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| Home >> Prospective Students >> Pre-law Handbook >> Law School Admissions Test LSAT | ||
Law School Admissions Test LSAT
The LSAT is a half-day standardized test required by all ABA-approved law schools. The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple choice questions and a 30-minute writing sample. Four of the five sections actually contribute to your score. The other section is used to test new items. The 30-minute writing sample, given at the end of the test, is not scored, but is made available to the schools to which you apply. The four scored multiple choice sections include one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical reasoning sections.
The LSAT score is based on the number of questions answered correctly (the raw score). Raw scores are converted to a LSAT scale that ranges from 120 to 180. These scores are comparable regardless of the edition of the test taken. The individual questions and the various test sections are weighted evenly, and there is no deduction for incorrect answers. Thus, you should answer every question. Do not be afraid to guess if you are unsure of the correct answer. The LSAT is designed to measure skills considered essential for success in law school:
Applicants come to law schools from many backgrounds. Diversity enriches the educational process, and law schools actively seek a diverse student population. The LSAT helps schools to make sound admissions decisions by providing a standard measure of acquired reading and verbal reasoning skills that is common to all applicants.
Almost all law schools, including FSU, require that you subscribe to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). The LSDAS organizes, analyzes, and summarizes your biographical data, academic work, transcripts, LSAT scores, letters of recommendation, and writing samples. This service in turn allows the law schools to search the LSDAS data file for applicants with characteristics desired by that law school. You may be contacted by interested law schools that you otherwise may not have considered.
Fees
The 2004-2005 registration fee for the LSAT is $112. This fee must be paid each time you register for the test. The LSDAS subscription costs an additional $103. This fee includes 12 months of service and reporting to one law school. Additional law school reports cost $10 each. As an example, a law school applicant applying to six law schools will incur at least $265 in LSAT and LSDAS fees ($112 for LSAT registration, $103 for LSDAS registration, and $50 for five additional law school reports). Keep in mind that these costs increase each year and do not include the application fees for the individual law schools to which you apply.
Timetable
Obtaining a LSAT/LSDAS Registration and Information Book is your first step in initiating this process. This book contains all the information you will need to register for and take the LSAT as well as to subscribe to the LSDAS and includes a sample test and item explanations. The Testing Center is in University Center C, Suite 1200, or FSU College of Law Admissions Office, Room 210, B.K. Roberts Building.
You may register for the LSAT and purchase publications via the Internet at http://www.lsac.org. LSAC telephone registration provides another alternative (215-968-1001). Both on-line and telephone registration require a credit card.
You should compose a schedule to help you meet the deadlines for LSAT/LSDAS registration and completion of your law school admission applications. Many law schools appreciate receiving your application materials as early as possible, enabling you to respond in case of missing information. You should complete all registrations and applications well before the deadlines. Make sure you are aware of the application deadlines at each law school in which you are interested. Deadlines do vary from school to school. The LSAT/LSDAS book contains a complete listing of all deadlines relating to the LSAT. The LSAT is administered four times every year in June, September or October, December, and February.
Most law schools require that the LSAT be taken by the December testing date for admission the following fall; however, you should plan on taking the test either in June or September. An early score allows you to evaluate your prospects for admission to schools that interest you before you apply. Importantly, you should approach the LSAT with the attitude that you will take it only once. Choose the date that allows you the best opportunity to enter the test well-prepared.
While most people take the test only once, you may consider taking the test again if you believe your test score does not reflect your true ability. While test scores often rise, data indicate that these increases generally are slight. The possibility that your score will drop exists as well. Keep in mind that some law schools will consider the highest of multiple scores, but schools often average an applicant's test scores, especially if the tests were taken over a short period of time.
Preparation
You can and should prepare for the LSAT. Essentially, there are two methods of preparing to take the LSAT:
Regardless of the alternative you choose, preparation must include familiarizing yourself with test mechanics and question types, practicing on sample tests, and studying the information available on test-taking techniques and strategies. Familiarizing yourself with the exam and sharpening your reading and reasoning skills are the keys.
Independent preparation usually involves reliance on materials from the Law School Admissions Council and book publishers. In addition to reviewing the LSAT/LSDAS registration bulletin, you also may purchase copies of previously administered LSAT questions. Also, most bookstores have a number of study guides by book publishers such as Barron's, ARCO, The Princeton Review, Cliffs and the Law School Admission Council. These books can be very useful and are relatively inexpensive. They generally familiarize you with the test format, offer a variety of techniques and strategies, and provide exercises and practice tests.
While commercial prep courses offer another alternative, taking such a course certainly is not essential to doing well on the LSAT. Many students enroll in these courses because they lack the discipline to maintain a regular study schedule in preparing for the test or because they rely on such courses to give them confidence going into the test. The courses generally offer a diagnostic test at the beginning and practice tests throughout.
Center for Professional Development and Public Service Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions The Princeton Review Reading Comprehension Questions
These questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work. The reading comprehension items consist of passages of approximately 450 words, each followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities. Passages for reading comprehension items draw from subjects such as the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, ethics, philosophy, and the law. Answer the questions on the basis of the information provided in the passage; the test requires no specific knowledge. You must read carefully and accurately, determine the relationships among the various parts of the passage, and draw reasonable inferences from the material in the passage.
Analytical Reasoning Questions
These questions are designed to measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw conclusions about that structure. You must make deductions from a set of statements, rules, or conditions that describe relationships among persons, places, things, or events. The questions simulate the detailed analysis of relationships that a law student must perform in solving legal problems. While determining the exact nature of the relationships involved requires careful reading and analysis, no formal training in logic is necessary. Analytical reasoning questions are intended to be answered using knowledge, skills, and reasoning ability generally expected of college students and graduates.
Logical Reasoning Questions
These questions evaluate your aptitude for understanding, analyzing, criticizing, and completing a variety of arguments by requiring you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer one or two questions about it. The questions test a variety of abilities involved in reasoning logically and critically. While you are not expected to have any knowledge of the terminology of formal logic, you will be expected to understand and critique the reasoning contained in arguments. This requires that you possess at least a college-level understanding of widely used concepts such as argument, premise, assumption, and conclusion.
The Writing Sample
Although this 30-minute writing exercise is not scored, a law school may use it to assess your writing skills. The topic usually asks for an argument in support of or in opposition to a particular course of action. After reading the topic carefully, consider the topic and organize your thoughts before you begin writing. Write only on the topic that is specified. No "right" or "wrong" answer exists, and no special knowledge is required. Law schools are interested in how skillfully you support your position and how clearly you express that position. How well you write is much more important than how much you write. Law schools are interested in organization, vocabulary, and writing mechanics. They understand the short time available to you and the pressure under which you are writing.
Turnbull Center, 555 W. Pensacola Street
644-7556 (for information), 644-3806 (to register)
675-1 W. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida, 32304, phone: (850) 224-3555; fax: (850) 425-2747.
Gainesville (North Florida office); (352)372-5402
Overview of Areas Tested