Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
The LSAT is probably the most important factor in American law school admissions for the juris doctorate (JD). Your LSAT score along with undergraduate grade point average (GPA) will help the determine the basic range of schools at which you are likely to be admitted. These quantitative values combined with a qualitative assessment of your letters of recommendation, personal statement, LSAT writing sample, and résumé will determine your admissions success.
Test Calendar
- The LSAT is usually offered four times a year: February, June, October, and December.
- We recommend taking the LSAT by October of the year before a student seeks admission. In other words, if a student is applying for admission for Fall 2011, we recommend taking the LSAT by October 2010, though law schools will accept December LSAT scores.
Test Format
| Section | Number of Questions | Minutes per Section | Content |
| Logical Reasoning: | 49-51 | 2 35 minute sections | Multiple-choice questions that ask the test-taker to identify and assess reasoning in given arguments |
| Analytic Reasoning: | 22-24 | 35 | Multiple-choice questions that ask the test-taker to make inferences based on a series of specified constraints and conditions |
| Reading Comprehension: | 26-28 | 35 | Multiple-choice critical reading questions based on given passages |
| Essay: | 1 | 35 | Two essay prompts that ask the test-taker to:
|
| Experimental (unscored and unidentified): | Varies | 35 | Logical Reasoning, Analytic Reasoning, or Reading Comprehension multiple-choice questions |
Test Scoring
- Based on the test-taker's performance on the multiple-choice portions of the LSAT, test scores range from 120 to 180.
- The essay is unscored, but it is photocopied and sent to the applicant's selected law schools as part of the LSAT score report.