How many years will LSAT scores be current?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>My S is a junior in college, and is considering going to law school, although not immediately after college.</p>

<p>He was told that LSAT scores will be accepted by law schools for 5 years following the date the test was taken. He thought that it might make sense for him to take the LSAT during his senior year, while he's still in "testing mode", even though he doesn't intend to apply to law schools, if at all, for a year or two after graduation.</p>

<p>Can anyone--like AriesAthena maybe?--give me an opinion on this idea? Also, if he takes the test senior year, which testing date would be best?</p>

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<p>Hi DG,</p>

<p>You probably know some of this, but it's all here for the reference of others.</p>

<p>LSAC keeps your LSAT score for five years - so your son is right on that count. </p>

<p>He is limited in the number of times he can take it (which you probably know). Most law schools will average more than one score, so there is a strong push towards only taking it once. You can take it twice in a year, but I believe that you are limited to taking it three times in two years. That's another thought.</p>

<p>While LSAC might keep your score for five years, I'm not sure how law schools would consider a score from 2001! IMO, more than a year or two later would be too long. No reason to give the law schools any reason to look askance at an application.</p>

<p>Testing dates:
June, October, December, and February. The latter three are administered at 8:30 am (well, the doors open then; you don't actually start for an hour or so). The June LSAT is at 12:30. So timing (is your son a morning person or not?) might be a consideration.</p>

<p>If your son graduates in 2007 and wants to matriculate to law school in 2008, then he should take the test no later than October, 2007. Applications are all rolling, so it's best to get them in early - October or early November at the latest. If your son wants to matriculate in 2009, I would say that anytime before Oct. 2008 would be fine. </p>

<p>If you are concerned about test-taking mode, I would suggest (just me, my opinion) October 2007. June comes up quickly after finals and your son might not have enough time to prepare - senior year should be, IMO, spent doing school work or saying good-bye to college friends, not crammed over 10 Previously Administered LSATs. </p>

<p>One more consideration is numbers... of people taking it. If your son doesn't want to sit for the exam with zillions of other people, then he might want to take it on a less popular month (December 07 or February 08). He also might want to, just for psychic purposes, take it in certain locations. Robert Miller (author of Law School Confidential) discussed his decision to take the LSAT in his home town, where the proctors baked cookies and there were 10 other people in the room - instead of at Yale, where there were hundreds of stressed-out Yalies. That is something I wished I had considered (and taken the time to figure out...) the only reason that I could find a parking space (two hours before the exam) is that I had gone to the testing site a week earlier to stake out the place. When your son gets there, it's best to be in LSAT mode, not "Where do I park, why are there a hundred people ahead of me in line to get in the room I've been standing here for a half-hour, when is this going to be over" mode.</p>

<p>Is there a time when your son could take the exam in a smaller venue?</p>

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<p>LSs really do take scores that are up to 5 years old. One young person I know took the LSAT after junior year in college. He graduated and worked 2 years for a top consulting firm. He disliked it. He then entered a Ph.D. program and quit that after two years. In the middle of his second year in the Ph.D. program, he applied to LS, using the junior year score. He got into every LS he applied to, including both H&Y. No LS suggested a retake. </p>

<p>As to when to take it senior year, it doesn't matter in the least if he isn't planning to apply to LS for a few years. Since most LSs do average your score, he shouldn't take it until he has had time to prepare for it. The idea is to take it once and do well on it the first time.So when to take it depends on when he can study for it. For example, if he wants to work after graduation, it may be very important to get a good summer job after junior year, since many post-grad jobs are offered to people who worked for the company during the summer . In this case, it would be unwise for him to take the LSAT in October, since he may not have had much time to study. If, however, he can afford to take the summer off and study for the LSAT full-time or to work part time and study, then it might make sense to take it in October. </p>

<p>Another consideration, for some people, is that the June test is the only one offered in the afternoon.</p>