Applying Early Decision

[mattm]

hello,

When applying early decision to a school where you are strongly considering attending, do applicants have a slight advantage in getting accepted than those who apply in the regular cycle ? I'm aiming to be a splitter (25% GPA/75% LSAT) at some of the the T14 schools. I unfortunately have a lower GPA because of the difficulty of my undergrad schoo as l ( I have a 3.55 GPA ) i have a chance at a 170 LSAT as I'm only a few points away and I scored a 168 n my last PT.

I may consider Early Decision at some schools if it gave a slight admissions advantage but if not I would probably just apply in the regular cycle since I've read Early Decision can often be more expensive with less financial aid/scholarships and higher chances of paying full tuition

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Matt,

The general wisdom is that Early Decision will not overcome an otherwise weak application; however, it might help in the margins if you're a borderline candidate. You should think about applying Early Decision very carefully, as it's binding and - yes - you may not receive the same financial aid as you would if you applied regular decision. In most cases, the advantages of the slight "bump" in your chances of admission are outweighed by the disadvantages, but there are situations in which applying Early Decision makes sense.

Check these blogs out:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/200 ... s-the-deal

http://www.law.umich.edu/connection/a2z ... aspx?ID=35

http://lawschoolexpert.com/application- ... w-schools/

This should give you plenty to read and think about!

Good luck!