PRELAW HANDBOOK - Law School LSAT

PRELAW LSAT TEST
TOPICS

TOPICS _.

SECTIONS OF THIS CHAPTER

LSAT RECOMMENTED WEBSITES

COMMENTS

SOME KEY FACTS

WHERE AN LSAT SCORE STANDS WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRST-YEAR CLASS

LSAT AND UGPA: WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY ARE NOT IN SYNCH

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PRELAW LSAT TEST
SECTIONS OF THIS CHAPTER

LSAT TEST DATES AND DEADLINES. The LSAT is administered four times a year.

WHEN TO TAKE THE LSAT? Except for good reason (not being prepared is a good reason), a prelaw student at a college on the semester system should take the LSAT in June, after the junior year. A prelaw law student on the quarter system may find it convenient to take the LSAT in September/October after the junior year. If convenient, a college graduate should take the LSAT circa 15-19 months prior to when planing to begin law school.

LSAT REGISTRATION can be done online, by phone, or by mail-in. To increase your chances of obtaining the LSAT test center of your choice, register online and early.

LSAT SCORING. Since an LSAT score depends only on the number correct, the only thing better than guessing an answer is knowing an answer. We shall show you how to guess for success.

LSAT IMPORTANCE. For various LSAT scores, we give a rough idea of the limitations that this LSAT score will impose.

LSAT PREP TESTS are available from the LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION COUNCIL (LSAC) and others.

LSAT PREPARATION. For each subject or skill, there are fast learners and there are slow learners. Without having to take needed time away from other activities, a fast LSAT learner can begin LSAT preparation four to eight weeks in advance of the LSAT and earn a very good score. But for others, beginning four to eight weeks in advance of the LSAT may lead to unpleasant consequences. Our suggestion is that you slowly begin LSAT preparation at least two semesters (perhaps even one year) prior to your planned test date. For a laugh, you may want to begin your LSAT preparation by taking a previously given LSAT test under test conditions. After having a good laugh over this LSAT score, begin by spending a couple of hours a week working on one of the question types (Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning, and Logical Reasoning) of the LSAT; this should involve taking the section(s) of previously-given LSAT tests involving this question type. Your goal eventually is to take these previously-given LSAT tests under timed conditions and earn a decent LSAT score. After proficiency in the three question types, begin taking previously-given LSAT tests with the goal of taking these tests under LSAT test conditions with a decent LSAT score. The preceding is general advice, you must fill in the details (e.g. how many previously-given LSAT tests you should take, what LSAT prep books to buy, whether you should take a LSAT prep course, etc.).

LSAT PREP COURSES. LSAT prep courses are available to students who need the reassurance such courses can provide. They are not necessary for an applicant to do well, but a good prep course taught by a good instructor can be of great value. These classes are expensive in terms of time and money, so it is important to take enough previous LSAT tests beforehand to determine if a prep class is necessary. If you decide to take a prep course, check out the instructor (oftentimes one is allowed to attend a class for free) before you invest your time and money; students tend to report that the instructor is the most important factor in determining the success or failure of a LSAT prep class important factor. No matter how good the instructor is, just as in the class room, learning the material is in your hands.
        Some of this is similar to material from the University of Chicago Prelaw website.
     If you are doing your best on your own and your scores on previous LSAT tests begin to stabilize and you are not happy about this, then the answer may be one or more of: working harder, working differently, or looking for a useful LSAT prep course. For example, with scores on your six previous LSAT tests being 158, 161, 162, 159, 161, and 160, we see that your scores are stabilizing around 160 so unless you will be happy with a real LSAT test score of around 155, something must change.

NON-ACADEMIC LSAT PREPARATION. We give thirteen steps to follow so that on the day of the LSAT, you only have to worry about at most one thing--the LSAT.

NO SHOW OR POOR SHOW ON THE LSAT. If you sign up for the LSAT and then decide not to take the LSAT on the scheduled day, see about a TEST DATE CHANGE OR REFUND.
     If you take the LSAT test and then decide not to have it count, there are two ways to cancel your score: complete the score-cancellation section on the LSAT answer sheet at the test center or send a written cancellation to LSAC; the written cancellation to LSAC must be received by LSAC within nine calendar days of the test

RETAKING THE LSAT. If you did poorly on the LSAT, you have two choices: retake the LSAT or try to explain your poor score.
     Fortunately the following paraphrasing of Zeno of Elea (we replaced said by done) is true for the LSAT:
          What has been done once can always be repeated.
Zeno of Elea (c.495BC-c.430BC), a Greek philosopher and mathematician, is especially known for his paradoxes which contributed to the development of logical and mathematical rigor. These paradoxes seemed insoluble until the development of precise concepts of continuity and infinity.

LSAT
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) administers the law school LSAT test. A great source of information about the LSAT test is given by LSAC. It is de regueur to read LSAC's response to LSAT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS. For additional information from LSAC, check out the LSAC SITE MAP. .

For an introduction to the LSAT test, read  LSAT ORIENTATION; especially note their first item, which is LSAT at a Glance.
See the AVERAGE LSAT SCORES FOR 29 MAJORS. The data is over ten years old but seems to be the latest available.
Frank X.J. Homer (University of Scranton, Pennsylvania) provides a good introduction to the THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION TEST; you may also see the same article at LSAT ADVICE and elsewhere. Reading one of these webpages is de rigueur for anyone contemplating taking the LSAT test. Frank X.J. Homer gives facts about the LSAT test, eight common misconceptions about the LSAT test, preparation for the LSAT test, four important points to remember about the LSAT test, and some pointers to increase testwiseness. Frank X.J. Homer also gives the excellent advice, "Applicants can help themselves by working with an elementary logic text, learning to recognize common fallacies, many of which may exist in their own thinking." Of course, taking a course in logic is a good idea.
Pre-Law Studies at Florida Atlantic University considers HOW LAW SCHOOLS DECIDE ON WHOM TO ADMIT considering the effect on admission of the LSAT score, GPA, letters of recommendation, and personal statement.
WIKIPEDIA provides some general information abouet the LSAT.

The Council on Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) gives information about the LSAT test and good advice for preparing for the LSAT.

The University of Massachusetts Pre-Law Advising has some useful information about the LSAT.

4LawSchool provides information about many aspects of the LSAT.
Make sure not to commit one or more of the SEVEN DEADLY LSAT SINS.     _.

PRELAW LSAT TEST
COMMENTS

Law schools admission committees first focus in on the applicant's LSAT score and GPA. In many cases, these two factors alone, perhaps with a casual look at OTHER ADMISSION FACTORS, determine the admission decision. For other law school applicants, a more than cursory look at other admission factors may be necessary to determine the admission decision. Although it certainly happens that other admission factors may help an applicant overcome minor LSAT or GPA deficiencies, it is unlike that other factors will be able to overcome major LSAT or GPA deficiencies. Your primary focus should be on your LSAT score and GPA (probably in that order).
Ideally, preparation for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) should begin six months to a year before the LSAT is taken (we recommend one year) and this preparation should be so serious that there could be no reason to repeat the LSAT although there may be reasons not to take the LSAT at the scheduled time (e.g. illness, family emergency).
Napoleon said that "God is on the side of the big battalions." If Napoleon were applying to law school today, he would probably say that God is on the side of the high LSAT scores.

PRELAW LSAT TEST
SOME KEY FACTS

For the LSAT test, you may want to adopt the motto NO EFFORT TOO MUCH. _.At the age of 26, Constantin Carathodory, the scion of a powerful Greek family, gave up a promising career as an engineer to return to school and devote himself to the study of pure mathematics. His family, whose motto was No Effort Too Much, considered his plan foolishly romantic. He made significant contributions to several areas of mathematics including the calculus of variations and the theory of functions.

WRITING SAMPLE TIME INCREASED. Beginning with the June 2005 test, the time allotted for the unscored LSAT writing sample increased from 30 to 35 minutes and the writing space increased from one to two pages.

LSAT STATISTIC. For the 180 fully-accreditated law schools and the 7 provisionally-accredited law schools, we have that the average of the LSAT 25th percentile is 150.8 and the LSAT 75th percentile is 156.2

THE LSAT: A GREAT PREDICTOR OF LAW SCHOOL PERFORMANCE. "The LSAT is the only standardized measure that law schools have to predict law school performance. Every student's undergraduate record is different, even when students have the same major and attend the same undergraduate school. In fact, studies have shown that the LSAT is the best single predictor of first-year law school performance, while the best overall predictor of law school performance is a combination of the LSAT and undergraduate UGPA." University of Kentucky

IMPORTANCE OF THE LSAT. The higher your LSAT score, the greater your chances are of admission to law school and of obtaining financial aid.

AN ADDED BENEFIT OF PREPARING FOR THE LSAT. The LSAT involves thinking logically. Because of this, whether you go to law school or not, the material learned in studying for the LSAT will serve you well in life.

HOW SERIOUS IS THE LSAT test. The LSAT test is much more difficult and involves more logical thinking than the SAT, GRE, or GMAT.

LSAT PRACTICE TESTS. Previously administered LSATs, all with an answer key, writing sample, and LSAT score-conversion table, are available from LSAC. Also available from LSAC is an online option, LSAT ItemWise, that not only gives the correct answers, but also provides explanations as to why your answers are correct or incorrect; note that LSAT is a paper-and-pencil test. Publishers, other than LSAC, have LSAT practice tests or LSAT sample tests, some with solutions; these are readily available at book stores.

LSAT PREPARATION. Since the LSAT does not test knowledge of a particular subject, the goal of studying is to become familiar with the LSAT test format and to develop methods to answer LSAT test questions with efficiency and accuracy. The best prepare for the LSAT is directly from

HOW OFTEN SHOULD ONE TAKE THE LSAT? (Answer. Once) With the LSAT, do not plan on doubling your pleasure. When you walk in to take the LSAT, you should have the expectation of a score that you can be proud of based on your performance on actual, previously administered LSATs. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, and the Great Gatsby demonstrated, There is no second act in American life. This is not quite true for the LSAT but unless your LSAT score is significantly below your score on actual, previously administered LSATs or you intend to change your way of studying, do not take the LSAT a second time. Nationally nearly one in five will take the LSAT a second time. Most law schools average multiple LSAT scores. Do not take the LSAT unless you are ready (No LSAT before its time).

LSAT SCORE AND PERCENTILE RANK REPORTED TO LAW SCHOOLS. "Along with your numerical score, Law Services also reports a percentile rank, reflecting the percentage of candidates scoring below your reported test score. Over the past several years, a score of about 150 [perhaps 151 or 152] has generally fallen at approximately the 50th percentile, and a score of about 163 has fallen at approximately the 90th percentile." Kansas University Pre-Law Advising

TIME LIMITATION OF LSAT SCORES. "Law Services reports scores for five years. Scores for all LSAT exams taken in the five years prior to your application to law school will therefore be reported to the law schools you designate. Multiple scores will be averaged by Law Services in its report to law schools. Copies of your writing samples for those tests will be included, up to a maximum of three samples. Some law schools will not accept a score earned more than three years prior to an application (so, yes, you will have to take the exam again if [you apply to such a law school and] your score is more than three years old). Check the [law school] catalogs to determine if you need a more recent score." Notre Dame Prelaw

LAW SCHOOL LSAT SCORES
WHERE AN LSAT SCORE STANDS
WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRST-YEAR CLASS

Example. A LSAT score of 155 will be at or above the twenty-fifth percentile for the entering class at 104 law schools and will be at or above the seventy-fifth percentile for the entering class at 27 law schools.

LSAT
SCORE

Number of Law
Schools with This
Given LSAT
SCORE as Its
25th Percentile
of the LSAT

Number of Law
Schools with This
Given LSAT
SCORE as Its
75th Percentile
of the LSAT

At or below 147

10

0

148

4

0

149

4

2

150

14

0

At or below 150

32

2

151

18

2

152

16

6

153

14

4

154

14

4

155

10

9

At or below 155

104

27

156

9

24

157

8

11

158

16

15

159

7

12

160

9

14

At or below 160

153

103

161

8

13

162

5

6

163

5

15

164

3

15

165

2

4

At or below 165

176

156

166

2

7

167

4

8

168

4

2

169

0

4

170

1

1

At or below 170

187

178

171

0

3

172

0

3

173

0

1

174

0

0

175

0

1

176

0

1

LSAT AND UGPA
WHAT TO DO WHEN
THEY ARE NOT IN SYNCH

Law schools Admission Committees (LSAC) first focus on the applicant's LSAT score and UGPA. On a typical undergraduate's application, these two factors are paramount. However, most law schools will tell you that the student's entire application is reviewed and considered. As a result, it would be to your advantage to supplement your curriculum with activities that demonstrate leadership, initiative, creativity, responsibility, analytical skills and research ability.
University of California, Merced Law School Information

If your LSAT score and UGPA do not match up, explain this discrepancy (without bitterness, anger or defensiveness) on a separate piece of paper entitled Explanation of LSAT Score or Explanation of UGPA. This separate sheet of paper would be part of your law school addendum.
Johns Hopkins University Law School Option