If you have gotten your October score back and are trying to decide before Friday (the last day to register for the December test) if you are going to take it again, you will want to ask yourself several questions.  One is whether you could do worse.  Look through your test and check to see that there were at least 6 - 8 questions were either stupid misses or ones you can improve on by December 1st.  There isn't much point in redoing it if you think you can only go up 2 or 3 points.  Finally, ask yourself if you have it in you to push for 3 1/2 more weeks.  If you want to give this one more go, contact us.  We have extra tests and can put you on a study plan.

Wherever you are at in the process, now is the time to request transcripts to have them sent to LSAC.  Contact your schools - undergraduate, community college, colleges you attended for running start, etc - and find out what their process is for requesting a transcript.  Some will let you request transcripts online via your account.  Some will want you to contact the transcripts office.  A few may want the transcript request form that can be found when you enter the school into your account in LSAC.  Not all want this form so it is worth starting with the school first.

Hurricane Sandy is causing problems even for us on the West Coast.  (I am loving that there is a massively destructive hurricane named after me.)  Because of this hurricane, LSAC is closed both today (Monday) and tomorrow.  Thus the scores are not going to be back on Wednesday but Thursday afternoon at the earliest.  LSAC has announced that they will waive the late fee for the December test if you took on October 6.  If you did not take it on October 6, then today is the deadline to sign up without paying the extra $70.

We are anticipating that the scores from the October LSAT will be out any day now.  Maybe even Friday, the 26th but most likely next Monday. Since Monday is the deadline to register for the December test, it seems like it would be unnecessarily cruel to not release the scores until Wednesday and charge you the late fee to register for December.

In the meantime, be working on your applications.  The University of Washington has a more is more approach to applications this year.  They want everything on the resumes, including hobbies and interests.  Might be worth doing two different resumes, one for the UW and one for everyone else.  They are also looking for 2 evaluations in addition to the 2 required letters of recommendation.  Make sure that the evaluations are done by different people that the letters of recommendation.  Also, take advantage of the optional essay.  Pick one and write that additional 500 words.  As always, if you need help with a topic or would like someone to proofread it, don't be afraid to contact me.

Congratulations to all of you who successfully completed the October 6 LSAT.  It is a huge accomplishment just to take the test.  The scores are supposed to come back on October 31st and while we are hoping that they might come back earlier, you should know that the deadline for signing up for the December 1 LSAT is October 29, 2 days before the scores come back.  It is a $160 to sign up for the test and you can get $48 back if you decide not to take it, so consider it a $112 insurance policy if you are thinking you might want to take it again in December.

We are in countdown mode to the October 6 LSAT.  Ironically, you still have a few days to decide whether you want to take this on Saturday.  You can withdraw your registration on the 5th.  You don't get any money back but it does remove it from your record.  Keep up with the studying for the next few days.  Be very protective of your health, both physical and mental this week.  Finally, no studying on Friday.  It is mental health day.  Let your brain recover so it will be rested for Saturday.  In the meantime, figure out where your testing site is, where you are going to park, pack your 1-gallon plastic bag and get your passport photo taken to affix to your ticket.  Make sure your car has gas, a working battery, your printer has ink for printing out your ticket, your driver's license is not expired and you are go to go.  Let us know how things go this weekend so we can go to plan B, whether that is thinking about the December test or working on applications.

This year is a bit unusual with only 8 weeks between the October and December tests.  Normally there is nine.  Because of that, we will be having the first week of the December class during the last week of the October test.  We recognize that if you are looking at taking the test on October 6, you may not know whether you will need to take it again in December.  We want you to know that we will be flexible and whenever you make that decision, we will be ready to help you.

Sorry for the gap in posts, but we are busy getting so many of you ready to take the October LSAT.  A couple of thoughts on that, know that there is still loads of time to make a difference in your score by October 6.  Also, you don't need to make a decision today on whether you are going to take it in October or not.  The deadline to change the test date was yesterday.  The good news is that outside of being out the money to register to take the test again, it doesn't matter.  It will show on your academic summary report that you were registered to take the test on October 6 but didn't take it.  The law schools don't care why you didn't take it.  They are looking for a score.  You can wake up the morning of the 6th and decide that it is not the day for you.  If you need to take it in December, then we will work towards then.  In the meantime, plan on doing this on October 6 and put the energy and effort into it accordingly.  Let us know if you need extra help.