If LSAT deadline is January, can I take the LSAT in November/December?

[tiredlychii]

I’m planning on writing my LSAT soon but I don’t think I will be ready to write it by October. My dream school is Osgoode, and their law school applications are open until November. However, they will also accept LSAT scores until January. Does this mean I can submit my application (without an LSAT score) in November and then do my LSAT and have that score submitted by January? Or is this a bad idea? How much would it affect my chances of admission if I submit an LSAT score in November or December?

[Monophobia]

Taking your test sooner rather than later gives you the following advantages: 

1. You have more time to prepare and retake if you don't get your desired score.
2. You can get the LSAT over with sooner to give you more time to focus on other things, like getting your grades up in your final year.

But you absolutely can submit your application without an LSAT score. It will not affect your chances of admission. Your file will not even be looked at by adcoms until you have a score on file. Although many people do so every cycle, (myself included) I would still definitely not recommend it. The downsides are: 

1. Your application will not be reviewed until you have an LSAT score on file. 
2. If you don't get your desired score, you have less time to prepare for a retake — or no chance for a retake at all if it's the January test.
3. If anything goes wrong for the January test, (bad test day, hospitalization, bad proctor, etc.) you just botched your last shot for the cycle. 

All of this amounts to a great deal of unnecessary stress. I would recommend that you only take the LSAT late if you feel prepared to get your desired score on test day. Otherwise, it might be better to take some more time to study and apply next cycle instead. That way you can be sure that your application is as strong as possible, and you won't risk throwing application money down the drain. Best of luck.

 

[tiredlychii]

20 hours ago, Monophobia said:

Taking your test sooner rather than later gives you the following advantages: 

1. You have more time to prepare and retake if you don't get your desired score.
2. You can get the LSAT over with sooner to give you more time to focus on other things, like getting your grades up in your final year.

But you absolutely can submit your application without an LSAT score. It will not affect your chances of admission. Your file will not even be looked at by adcoms until you have a score on file. Although many people do so every cycle, (myself included) I would still definitely not recommend it. The downsides are: 

1. Your application will not be reviewed until you have an LSAT score on file. 
2. If you don't get your desired score, you have less time to prepare for a retake — or no chance for a retake at all if it's the January test.
3. If anything goes wrong for the January test, (bad test day, hospitalization, bad proctor, etc.) you just botched your last shot for the cycle. 

All of this amounts to a great deal of unnecessary stress. I would recommend that you only take the LSAT late if you feel prepared to get your desired score on test day. Otherwise, it might be better to take some more time to study and apply next cycle instead. That way you can be sure that your application is as strong as possible, and you won't risk throwing application money down the drain. Best of luck.

 

Thank you so much for your input! I will definitely take these into consideration as I'm planning when to take my LSAT!

Edited August 26, 2023 by tiredlychii

[CndnViking]

Each school you might look to apply to will say on their website what the last LSAT they will accept is, and you can submit the rest of your application ahead of time, indicating when you're writing the LSAT, and they can pull your score at that time, as long as it's before the cut-off point they specified.

That said, also check out how their admission cycle works. To use Calgary for example, as I recently spoke to one of their admissions officers, they will accept LSATs right up to January, but they will have already started sending out some early acceptances as early as November, and won't review an application until it's complete, so if you apply with a January LSAT, the number of spots you can compete for will be much lower than had you gotten it in earlier.