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A law school application timeline is set by early decision deadlines rather than by the regular ones applicants tend to plan around. Of the 35 schools whose early decision terms we hold verified, 28 offer a route and most of those close in November. Verified July 2026.
Test in the spring or summer, draft over the summer, and submit in the autumn. The binding deadline that governs the whole calendar sits in November rather than in the following spring, which is where most applicants wrongly anchor it. Verified July 2026.
Of the 35 schools whose early decision terms we hold verified in LOVARE_SCHOOL_DATA_SHEET.xlsx, 28 offer an early decision route and 7 publish that they offer none, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
Berkeley's binding deadline is November 14 and Boston University's Distinguished Scholar track closes November 9, from each school's own early decision page, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
Working backwards from a November deadline puts your test in June at the latest and your recommenders on notice in August.
Early enough to retake once before your earliest deadline. For a November early decision target that means a June or August sitting, because a single test date leaves no room; A retake needs the earlier sitting to have happened, the score to have arrived, and study time in between. Verified July 2026.
LSAC publishes that a score carries a standard error of measurement of about 2.6 scaled points (https://www.lsac.org/lsat-interpretive-guide/2019-2020), retrieved July 31, 2026, which is a reason to plan for variance rather than to assume your first score is your score. Verified July 2026.
That chain is about three months long.
Applicants who test once in October and apply in November have removed their own margin. That is the single most common timeline error.
Summer, and earlier than the deadline suggests. A personal statement improves mostly through time away from it, and that is the ingredient a September start cannot buy; Three drafts with a fortnight between them beats ten drafts in a week. Verified July 2026.
Two pages double-spaced is the modal published limit across the 16 schools whose instructions we hold verified, retrieved July 31, 2026, which is short enough that the work is revision rather than production. Verified July 2026.
The gap is what lets you see your own writing as a reader would.
Write it before you write anything school-specific. The statement is reusable; the supplements are not.
Six to eight weeks before your earliest deadline, which for a November target means August. Letters are the only part of your file whose timing somebody else controls; Ask in August even if you will not submit until November. Verified July 2026.
LSAC states, please allow LSAC two weeks from the time of receipt to process your paper letters (https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/credential-assembly-service-cas/letters-recommendation), retrieved July 31, 2026, and that window sits on top of your recommender's own turnaround. Verified July 2026.
LSAC also publishes that access to its Letter of Recommendation service is included in Credential Assembly Service registration (https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/credential-assembly-service-cas/letters-recommendation), retrieved July 31, 2026, so the account is already open once you have registered. Verified July 2026.
An early ask costs your recommender nothing and buys you a replacement option.
Mostly in November, with a second cluster on December 1. Across the 35 schools whose terms we hold verified, November 1 and November 15 are the two most common dates; Every date on this page was read on the school's own page in July 2026 and must be checked against the school before you rely on it. Verified July 2026.
SchoolWhat the school publishes about early decisionSourceAmericanYes: binding ED, two rounds (R1 Dec 12, R2 Feb 10 for fall 2026 cycle as posted); $900 nonrefundablehttps://www.american.edu/wcl/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/requirements.cfmBYUNone offeredhttps://law.byu.edu/admissions/resources?tab=important-datesBerkeleyBinding, Nov 14https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admissions/jd/applying-for-jd-degree/Boston CollegeBinding, Dec 1 and Jan 15 roundshttps://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/admission-aid/jd-program/early-decision.htmlBoston UniversityBinding, two named tracks that are opposites: Distinguished Scholar closes November 9 with notificationhttps://www.bu.edu/law/admissions-aid/jd-admissions/early-decision-program/CatholicYes: non-binding early admission, no separate application. File complete by Nov 1 for a decision by Dechttps://www.law.edu/admissions/overview/faqs.htmlChicagoBinding, one round, December 1. ED applicants are accepted, denied, or waitlisted for further reviewhttps://www.law.uchicago.edu/apply-earlyColumbiaBinding, one round, November 15. Aid not expected before end of March; some denied ED applicants arehttps://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/apply/early-decisionCornellBinding, one round, January 1. Regular decision runs March 1 priority and July 1 final.https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/jd-faq/DukeBinding, two rounds: November 1 Round I and January 3 Round II. Round I decisions by end of Decemberhttps://law.duke.edu/admis/apply/early/GWBinding, Feb 1https://www.law.gwu.edu/regular-jd-admissions-processGeorge MasonYes: binding ED, Jan 15, two tracks: Scalia Law Scholars (binding + full tuition) and standard EDhttps://www.law.gmu.edu/admissions/jd/how_apply_jd/GeorgetownBinding, rolling, one track. March 2 is a strongly recommended date shared with regular decision, nothttps://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions-aid/jd-admissions/first-year-applicants/apply-early-decision/GeorgiaBinding, Dec 1https://www.law.uga.edu/early-decision-processHarvardNone offeredhttps://hls.harvard.edu/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/jdapplicants/jd-application-components/MichiganBinding, one round, November 15. Decision by December 15. Incomplete ED applications roll automaticallyhttps://michigan.law.umich.edu/resource-center/special-application-circumstancesMinnesotaBinding, Dec 31https://law.umn.edu/admissions/jd/how-applyNYUBinding, one round, November 15. ED applicants not admitted in December are placed on Hold and reviewedhttps://www.law.nyu.edu/jdadmissions/applicants/applications
American runs two binding rounds, December 12 and February 10 for the cycle as posted, with a $900 nonrefundable deposit, from its own early decision page (https://www.american.edu/wcl/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/requirements.cfm), retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
Boston College publishes binding December 1 and January 15 rounds, and Catholic runs a non-binding early admission with a file complete by November 1 for a decision by December 31, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
Dates move between cycles. Verified July 2026.
No. Of the 35 schools whose terms we hold verified, 7 publish that they offer no early decision route at all, which removes the November deadline from those applications entirely; BYU publishes none offered, from its own admissions pages as recorded in our data sheet, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
If none of your target schools offers it, your timeline is set by rolling admissions instead, and earlier is still better for a different reason.
Check your own list before you build a calendar around November. The binding deadline only governs you if a school on your list has one.
At some schools, and mostly by invitation. Of the 28 schools whose interview policy we hold verified, 9 publish that they do not interview JD applicants at all; Berkeley runs an invitation-only optional Kira video interview and Boston College interviews by invitation for early decision applicants only, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
American states it does not conduct admissions interviews and Boston University states it does not interview candidates for the JD program, with no Kira and no video component, from each school's own pages, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
Invitations arrive after submission, so this is not a step to schedule. It is a step to be ready for once your files are in.
As early in the cycle as your file is genuinely finished. Rolling admissions means a complete October application meets a fuller class and a fuller aid pool than an identical January one; The tradeoff is real and worth stating plainly. Verified July 2026.
A rushed October file is worse than a polished December one, because quality is not recoverable and timing partly is.
The order that resolves it: finish the statement in summer, test by August, and submit when the file is done rather than on a date you picked in advance.
Do not hold a finished application waiting for a better LSAT score you have not yet scheduled. That is the most expensive version of waiting.
Decisions from December through spring, aid decisions after them, and deposits in the spring. The negotiation window opens when you hold a second offer and closes at your earliest deposit deadline; That makes the spring window worth more than it used to be, because an uncovered gap is now private credit rather than a federal loan. Verified July 2026.
At several schools the aid decision follows the binding commitment rather than preceding it, which is published on those schools' own early decision pages, retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
After July 1, 2026 the arithmetic changed: federal borrowing for professional students is capped at $50,000 a year and Grad PLUS is phased out for new borrowers, per Harvard's summary of the statutory changes (https://sfs.harvard.edu/changes-federal-student-loans), retrieved July 31, 2026. Verified July 2026.
All of them. Every deadline here was read on a school's own page in July 2026, and schools revise dates between cycles without announcing it; Our table covers the 35 schools whose early decision terms we hold verified rather than every ABA school, retrieved July 31, 2026, and names the absence for the rest. Verified July 2026.
Where our sheet records a date as an estimate rather than a published figure, this page publishes nothing for that school. An estimate is not a deadline.
Check every date against the school's own admissions page before you plan around it. That is five minutes and it is the only version that binds.
Every figure on this application timeline page carries a Verified July 2026 stamp because a dated stamp is the only honest way to publish a number that moves. Each source below was retrieved in July 2026 and is linked in full rather than named vaguely, so nothing here is modelled, averaged or inferred.
What it supportsSourceAmerican early decision termshttps://www.american.edu/wcl/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/requirements.cfmBoston College early decision termshttps://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/admission-aid/jd-program/early-decision.htmlBerkeley early decision and interview policyhttps://www.law.berkeley.edu/admissions/jd/applying-for-jd-degree/LSAC Letter of Recommendation servicehttps://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/credential-assembly-service-cas/letters-recommendationLSAC on the standard error of measurementhttps://www.lsac.org/lsat-interpretive-guide/2019-2020Federal loan caps effective July 1 2026https://sfs.harvard.edu/changes-federal-student-loans
As early in the cycle as your file is genuinely finished. Most early decision deadlines we hold verified fall in November, with a second cluster on December 1. Verified July 2026.
Early enough to retake once before your earliest deadline, so June or August for a November target. LSAC publishes a standard error of about 2.6 scaled points, so plan for variance. Verified July 2026.
Six to eight weeks out, so August for a November deadline. LSAC asks for two weeks from receipt to process paper letters, on top of your recommender's own turnaround. Verified July 2026.
No. Of the schools whose terms we hold verified, several publish that they offer none, including BYU.
Check your own list before building a calendar around November. Verified July 2026.
Often not. Of the schools whose interview policy we hold verified, many publish that they do not interview JD applicants at all.
Where interviews exist they are usually invitation-only. Verified July 2026.
Work backwards from the earliest deadline on your own list, not from a generic calendar. For most applicants that date sits in November. The Lovare Diagnostic takes about fifteen minutes and returns your own numbers against published school data rather than a single probability, and it is free.
Written by Ali, Georgetown Law, founder of Lovare Institut.
August 5, 2026
August 5, 2026