In this article, we have featured How Long Are LSAT Scores Valid? Students who are getting ready to enroll in law school frequently have the question, “How long will my LSAT score be valid for?” on their minds.
You have successfully completed all of the requirements for your undergraduate degree, including taking and acing the LSAT, attending your final class, and walking down the graduation aisle.
You had intended to submit applications to law schools and begin classes in the fall semester, but for some reason, life has gotten in the way, and you’re now thinking that maybe I should take a gap year before I start law school.
After all, who wouldn’t benefit from taking a gap year before beginning legal studies? But hold on, if you defer, how long will your LSAT score remain valid? This is the subject that will be discussed today in this comprehensive guide, in addition to the manner in which law schools evaluate “vintage” results.
How Long Does It Take to Receive Your LSAT Score?
So, don’t worry about it. The LSAC will keep your LSAT scores for a period of five years after the date of your test, regardless of how well you performed on the exam.
Therefore, if the date of your test is the 8th of June in 2020, your score will be withdrawn from LSAC on the 8th of June in 2025.
If you take the LSAT more than once, each of your previous scores will be removed from LSAC at the end of the 5-year period beginning with the date that each test was taken.
Having said that, there are some educational institutions that will only consider students’ test scores from the most recent three or four years.
That leaves you with a lot of time to submit applications to the school or schools of your choice and get started on the path that will lead you to become a lawyer.
Your LSAT score must also be in good standing at the beginning of the academic year for which you are applying, which is a criterion that some institutions include in their admissions policies (within 5 years of your expected date of entry to their program).
Two educational institutions, namely St. John’s University and The University of Texas at Austin, both offer this information directly on their respective websites.
Despite this, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem with this. It gives you enough time to take care of things, so long as you don’t plan on elongating that gap year into a really long absence before applying somewhere, that is. If you ever find yourself asking, “how long is an LSAT score good for?” know that you are probably in excellent shape regardless of the answer.
Do Old Scores Count Less Toward Admission at Law Schools?
Law schools are often more interested in your actual scores than the age of the scores, unless, of course, they are older than their acceptance windows of 3-5 years (depending on the policy of each school).
In that case, law schools are more interested in the age of the scores. The elements that could have a more significant negative effect than the age of your score include a lack of score growth over repeated attempts or substantial differences in scores.
Case in point Some schools will accept a statement from the applicant describing particular causes or unusual circumstances that affected their performance on an exam in cases where there are high disparities in reported scores; other schools will compel applicants to provide such a statement.
The majority of institutions will take into account the student’s greatest score, but some will look at the student’s full testing history or take an average of the student’s results, regardless of how long ago the tests were obtained.
Also, Read:
How Long Are GMAT Scores Valid
Back To College Preparation: Studying Tips For Online Courses
Possible Excuses to Put Off Attending Law School
You’ve finished your undergraduate studies and have every intention of enrolling in a law degree program as soon as possible.
Regrettably, even the most meticulously crafted strategies can be rendered useless when confronted with obstacles posed by life-changing events. You will be responsible for blazing your own trail in the future, and right now you could be debating whether or not you should put this off.
It is important to give careful consideration before making the choice to postpone law school. There are unquestionably some conditions under which deferring enrollment in law school would be a reasonable choice to make.
You might be the primary caretaker for an ill or elderly parent, or you might be struggling with a medical problem of your own. Either way, you could use some support.
Possibly you are having to come to terms with the death of a loved one, or perhaps your marriage is in such disarray that a divorce is imminent and unavoidable.
On the brighter side, you might have just found out that you are going to be a parent for the first time. Congratulations!
You might make the decision to work for Teach for America for an entire school year, or you could have the chance of a lifetime to travel with and assist your preferred United States Senator in his or her reelection campaign.
Sometimes the schedules and plans we have can’t be followed because life happens. You should not feel guilty about delaying law school if you are doing so because you have a good reason for doing so.
