When Is The Best Time To Take The LSAT?

When Is The Best Time To Take The LSAT?

While any time of year may work to sit for the LSAT, there are some months that are more advantageous than others. In this post, we break down when is the best time to take the LSAT in order to ensure your law school prep stays on track and that your applications are submitted on time!

When Is The Best Time To Take The LSAT?

Take the exam at least two years before you plan to enroll.

In general, you should take the LSAT at least two years before you plan to enroll in law school. If you are an undergrad student and plan to go directly into law school upon graduation, this means that you should take the LSAT in your junior year.

(Note: during your freshman and sophomore year, don’t worry about the LSAT yet. Focus on acclimating to school and earning high grades in your courses.)

If you plan to take time off between undergrad and law school, then you have a bit more flexibility on when you take the LSAT. Your LSAT score stays good for five years.

Take the exam when you have significant time to study.

The golden rule is to register to take the LSAT when you have significant time to dedicate to studying for it. If you have a very heavy course load at school or a big project to manage at work, consider putting off the LSAT to a different time of year when it can be your sole focus.

We recommend you take the exam for the first time in the spring or summer. The test is offered nine times per year in January, February, March, April, June, July, September, October, and November. Taking the LSAT in the spring or summer allows you to study during the winter and early spring months. Winter is often the best time to study for the exam as there are fewer distractions (after the holidays pass) than in the summer months.

For those who are able to take the LSAT after the semester wraps up in June or July, then you have time to focus entirely on the LSAT after classes end. Taking the exam in June should also not interfere with final exams for summer classes or big projects relating to a summer job or internship (as most will have just started in their role a few weeks earlier.)

Have a contingency plan and a second test date.

Always build in one extra test date as a backup in case you need to take the test again. Don’t plan to take the LSAT again but reserve this date as a contingency plan. This second test date needs to be early enough that it won’t make your applications late. It’s important that you apply early, beginning in the fall. Working backward, this means that you should plan to take your first LSAT in March, April, June or July. Then you can leave the September or October LSAT as a backup date, in case you need to take it again.

This will keep you on track to submit your applications on time and ensure you have sufficient time to study for the exam!

Rachel Margiewicz, Director of Pre-Law Services, wrote this post. Rachel is a licensed attorney with years of admissions experience across three law school programs in different markets of the country. She knows what schools are looking for and how to make your application stand out.  Contact us with questions and for more information on our application assistance services! We look forward to hearing from you!