A snippet published in the ABA Journal today says that some 25 law schools are now accepting June LSAT scores for admission to class in the coming fall. The change is hardly surprising given that schools are doing anything and everything to bulk up admissions as total applications to law school continue to tumble year over year (see yesterday’s post for more on these trends).
The new policy isn’t confined to schools outside the top tier either: Among the schools to announce such a change is 21st-ranked University of Alabama School of Law and 31st-ranked University of North Carolina School of Law.
While this may seem like an attractive option to recent LSAT debutantes, I would encourage you to be wary of desperate suitors- there is likely something better for you at next year’s ball. I am skeptical that these schools will provide robust financial incentives at this late date. Waiting and applying at the normal time next year likely raises your chances of getting competing offers of scholarship from a greater number of schools.
Looking at this in micro, some schools such as UNC law are explicit that latecomers are competing for spots on the waitlist. For those familiar with the admissions game, this should set off some alarm bells. There is the strong possibility that schools are keeping admissions open past the normal deadlines more as a means of keeping acceptance rate down- every application received without an offer extended increases the school’s selectivity. When applying at this late date, there is a strong possibility that students will be applying to spots that don’t actually exist.
Unless you have some extremely compelling reason to go to law school right now and are unconcerned about costs, it’s likely you should wait until you have the full range of options available to applicants in the normal applications period.
