The LSAT is the required admission test for all ABA-accredited law schools. The LSAT is offered four times a year in the United States: February, June, October, and December. So an obvious question from someone applying to law school is which LSAT administration is best to take. Religious Considerations: February, October, and December are always administered on Saturdays, so those who cannot take an exam on Saturday for religious reasons may take the June exam or register for a special non-Saturday administration during February, October and December.
My advice is to take the LSAT administration if you can commit the previous month to 1.5 months to study and prepare. I say this because most test takers will benefit from serious, prolonged, and intensive study. Think of all the time you have dedicated to getting good grades in your classes. Your LSAT score is an important part of your law school application, so you should give it 200 hours of study if you expect to perform at your best.
I recommend not planning to take the December LSAT (at least not initially) because the February LSAT is too late to have your LSAT scores before the admissions deadlines for at least some law schools. If you plan to take the December LSAT, make sure your top schools’ admissions deadlines allow you to take the February LSAT.
Affording alternate LSAT administration is important as any number of unexpected events can mess up a test administration and force you to retake the test. Therefore, I would recommend choosing one of the first three LSAT administrations in a given year based on your ability to study for the LSAT for at least 1.5 months prior to your test date. If life gets in the way and you’re forced to take the December LSAT, you’ll have built in some flexibility so you don’t have to wait a full year before applying to the law school of your choice.
