The LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, is the official exam of law schools throughout the United States, and is required in order to apply for law schools. The LSAT is used to test applicants in a number of different areas such as reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and verbal reasoning skills. The test is administered by the Law School Admissions Council, where it is taken by nearly 130,000 students and administered four times each year.
About the LSAT
The LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, is the official exam of law schools throughout the United States, and is required in order to apply for law schools. The LSAT is used to test applicants in a number of different areas such as reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and verbal reasoning skills. The test is administered by the Law School Admissions Council, where it is taken by nearly 130,000 students and administered four times each year.
The Importance of the LSAT
The LSAT is one of the most important facets of a law school application; LSAT scores carry the most weight in the eyes of admissions boards. Getting high scores can be the difference between being accepted into a top school or a low tier school.
LSAT Testing Format
The LSAT consists of 175 minutes of multiple-choice testing and a thirty-minute writing sample. On the LSAT, you will be required to think - thoroughly, quickly, and strategically.
You will receive one overall score for the LSAT, ranging from 120 to 180 (there are no separate section scores). Plus, you will also receive a "score band," which is a range of scaled scores above and below your score, indicating a "true score" at a reasonable level of confidence. Lastly, there's your percentile score, which ranks your performance relative to that of a large group of other test takers.
The LSAT exam consists of five multiple choice sections testing:
-logical reasoning
-analytical reasoning
-reading comprehension
-writing
There are two logical reasoning sections, designed to test the test-takers dissection of arguments.
Reading Comprehension Section
The reading comprehension section consists of 4-5 passages with 5-8 questions following each passage.
Analytical Reasoning Section
The analytical reasoning section consists of 22 “logic games” questions.
LSAT Scoring
Test scores for the LSAT can range from 120 to 180. Each law school will have a different requirement for their program, but the standard minimum score is usually around 153. In most cases, scores below 149 are considered below average. Students are put in a scoring percentage, meaning that their scores are compared against other test takers. A score like 180 would be considered in the 99th percentile. Many schools look into these percentages to get a better look at the student’s scores in comparison to other students.
