Postponing LSAT from January to February due to COVID19 - Please Advise

[CL18]

Hi Everyone,

Had a situation come up that I would like some advice on. I got a 158 on November LSAT and signed up for January. I sent in 5 applications with my 158 and also indicated that I had plans to take the January exam.

In the last few days my parents, girlfriend and me all got COVID and simply put, it is not going to be able to happen in January.

My questions are...
1) Is there a way to postpone my LSAT without paying the $125 fee due to covid/medical issues?
2) Will the schools automatically see my postponement? Should I call them and explain what happened? Will they frown upon it?
3) Even if I do receive a higher score, will Feb be too late given the competitiveness of the cycle?

Thank you very much for your insight! Much appreciated!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi CL18!

Sorry to hear that you and your loved ones are all dealing with COVID right now! I hope you all recover fully and swiftly!

As for your LSAT-related questions:

1) This is a question only LSAC can answer! I would call them ASAP and ask them if they might allow you to postpone your test date without paying the fee.

2) I would communicate with the schools you've applied to about your situation. They'll see if you postpone until February, but they may make their own decisions about how to handle your application if you don't explain to them your situation and request that they wait until your February score is in before reviewing your application.

3) This is going to vary from school to school as they have different deadlines and policies. For some schools, February is too late to meet their regular application deadline. If that's true for any schools you've applied to, you may want to just tell them to go ahead and consider your application with your current LSAT score. If they waitlist you, you can send them your higher LSAT score later to help incentivize them to take you off the waitlist. For many schools, the February test date is absolutely fine and, ultimately, having a higher LSAT score is going to better your chances of getting into a school than applying earlier. You can also ask individual schools what course of action they would suggest based on your situation.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey

[CL18]

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and thorough response.

My follow up question is, if I was to decide to cancel. How would that look to schools? Should I call them and explain the situation? Just trying to understand all my options.

Thank you!

Hi CL18!

Sorry to hear that you and your loved ones are all dealing with COVID right now! I hope you all recover fully and swiftly!

As for your LSAT-related questions:

1) This is a question only LSAC can answer! I would call them ASAP and ask them if they might allow you to postpone your test date without paying the fee.

2) I would communicate with the schools you've applied to about your situation. They'll see if you postpone until February, but they may make their own decisions about how to handle your application if you don't explain to them your situation and request that they wait until your February score is in before reviewing your application.

3) This is going to vary from school to school as they have different deadlines and policies. For some schools, February is too late to meet their regular application deadline. If that's true for any schools you've applied to, you may want to just tell them to go ahead and consider your application with your current LSAT score. If they waitlist you, you can send them your higher LSAT score later to help incentivize them to take you off the waitlist. For many schools, the February test date is absolutely fine and, ultimately, having a higher LSAT score is going to better your chances of getting into a school than applying earlier. You can also ask individual schools what course of action they would suggest based on your situation.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey

[KelseyWoods]

Hi CL18!

Yes, if you decide to cancel your retake I would also let the schools know that, since you already told them you were planning to retake in January. Plus, they could then go ahead and review your application now rather than waiting until after January test scores are in. The communication just helps them know what is going on and when they should review your application. You have a good reason for canceling your retake--should you decide to go that route--so it's unlikely to be interpreted as a mark against you. But if you told them you were going to retake and then didn't give them an explanation as to why you canceled it, they would at the very least be confused and at worst they might think that your motivation and commitment to law school in general, and their school specifically, has waned. So either way, give them a heads up. One silver lining of the pandemic (and just to be clear, it's a very thin silver lining relative to all the absolutely terrible parts of the pandemic) is that life is pretty turbulent for everyone right now and so people are understanding. Law schools and LSAC are trying to work with people and adapt as best they can but you have to communicate with them.

Best,
Kelsey

[CL18]

Kelsey,

Thank you so much for your help. It is much appreciated! We will all make a full recovery BTW, sometimes life just throws things at you!

Hi CL18!

Yes, if you decide to cancel your retake I would also let the schools know that, since you already told them you were planning to retake in January. Plus, they could then go ahead and review your application now rather than waiting until after January test scores are in. The communication just helps them know what is going on and when they should review your application. You have a good reason for canceling your retake--should you decide to go that route--so it's unlikely to be interpreted as a mark against you. But if you told them you were going to retake and then didn't give them an explanation as to why you canceled it, they would at the very least be confused and at worst they might think that your motivation and commitment to law school in general, and their school specifically, has waned. So either way, give them a heads up. One silver lining of the pandemic (and just to be clear, it's a very thin silver lining relative to all the absolutely terrible parts of the pandemic) is that life is pretty turbulent for everyone right now and so people are understanding. Law schools and LSAC are trying to work with people and adapt as best they can but you have to communicate with them.

Best,
Kelsey

[KelseyWoods]

I'm glad to hear you're all on your way to recovery! And that's a good attitude to have--life throws things at you sometimes just like the LSAT haha. But things will work out