Is January LSAT actually worth it?

[mfhimy]

Hey powerscore crew,

I know it’s routinely said that a higher score in January is almost always preferable (even a one point increase), but I’m taking a look at LSD for 2020/2021 and I’m having a hard time seeing that.

USC, UCLA, NYU all have almost zero acceptances for any application completed after late Jan (which would be when the score comes out). USCs latest completion date that was accepted was Jan 28th, UCLA Feb 5, NYU Jan 28th

Do you guys have inside insight of top 20 schools like the ones above, accepting people who take the Jan LSAT? Or is the Jan rule usually for other schools outside the top 20? Or any thoughts on the data on LSD? Not doubting your guys’ wisdom at all, but just wanted to double check!

Thank you!!

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi mfhimy,

Thanks for the post! Yes, taking the January LSAT is absolutely worth it if you're confident you can achieve a higher score. As you note, we consistently advise that applying with a higher score is almost always preferable to applying earlier with a lower score.

Keep in mind that this past admissions cycle was an anomaly in many ways and it was one of the most historically competitive admissions cycles. This means the data that you're looking at for the last cycle, including for the T20, is going to be a bit skewed as well.

Also, partially because of how the last cycle went, this cycle is predicted to be "slow," meaning that schools are going to be slower to render admissions decisions as they wait to see what their applicant pool looks like. (Dave and Jon discuss this in this PodCast at about the 15-minute mark.) Therefore, applying later this cycle should be totally fine!

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

I know it’s routinely said that a higher score in January is almost always preferable (even a one point increase), but I’m taking a look at LSD for 2020/2021 and I’m having a hard time seeing that.

While I love the data we can draw from crowd-sourced sites like LSD and the like, you have to recall they have two relevant flaws here: they only address a small portion of all applicants, and as time passes those applicants tend to not report results. I can personally point to multiple counter-examples at each school you list above that used January in prior years.

And that doesn't at all cover the scholarship reconsideration aspect, which is equally important imho.

Thanks!