How many times are you allowed to take the LSAT?

Generally, the LSAC allows you to take the LSAT no more than three times in any two year period (even if your scores are cancelled or otherwise unreported). There are select exceptions to this rule: “You may retake the LSAT if a law school to which you are applying requires a more recent score than any you have on record, or approves your retaking the test, and the school provides LSAC with written proof of its requirement no later than the last day of registration for the test.”

How LSAT scores are reported:

LSAC policy is as follows: “LSAC will automatically report the results of all LSATs in your file, including cancellations and absences, since June 1, 2002. The scores are averaged and also appear separately.” (Note: LSAC rounds up when calculating the average score).

Recent change to ABA policy

In 2006, the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar changed its policies, now requiring schools to report the highest LSAT scores of those students who took the test twice or more: “…beginning with the October 2006 Annual Questionnaire, which collects LSAT data on the Fall 2006 entering class, the Questionnaire will seek 75th percentile, median, and 25th percentile LSAT data based on the high score rather than the average score for matriculants who took the test more than once.”

Since schools now report their students’ highest scores to the ABA, the majority of law schools now consider only an applicant’s highest LSAT, although a small number of schools still consider the average of all scores.

Is a significant score increase possible?

We routinely hear this sort of question regarding potential score increases. It is important to understand that the LSAT is not an I.Q. test! Dramatic score increases are possible with proper preparation and the right approach. We routinely see students achieve double-digit score increases after studying the cutting-edge techniques taught in our courses, using real LSAT questions, relayed by an instructor who has scored in the 99th percentile on an actual LSAT (this is the minimum requirement for all of our LSAT instructors).

A new dual degree program being launched at the University of Texas at Austin will award both a juris doctor degree and a master of science and information studies degree after a three-year program of study.

“The program results from the recognition that not only is digital information changing the practice of law, increasing reliance on digital information is changing our understanding of ownership, copyright, creativity and privacy,” the school says in a press release.

The first students will start classes this fall. They can earn the two degrees in three years by spending one summer studying, explains a university web page on the dual degree program.

This is a very interesting take on the dual-degree J.D. options, not only in the material covered, but also in the time it will take to complete. Traditionally, dual-degree J.D. programs (such as a J.D./MBA or a J.D./MA) take four years to complete; this degree can be completed in three years with only an additional summer’s study.

WHAT DO YOU THINK: Is this new J.D./MA combination destined to take off? Will more schools pick up this dual-degree option and/or the shortened dual-degree time frame?

The following deadlines are categorized by date due, and then alphabetically. As always, make sure to check with the institutions in questions to ensure the dates listed below are accurate. Although I make every effort to check, things can change, and it’s always good to get the numbers right from the law schools’ mouth.

Albany Law School – 3/1
American University – 3/1
Baylor University (Umphrey) -3/1
Boston College – 3/1
Boston University – 3/1
Brigham Young University (Clark) – 3/1
Charleston School of Law – 3/1
College of William and Mary (Marshall-Wythe) – 3/1
DePaul University – 3/1
Emory University – 3/1
Fordham University – 3/1
Illinois Institute of Technology – 3/1
Indiana University, Bloomington (Maurer) – 3/1
Indiana University, Indianapolis – 3/1
John Marshall Law School – 3/1
Lewis & Clark College (Northwestern) – 3/1
Loyola University Chicago – 3/1
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (Hebert) – 3/1
Northeast University – 3/1
Pace University – 3/1
Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) – 3/1
Quinnipiac University – 3/1
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Camden – 3/1
Seattle University – 3/1 (priority deadline)
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale – 3/1
St. Mary’s University – 3/1
Suffolk University – 3/1
Temple University (Beasley) – 3/1
University at Buffalo, SUNY – 3/1
University of Akron – 3/1
University of Baltimore – 3/1
University of California (Hastings) – 3/1
University of Cincinnati – 3/1
University of Connecticut – 3/1
University of Denver (Sturm) – 3/1 (priority deadline)
University of Hawaii (Richardson) – 3/1
University of Iowa – 3/1
University of Kentucky – 3/1
University of Maine – 3/1
University of Maryland – 3/1
University of Memphis (Humphreys) – 3/1
University of Mississippi – 3/1
University of Missouri – 3/1
University of Missouri, Kansas City – 3/1 (priority deadline)
University of Nebraska, Lincoln – 3/1
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – 3/1
University of Oregon – 3/1
University of Pittsburgh – 3/1
University of Richmond (Williams) – 3/1
University of South Carolina – 3/1
University of South Dakota – 3/1
University of Tennessee, Knoxville – 3/1
University of Virginia – 3/1
University of Wisconsin, Madison – 3/1
University of Wyoming – 3/1
Vermont Law School – 3/1
Villanova University – 3/1
Wake Forest University – 3/1
Washington University in St. Louis – 3/1
Willamette University (Collins) – 3/1

University of Utah (Quinney) – 3/10

Catholic University of America (Columbus) – 3/12
University of Montana – 3/12

Howard University – 3/14

Georgia State University – 3/15
Mercer University – 3/15
New England School of Law – 3/15
Ohio State University (Moritz) – 3/15
Roger Williams University – 3/15
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark – 3/15
Stetson University – 3/15
Tulane University – 3/15 (priority deadline)
University of Colorado, Boulder – 3/15
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign – 3/15
University of Kansas – 3/15
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Boyd) – 3/15
University of Notre Dame – 3/15
University of Oklahoma – 3/15
University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) – 3/15
University of the Pacific (McGeorge) – 3/15 (priority deadline)
Vanderbilt University – 3/15
Wayne State University – 3/15
Western New England College – 3/15
Whittier Colelge – 3/15

CUNY (Queen’s College) – 3/16

George Washington University 3/31
North Carolina Central Univeristy – 3/31
Texas Wesleyan University – 3/31
University of Alabama – 3/31

Here’s how the deferral process works:

1. You must be accepted for admission at the law school in question. Note: your admissions offer must still be valid at the time of your deferment request. For example, if the deposit deadline to hold your seat passes and you have neither paid the deposit nor made a deferment request, the option to defer or even enroll is typically no longer valid.
2. While holding a valid admission offer from the school, you make a formal written request for deferment to the school’s admissions office. This request must include a valid reason for deferment, such as sickness, personal issues, employment commitments, delays to a degree currently in progress, or financial constraints. The information required in this request and the forms that you must fill out vary from school to school, so it is advisable that you contact the school directly and obtain the information specifically from each school’s admissions office.
3. Be advised, your request for a deferment is not automatically granted by the school, and your request can be rejected. If the request is rejected you have two choices: either enroll for the upcoming semester, or relinquish your hold on a seat and reapply when you are ready to start school. If your deferment request is granted, you must typically take the following steps:

• Make a non-refundable seat deposit. This deposit usually ranges from $300-$1000.
• Pay a non-refundable processing fee (this varies somewhat by school).
• Sign an agreement stating that you will not enroll at another law school, accept a deferment offer from another law school, or apply to another law school.

As you can see, the process is school-specific, requires some money, and is not guaranteed. However, for many students, particularly those in a situation similar to the one described by the Law School Statistics user above, it may be the only choice. A few words of caution, though:

• Students who are granted a deferral request will typically be allowed to defer for only one year; very few schools allow longer deferments.
• Students who are accepted off of a waitlist typically do not have the option to request a deferment.
• Receiving a deferment is rare in most cases; in fact, some schools offer only 5 to 10 deferments per year.
• Accepting a deferment and then applying to another school or enrolling at another law school is looked upon as unethical and can cause serious problems during your State Bar review and inquiry.
• If you choose to defer for a year or more, make productive use of the time off. Focus on something that will help clarify your legal career goals. For example, if you are interested in environmental law but are not unsure as to whether you would enjoy it as a long-term career, get a job related to environmental law in order to clarify your objectives in law school.
• If you know that you are going to attempt deferment to pursue further work experience, hold off on applying until you are actually ready to attend school. An applicant who has some post-graduate work experience is generally viewed as more stable and worldly than a graduating senior, thereby giving the working applicant a better chance of admission.

Remember, too, that you can only accept an offer of deferment from one school. You can request deferrals from multiple schools, but you can only accept the offer from a single institution. Make your choices carefully!

Some content originally found on PowerScore.com