Hi ssapl,
I'm glad to answer your questions and give you a little more guidance as you make your plans:
Other than studying for the LSAT until then, should I start doing anything regarding applications at this point? Yes. Because you won't get the results of your LSAT until late October, you want to make sure that your applications are pretty much ready to go as soon as you receive your scores. A good application can take at least 1-2 months (if not more) to put together; if you wait until your scores are available, you won't be submitting anything until late in the admissions cycle, which can harm your chances.
What is a good timeline for when I should start working on applications, letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc.? ASAP. Work on applications once they are available (typically mid-September/early October). Request your transcripts and LORs as soon as you can, and have it all sent to LSAC for CAS processing (these two are often the biggest time-lags in the process, particularly LORs). Since most schools do not require you to have a specific topic when it comes to your personal statement, start brainstorming on what you'd like to write and then come up with a good outline. You'll likely need to submit a résumé, so start working on that, as well. When you get the applications, go through them carefully and make sure you complete all supplemental/optional essays that are applicable to you. If you have any negatives that need to be explained (bad grades, criminal record, academic disciplinary issue) then start working on addenda to explain them. It will be hard for you to balance LSAT studies with application preparation, but you should aim to have at least 75% of your application completed (in particular a first draft of your personal statement, letters of recommendation and transcripts submitted and processed by LSAC, and basic application information filled out) by the time you take the LSAT, and then work on the remaining 25% (typically supplemental essays, review of personal statement, review of résumé) in the weeks between your LSAT and your score release. Have a schedule in mind based on what your time allows. Put LSAT prep first (since you're aiming for T20, you'll need a stellar score, so don't sacrifice your prep time), but make time to work on your apps a few times a week. Here's a timeline that might help:
http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/171 ... n-Schedule -- it has a lot of items occurring in July, but you can cram all the July items into August, and you'll be caught up.
I've seen a lot of people refer to rolling admissions. How exactly does that work? Does it mean I can apply to a law school before I receive my LSAT score? Rolling admissions means that schools consider applications as they "roll in," rather than waiting until after the application deadline has passed. This also means that you can get an admissions decision about 4-6 weeks after submitting your application, rather than having to wait until after the deadline. Most schools practice rolling admissions; a few (in the T20, that would be Yale Law) do not. Here's the catch: Schools will not review an application until it is complete. Complete means that
everything has been received by the school, including LSAT scores. So, while you will be able to submit your application
sans LSAT score to schools, schools will not review it until your LSAT score is available. This is why it's important to have your apps ready to go as soon as you get your LSAT score; otherwise, you won't be able to take advantage of the slight bump you would get by applying early in the rolling admissions process.
I hope this helped! Please let me know if you have any further questions. Best of luck!
