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LSAT

The Law School Admission Test (“LSAT”) is a half-day standardized test published by the Law School Admission Council (“LSAC”) and administered 9 times per year in the U.S. and less frequently internationally. You can choose how you’d like to take the LSAT:

are available for either type of administration and must be requested well in advance of the test date. It’s a good idea to read about the before you decide which option of test administration to select. As of August 2024 the test currently consists of three scored sections and one unscored, Experimental section: 

•  – 1 scored section
•  – 2 scored sections
• Additional unscored section of either Reading Comprehension or Logical Reasoning which allows LSAC to try out future test questions. Note: The sections may be presented in any order and the Experimental section will not be labeled as such.

Each section is 35-minutes long with a 10-minute intermission between sections 2 and 3.

You will also need to complete an assessment which is currently unscored. Most test takers will have a total of 50 minutes — 15 minutes for prewriting analysis and 35 minutes for essay writing. Test takers with approved accommodations for additional time will have their time allocations adjusted accordingly.  The writing must be completed before your LSAT score will be released to you, but is taken on your laptop, separately from the LSAT.

Scoring: The test is scored on the number of questions you answer correctly—your “raw score”. All questions are weighted equally and there is no penalty for wrong answers, so it is worth it to guess. Your raw score is conveted to an LSAT scale of 120-180. The national average LSAT score is about 152.

Cost: $238. Fee waivers are available from LSAC.

How Should I Prepare for the LSAT? 

The live-remote LSAT is administered through LawHub so it is imperative that you become familiar with that interface in advance of test day. You can register for a free LawHub account or pay $115 for LawHub Advantage. I recommend LawHub Advantage. Law schools do rely on the LSAT in part to make admissions decisions. For schools that award scholarships based on merit (most law schools), your score will also greatly influence whether or not you receive a merit-based scholarship. The test assesses the skills you will need in law school. These skills include reading comprehension and understanding of complex, lengthy materials; your ability to consider a structure of rules and relationships and given those facts, determine what could or must be true; your ability to analyze, critically evaluate and complete arguments; and your persuasive writing skills.  

Plan to spend at least 180-200 hours over 3-4 months preparing for the test. You will need to consider LSAT prep to be a part-time job in addition to your other time commitments so plan carefully and decide when you will have time to study for the test. It’s imperative that you become familiar with the test question types, format and instructions before taking it when it counts. Make sure you have a complete set of study materials for each of the test sections. 

Try the sample problems and read the explanations so that you understand and have practiced what you will have to do on test day.  

Take full-length timed practice tests once a week for several weeks (ideally 10-18 weeks!) leading up to the test date. You can get these tests from  (2 for free or $115 for $75+ tests) You can also buy copies of released tests through LSAC’s prep materials, or online. Make sure you are practicing with actual LSAT released tests. Go over the answers and understand why you got a question wrong. If you are buying self-study or commercial test prep materials, find out how many practice test questions they provide answer explanations for. If you purchase test prep from a commercial vendor, make sure they are licensed to use LawHub so that your lessons will correlate with the released tests.

Regardless of how you study, take advantage of , a product LSAC is launching for free in July 2024. It’s a set of free, asynchronous resources offered to anyone who registers for the LSAT during the 2024-25 cycle.

Should I pay for a commercial test prep course? 

The answer to this question depends on your individual circumstances. How comfortable do you feel with standardized tests? Do you experience test anxiety and if so, will taking a commercial test prep course relieve your anxiety somewhat? Just because one applicant has a great experience with a particular test prep company does not mean another applicant will as well. The experience may in large part depend upon the course instructor. Many applicants do extremely well without taking a commercial test prep course. You must know yourself, including whether you will be disciplined enough to hold yourself accountable to a study schedule. Some test prep companies offer fee waivers to those who qualify for an LSAC fee waiver. In addition, you should always ask a test prep company if they have any financial assistance or discounted rates available given your specific circumstances (or for º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒCollege students or grads). Here is a list of  that have licenses to use LSAT content. Speak to your pre-law advisor to find out about lower cost self-study options or sponsored programs that may include test prep. 

 

Should I purchase Score Preview?  

It costs between $45-$80. In my opinion, it is not worth purchasing. Score Preview allows you to cancel your score within 6 days of receiving your LSAT score. Previously, law schools had to report ALL of the LSAT scores of their admitted applicants to the American Bar Association whereas now they only have to report an admitted applicant’s highest score. This means that only the highest scores figure into rankings of a law school. While you might want to explain to a law school a significant jump or drop in your LSAT scores, in my opinion, a lower score will not hurt you as long as you can bring it up. I’ve heard from a few applicants who canceled LSAT scores only to score lower on the test the second time around. They wished they hadn’t canceled the score.

 

GRE

The GRE is a 2-hour test that you take on your own laptop which can be scheduled 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. It costs $220. Not every law school accepts the test, there is no uniform way that law schools interpret your scores, some schools will not consider applicants for merit aid without and LSAT score, and, if you’ve also taken the LSAT, that score will be the one that law schools use in making an admission decision.

The GRE is made up of 3 sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Analytical Writing. You can  Scores are available about 2 weeks after completing the test.

Do your research before deciding whether to take the GRE. It only makes sense to do so if ALL the schools you will apply to accept it. You will want to find out from each school HOW they interpret your scores (do they use the ETS-provided interpretation guide? Average the Quantitative and Verbal Sections? Compare percentiles to their LSAT percentiles? Something else?) and WILL THEY consider you for merit aid with a GRE score alone?

 

JDNext

This assessment is offered by Aspen Publishing and consists of an 8-week class, learning skills and methods that you would use in law school, culminating in a 3-4 hour exam, including a 10-minute break and 30 minutes to complete an ungraded essay. The multiple-choice section contains 80 questions across 15 topics. There are 60 graded questions, plus 20 ungraded experimental questions. The course, test and score reports cost $299. Scores range from 400-1,000 and are designed to assess a test-takers preparedness for law school. Schools that accept the exam use the percentile scores as a factor in admission decisions.

The course teaches you how to read cases in the common law system, extract key points of law, understand essential legal facts and apply the law to future fact patterns.

 

Currently, 50+ school accept JDNext scores and the number is expected to grow. As with the GRE, you will want to do your research about how each school interprets the score, and how applying with JDNext affects one’s opportunity to be considered for merit aid.