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The Law School Admission Test

Every year 135,000 pre-law students take LSAT, the Law School Admission Test. LSAT was first administered by ETS, Educational Testing Services, but after 1979 Law School Admission Council (LSAC) continued its administration. 

LSAC is a non-profit organization with more than 200 members. All of LSAC members, law schools, are approved by the American Bar Association (ABA).

LSAT is a well known test that is required for admission to all ABA-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many non ABA-approved law schools.

LSAT is administered four times a year and takes about half a day to complete including the breaks.

What LSAT Measures

LSAT is one of many items that law schools look at to determine which students should be admitted to their program. 

LSAT enables schools’ administrator to measure your ability in:

  • Reading and comprehension of complex text with accuracy and insight,
  • Organization and management of information, 
  • Drawing reasonable conclusion from available information,
  • Critical thinking
  • Analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others,
  • Distinguishing fact from opinion,
  • Adapting to unfamiliar circumstances and procedures
  • Clarifying ambiguity

LSAT dose not measure your academic knowledge, but how well you are suited for law school courses and training.

The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)

LSDAS, the Law School Data Assembly Services, will coordinate your academic and biographical information and your test score. LSDAS also simplifies the United States law schools admission process by organizing and standardizing your undergraduate academic records and prepares a report for each school you have applied.

This reports contains

  • Undergraduate academic summery
  • Copies of school transcripts
  • LSAT score & writing samples
  • Copies of letter of recommendations

Almost all ABA-approved law schools want the candidates to use this service.

LSDAS registration expires after five years. Try to register for this service about six weeks before you plan to apply to law school.

It is recommended that you register for LSAT and LSDAS at the same time to simplify and shorten the paperwork.

LSAT Format

LSAT consists of five sections plus a writing section as follows:

  • The LSAT Reading Comprehension
  • The LSAT Analytical Reasoning
  • The Logical Reasoning (two sections)
  • The LSAT Variable section

The LSAT Variable section can related to any of the above sections. This section is not identified to the candidates and is different for each administered test. Its purpose is to pretest new questions or new test forms. 

The Analytical Reasoning Section

The LSAT Analytical Reasoning section measures your ability to understand structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about the structure.

In the LSAT Analytical Reasoning, which takes 35 minutes, candidates should answer approximately 24 questions that are arranged into four sets. Each set has 5 to 7 questions.

The Logical Reasoning Section

The LSAT Logical Reasoning  section measures your skills to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete a variety of arguments which can come from any sources such as letters, speeches, advertisements, newspapers, articles, discussions, and conversations.

The LSAT Logical Reasoning section has 24 to 26 questions that must be completed in 35 minutes.

The Reading Comprehension Section

The LSAT Reading Comprehension  section measures how well you can read and understand passages under time constrain.

The subjects of passages in the LSAT Reading Comprehension section could be any of humanities, social sciences, biological, physical science, or law related matters.

The LSAT Reading Comprehension section has 26 to 28 questions that are arranged into four sets. Each set contains a passage about 450 words long followed by 5 to 8 questions and last for 35 minutes.

The Writing Section

The final section of LSAT is the LSAT Writing Section . The writing section measures your skills in reasoning, clarity, organization, language skills and usage, and writing techniques.

In the LSAT Writing Section candidates should write about one of the two topics that is assigned to them randomly.

You have about 35 minutes to organize your thought and write your essay. Remember it is more important to write well than to write long.

LSAT Preparation

The LSAT  preparation process can be summarized in these steps:

  • Preparation for the Test

    You can either use the sample test or purchase previously administered tests.

    Try to practice the test under similar circumstances such as answering an entire sample test not just one section, use a silent watch, and finally use a table in a crowded environment.

    Familiarized yourself with the question types, format, and instructions so that there are no surprises and you can focus on just answering the questions correctly on your test date.

    Set a time so that you get used to answering questions under time constrain. This practice will give you a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses.

    Remember on the test date there is no time for confusion.

  • Research Law Schools and Their Deadlines:

    Use The Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law School or Law School Admission Council web sites.

  • Register for LSAT and LSDAS:

    You don’t have to register for LSAT and LSDAS at the same time but it’s recommended.

Registration

Test dates and registration information is available here.

Register for LSAT and LSDAS

You can register for LSAT and LSDAS online or by phone.

To register by phone call 215-968-1001 weekdays September through March 8:30 am – 7:00 pm, ET.  and April through August 8:30 am – 4:45 pm, ET.

If you have any questions you can send an email to: LSATinfo@LSAT.org

If candidates register during regular registration period, they are not eligible for late registration for that same administration. Also they can not withdraw or cancel their registration and re-register for the same test during the late registration.

Registration Fees

  • LSAT registration $115
  • LSDAS registration $106
  • Law school report $12
  • Late registration $58 (in addition to registration fee)
  • Change of test centers or date each $30
  • LSAT & LSDAS registration refund $41

Note: There is also a LSAT Fee Waiver program for military personnel and other civilian people if they meet the criteria.

The Test Centers

Since the space is limited register as soon as possible for your first choice of test center. If you register online you can see the available centers in real time.