takes time…
- Yes you can repeat the LSAT, but better to prepare well teh first time. It's a grueling test, so why not be one-and-done.
- Since the LSAT score has such a huge impact on USNews rankings, most law schools ignore multiple tests. It is in *their* best interest to do so. That being said, I would be surprised if Yale law doesn't give bonus points for just one score. Other schools in the T10 will claim that they look at all scores, but if they like your GPA and other stuff enough, they'll ignore the lower scores.
- Efficiency depends on your own study style. Do you need a class setting to keep you on track? Do you work better with a 1:1 tutor? Or, are you disciplined enough to study on your own for 4+ hours a day for 3 months? Otherwise, just follow the schedule in the prep books.
Which online resources would you recommend for law school information and for LSAT prep?
Top Law Schools is a site dedicated to all things law school.
I’m a fan of the Manhattan series of LSAT prep.
TLS has undergone some changes in the past year…there is another site called Law School Life that covers some of the same information from another perspective. Powerscore was the prep company of choice in this family, thought Manhattan Prep didn’t do LSAT prep when my kids were applying. Also, Law School Transparency and Law School Numbers offer information and data related to law school admissions.
thanks for the update, r-mom. I had heard that TLS had been bought out and some of its key regulars had moved on, but didn’t know where they had ended up.
Yup, the Powerscore Bibles were the go-to for many years, but IMO, Manhattan is better for those aiming for a 17x.
Most people say don’t take LSAT more than 3 times. It is better to apply early rather than later. My daughter read some where that applying to Columbia early is worth more than doing ED. She applied to all schools as soon as applications were open and she heard from most of them during their first or second round. My kid worked two years after college, with the scores and GPA her results were better after taking gap years.
That is no longer true. As of this year, it is being offered 7 times per year. You can write the LSAT an unlimited number of times, and this has always, in recent times, been the case. However, you should prep well and make sure you’re scoring, ideally, a few points over your targeted score before actually writing the test.
Small nit: LSAC just changed their policy of unlimited LSAT’s last year (Sep-17). Prior to that, an applicant was limited to 3 tests in a two year period.
Yes, actually, @bluebayou , I knew that. I didn’t word it well but was trying, albeit poorly, to express that you have always been able to write it more than once, which should have been directed at twogirls’ comment about being told that you could only write it once.
Is Kaplan as good a resource as other two?