Graduate admissions / Law school admissions / Application timeline
Law School Application Timeline
A step-by-step view of the J.D. application cycle, from the LSAT and LSAC registration to decisions and seat deposits.
The J.D. application cycle in order
Exact dates vary by school and by year, so confirm every deadline on each school’s website. The sequence below is the same for most applicants.
1. Prepare for and take the LSAT
Most applicants prepare for several months. Check LSAC for current test dates and the current format, and plan so that at least one score is available before you submit. Retakes are possible, and we help you decide whether one is worth it. See our LSAT tutoring page.
2. Register with the Credential Assembly Service
Most ABA-approved law schools require J.D. applicants to use LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service, or CAS. LSAC suggests registering about six to eight weeks before your first application deadline. CAS collects your transcripts and letters of recommendation and sends them to the schools you apply to.
3. Request letters of recommendation
Most schools require at least two letters, and some accept more. Letters go through LSAC’s letter of recommendation service, and you choose which letters each school receives. LSAC advises allowing about two weeks to process a letter once it arrives, so ask recommenders early and give them your resume and a draft of your statement.
4. Write your essays and finish your resume
Start with the personal statement. Then work on any diversity statement, optional essays, and addenda your schools ask for.
5. Submit applications
You apply through your LSAC account, and you can apply to as many schools as you choose. Each school has its own deadline and requirements. Most law schools review on a rolling basis, so a complete application submitted earlier in the cycle is generally better. Build your list first with our school list and strategy guide.
6. Decisions, waitlists, and scholarships
Decisions arrive over several months. Use this period to follow waitlist instructions, send letters of continued interest where schools allow them, and ask about scholarship reconsideration. See waitlists and scholarships.
7. Seat deposits
Schools set their own seat deposit deadlines, and waitlist movement often follows them. Track each school’s dates.
When to start
Applicants who start well before the cycle opens have more time for the LSAT, essays, and recommenders. Applicants who start later can still build a strong application, but the timeline compresses and some choices, such as retaking the LSAT, become harder. A free consultation shows where your timeline stands.
LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
Application timeline
What to Expect
In a free consultation, we review your background, GPA and LSAT, and school list. Timeline planning then follows three steps.
Map Your Cycle
We list your target schools and their deadlines and work backward from them.
Set Milestones
We set dates for the LSAT, recommender requests, essay drafts, and submission.
Adjust As You Go
We revisit the plan as your score, essays, and decisions develop.
LAW ADMISSIONS ADVISOR
Law applicants work directly with Robert Farbman, an incoming 1L at Harvard Law School and a graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations.
Robert has worked on successful applications to Harvard, NYU, Cornell, Northwestern, Georgetown, Duke and UC Berkeley. He scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT and recently went through the law school application process himself.
He has years of experience teaching students, guiding writers as an undergraduate law review editor, and mentoring incoming transfers to Cornell. His internships at Cornell spanned legal research abroad, corporate financial compliance, and federal agency work.
