You're waiting for your LSAT score. You can't sleep, can't eat, and can only think about your score. Don't let all this drive you crazy! Besides, studies have shown that pulling out your hair makes you look frumpy. Don't do it! Instead, here's the smart thing to be doing with your time: put the final touches on your law school applications! Essentially, you should be able to click the "Submit" button the moment you receive your LSAT score. Steps to Take Before Your Score ReleasesIf you haven't already, put together a list of 15 or so law schools that you'd like to apply to. You should … [Read more...]
Submitting Your Law School Application if You’re Retaking the LSAT
We had an interesting question posed recently that we thought we would share. "When you submit an application to a law school (say, in November), but you are registered to take the test in January (or March), do law schools automatically see that and hold off on making a decision until they receive your score? Or do you have to "remind" them somewhere on the application form?" Heavy on the minds of many applicants is the need to submit applications early. After all, it’s something both law schools and many advisors endlessly repeat. When the time comes to submit applications, many students … [Read more...]
LSAT and Law School Admissions Q&A; A Webinar with PowerScore and Spivey Consulting!
We got together with our friends at Spivey Consulting and hosted a special, free webinar for students to receive expert LSAT and law school admissions pointers.Dave Killoran and Jon Denning from PowerScore, plus Mike Spivey, Karen Buttenbaum, and Derek Meeker from Spivey Consulting covered a variety of topics relating to the LSAT and law school application best practices, while also fielding the attendee's individual questions about their specific application goals and time frames. If you missed out, don't worry! We have a recording of the full webinar session available for you to watch … [Read more...]
Top 100 Law School LSAT Deadlines: Is the March LSAT Too Late?
The 2020 Edition is now live! When applying for law school, you have to decide which LSAT you're going to take. Some of you may be asking--is the March LSAT too late? We survey top law schools yearly to find out admissions deadlines and the latest LSAT they will accept. Each year we see changes, but we were a little surprised by this year's results.It seems that the trend is moving up to a January LSAT deadline for many of the top schools. You'll see in the chart below that the March LSAT is definitely a viable option for test takers. In fact, a quarter of the schools still allow for a … [Read more...]
U.S. News Interview with PowerScore: GPA & Law School Admissions
Dave Killoran and Jon Denning from PowerScore were featured in an article by U.S. News detailing how a student's undergrad GPA factors into their law school admissions chances. You can read this incredibly informative article that also includes insight from some of our peers here. Below we have included the full interview transcript with Dave and Jon that goes even further in-depth on how law schools evaluate undergrad transcripts, how to compensate for a lower GPA, and more! U.S. News: Why is it that at top-20 law schools, the average GPA of incoming students is close to a 4.0? Dave … [Read more...]
Do Law Schools Average LSAT Scores or Use the High Score?
To prospective law school applicants, few questions are as confusing as whether law schools use the average of all your LSAT scores or just the high score. The confusion exists because law schools will see an average score if you take the LSAT more than once. The all-important US News rankings, on the other hand, use only the high score. To top it off, some schools specifically state they take the high score whereas others talk about an average score.So, what's the real story?The definitive answer is good news for all law school applicants. Every law school uses the high score when … [Read more...]
Your LSAT Scores Were Released… Now What?
A natural and somewhat obvious question arises once scores come out: what's next?The answer to that question largely depends on which of two, or possibly three, categories best describes your situation. Let's examine the scenarios below and discuss what might qualify you for each, and the appropriate actions to take moving forward (one of which inspired my picture choice for this post). 1. Retake The disappointing reality for a lot of people is that the LSAT they just took is not their last LSAT. That's okay. Take it again.The key at this point is that you use the months remaining to … [Read more...]
ABA On Track to Drop LSAT Requirement: What Happens Now?
This article was co-written with Mike Spivey of Spivey Consulting. What happened? On Friday, May 11th an ABA council approved a proposal that formally removes the requirement that the LSAT be used for admissions purposes at every ABA-approved law school. In its place is broader language that allows schools to skip using an admissions test entirely if they so choose. Is it final? No, but it’s very close. The next step is for the full ABA House of Delegates to review the changes in August. They can suggest further changes and send it back for revision, but at this point the issue has been … [Read more...]
The Surge Continues: Surprising Trends For 2018’s Law School Applicants
There has been much discussion regarding the state of flux we find ourselves in with respect to the number of LSAT administrations and law school applications. After five years of declining numbers (2010-2015) followed by two years of anemic growth (2015-2017), LSAT administrations are up significantly throughout the 2017-2018 cycle. Following another big test in February, total administered LSAT’s were up 18.1% over last year. That’s the largest year over year jump since 2001-2002.This numerical explosion is even more shocking considering the head winds blowing against these LSAT numbers. … [Read more...]
Law Schools With Late Admissions Deadlines
We recently posted a list of law schools in the Top 50 that accept the June LSAT. A number of students wanted to also see the full list of all schools with late admissions deadlines ("late" in this case means a hard deadline of March 31st or later). Because we called every single law school on this list to confirm our data, this took a while to produce! But, we can now present you with a complete and accurate list of law schools with late 2018 admissions deadlines.This post was updated 4/6/18. In our table, the following categories are used: Rank: The rank for each school was drawn … [Read more...]
How to Write the Best Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)
A LOCI is a Letter of Continued Interest. Usually, you send this to inform a school of your interest in attending despite being waitlisted or put on hold. It also offers an opportunity to update the school on new developments in your application. Are you putting together your LOCI? Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know. Why Send a LOCI? If you are waitlisted or held, a school typically wants to make sure you still want to attend their institution. A LOCI is your opportunity to convey your interest despite not receiving an immediate acceptance letter. Will the LOCI Make a … [Read more...]
Non-Traditional Law School Applicants: Old Folks Rule!
When I took the LSAT for the first time, I was 31 years old, 8 years out of college, married, with a 2-year-old son, working full-time at a large non-profit institution, had a mortgage, and was the primary breadwinner in the household. I was, in other words, a “non-traditional” applicant. Does this sound like you? I was nervous about the process. Would any law school be interested in an “old guy” like me? Who would I ask for letters of recommendation, when I couldn’t expect my old professors to remember me very well? My GPA was…let’s say “unimpressive,” but by this time I was more mature and … [Read more...]
Struggling with the September LSAT? Is December Too Late?
One of the most common questions we receive is whether applying early with a September LSAT score is a better strategy than taking the December LSAT and possibly getting a better score. Many students think the advantage of applying early is so great that it is better to just take the September LSAT even if that test doesn't produce their best LSAT score. But that is not the case at all. So let's talk about what to do if you either don't feel great about the upcoming September LSAT or if you take September and it doesn't go well. Hint: you are in better shape than you think! The Importance of … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Are Splitter-Friendly? Which Ones Aren’t?
When you discuss law school applications, the question of which schools are "splitter-friendly" comes up pretty often, and it's not really an easy question to answer. Are we looking for schools to which a high percentage of splitters are admitted relative to non-splitter applicants? Schools that seem to value an applicant’s LSAT score much more than his/her GPA? How about schools that are willing to go really low on the GPA scale to nab those high LSAT scores?There is actually a lot of overlap between those questions, but they're not all the same thing. There is a ton of anecdotal evidence … [Read more...]