My Thoughts on the LSAT
The LSAT is the daunting gatekeeper to law school. Having gone through the studying process in the summer of 2021, I wanted to take some time to write down a few thoughts I had on the test and some key strategies I used in studying. I believe this approach to the test is what allowed me to improve my score and ultimately achieve an admission result that I’m proud of. Below I’ll touch on the importance of the LSAT (as if you needed more pressure added to your law school dreams), my method for goal setting and studying for the LSAT, and finally, how to interpret your LSAT results.
Table of Contents
Brief Summary
The LSAT Can Change Your Life
Keys to Preparing for the LSAT
Miscellaneous Advice
The Result Is In. Now What?
Putting It All Together
Brief Summary
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is the standardized law school entrance exam administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The LSAT is intended to be a predictor of a student’s performance while in law school and aid the admissions committees in making an offer of admission. Until recently, the LSAT was a requirement for admission into law school; however, some schools now allow the option to submit a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in lieu of an LSAT score. I’ll touch on the LSAT vs. GRE topic later, but in short, take the LSAT. The test is comprised of three components: Logic Games (officially called Analytical Reasoning), Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. Traditionally, the test included one Logic Games section, two Logical Reasoning sections, and one Reading Comprehension section. LSAC made the switch to a 3-part LSAT in May 2020, and now the test includes one section of each part. The LSAT also includes a short writing sample, the importance of which is greatly debated (this part of the test is not factored into your score; however, schools may use the sample to assess your writing skills, evaluate your ability to make a logical argument, or simply validate the authenticity of your application essays to make sure that you, in fact, authored them). The LSAT produces a score in the range of 120 to 180 with the average test-taker falling around 150.
The LSAT Can Change Your Life
Law school admissions committees like to throw around the word “holistic” when discussing the review of applications. The idea is that the application review process is a holistic one, meaning all materials and information are considered: from undergraduate GPA and LSAT score to essays and employment history. I hope this is true, as I believe it produces a strong and diverse class, but I believe the degree of holistic application review varies by school. The best way to set yourself up for success in the application cycle is with a strong undergraduate GPA and a strong LSAT. Chances are you’ve already made your bed with your GPA, but there’s still a chance to turn in a great LSAT performance. Now that we’ve determined the LSAT to be potentially the most important part of your application, I want to hammer it home with a few numbers for you. The following information has been taken from the US News 2022 Law School Rankings and their respective ABA 509 disclosures (if you don’t know what these are, they are a great way to assess a school’s employment outcomes when considering where to attend).
| Law School Rank | Median LSAT | Employment Rate at Graduation | Median Private-Sector Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 156 | 44% | $60,000 |
| 50 | 161 | 65% | $75,000 |
| 20 | 169 | 75% | $190,000 |
The difference in employment outcomes from these universities is staggering, and the importance and pressure of the LSAT are real. An LSAT score consistent with the top 30 schools in the United States can change your life.
Keys to Preparing for the LSAT
Start with a diagnostic test. As you embark on your LSAT journey, the first step is to take a diagnostic test. The LSAC LawHub offers official tests dating back to 1996 for you to practice. Access to these tests through the LSAC LawHub is $99 for a year and, in my opinion, is the best investment you can make in your LSAT studying. If you do not want to pay for this access, the June 2007 test is available for free and is a great option for the diagnostic test (this is the test I used to gauge my starting point). After taking the diagnostic test, you will likely be overwhelmed and concerned that you can’t do this. Take a deep breath; I assure you it’s going to be ok. Now it’s time to set a realistic goal. You’ll find stories of people online who improved their score by 30 points and attended the school of their dreams. While there is no reason you can’t do the same, it’s not likely. Most people will improve on their diagnostic score between 5 and 10 points. I’ll use myself as a reasonable goal-setting example. I took my diagnostic test about three months before my LSAT (I’ll talk about the studying timeline soon and why you don’t need to study for a year). My score was consistent with schools ranked around 75. I set myself a goal of improving my LSAT by 15 points and attending a top 25 school. I improved my practice test scores by around 10-12 points and was accepted into a top 25 school. Your goal must push you to improve while maintaining a realistic connection with your original diagnostic level.
Reinvent the wheel. Early in your LSAT studying, you will undoubtedly be bombarded with LSAT course offers and quick tips to improve your score by ten points. While I do think there is value in some LSAT courses, the offers and quick tips regarding immediate score improvement are a scam. Before you dive into any expensive courses, save your money and begin by reinventing the wheel. LSAT study courses will hand you the wheel and show you how to use it to steamroll the test; however when you’re nervous and under pressure from the clock, it can be hard to remember the techniques you’ve been taught if you don’t truly understand the building blocks. Taking time to develop the proper building blocks will provide you with a safety net to fall back on when the time begins to run out and the true pressure is on. LSAT courses will hand you keywords and signals for parts of an argument; I’m suggesting that before you take on these shortcuts and keywords, you take the time to truly understand the elements of an argument. This way if you happen to forget your keywords and shortcuts you’ll still be able to identify the correct answer choice. This example mainly applies to the Logical Reasoning portion of the test, but the same method is true for Logic Games and Reading Comprehension. Attempt to truly understand the material before you dive into indicators and shortcuts. While I’m suggesting that a self-studying approach to reinventing the wheel will be most beneficial, I also acknowledge that the help of a course can make a difference in a couple of points. To gain those last few points to achieve your goal, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Princeton Review series of LSAT courses.
Forget strengths and weaknesses, focus on improvement. Now, I’m going to say something seemingly obvious here. The goal on the LSAT is to get the highest score possible. My strengths lie in analytics and logic, so I’m going to break down how I thought about the LSAT when studying for the test. To do this, I’m going to be looking at the July 2020 LSAT data. As I said earlier, the average test-taker scores around 150. On the July 2020 LSAT, a score of 150 meant 34 incorrect answers. A score of 160 meant 20 incorrect answers. By answering 14 more questions correctly, your score on the LSAT improved by 10 points or 0.71 points/question. A score of 170 meant 9 incorrect answers. By answering 11 more questions correctly your score on the LSAT improved from 160 to 170, or 0.91 points/question. As scores increase, every question is more valuable. To make that jump from an average score to a great score we need to find a way to get to the point where questions become more valuable. Some test prep courses will suggest the best way to do this is to improve your weakest section. This is so far from the best thing you can do. You must identify the parts of the test that you can improve with minimal effort. You need to make the jump from 34 questions wrong to 20 questions wrong with the least effort possible so that once you’re in the high-value question range you can tackle your weaknesses. For me, my best section by far was Logic Games. Reading Comprehension was my worst section and Logical Reasoning was somewhere in between. I knew my Logic Games section could be perfect with minimal effort so I started there. That was a couple of questions I could answer correctly without even seriously beginning to study. I also realized that my Reading Comprehension skills needed a lot of work, and the effort to improve 4 or 5 questions was going to be significant. Logical Reasoning was interesting for me. I realized there were a handful of questions that I was missing simply because I was misidentifying the type of argument going on. This fix was simple and could save me at least 4 questions. By focusing on the path of least resistance in my improvement, I was able to improve my score by 7 or 8 questions in a handful of weeks. This left me with two months to tackle my weakest section and improve it to the point where it was possible to reach my goal. My point is: study in a way that is smart and efficient; don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that you need to improve your worst section first.
Be disciplined and have some mental fortitude. I have a little running joke with my wife when one of us is complaining about something; the other will usually chime in and say, “Have some mental fortitude.” It’s quite annoying at the time, but it’s not bad advice. The LSAT is challenging, mentally draining, and a test of self-discipline. There will be days that you don’t want to study or take a practice test, and there will be days that the neighbors are screaming outside and you can’t focus. The best thing you can do in these situations is put in the work anyways. You can never know what the conditions will be like on test day and there is no way you can bail out at that point. Studying and practicing in all conditions will prepare you for anything and everything that will be thrown at you on test day. I know it’s not fun at the time, but you’ll thank me later. A great investment you can make in your studying and practicing is buying some foam earplugs. They are super cheap, are allowed on test day, and will make a world of difference in maintaining your focus through the outside distractions. Have some mental fortitude!
Rest and relax. Do not touch anything LSAT-related after noon the day before your test. At this point, you’ve undoubtedly put in more work studying for this test than any other test in your life. There is nothing more you can do to prepare. Give your mind a rest and get to bed at a reasonable time. If you exercise in the morning, I suggest doing that before your test to get your blood moving and your brain engaged. I went for a quick 15-minute walk before my test to take in some fresh air and stimulate my brain. Do not roll out of bed and take the test. Take some deep breaths and don’t let the nerves get to you. If they do, that’s okay because you have your building blocks to fall back on. Just relax, it’ll be great.
Miscellaneous Advice
I do have a few thoughts that I want to share here that don’t fall into the summary section or keys to preparing for the test.
LSAT vs. GRE Debate. The ability to substitute the GRE for the LSAT is a new idea that several schools have employed. After browsing law school admissions data sites and reading interviews with former law school admissions deans, I can fairly confidently say that GRE applicants do not fare well. These interviews all brought up the same point that seems to be the crux of the problem with the GRE: whether true or not, it seems that law schools tend to believe their applicant pool is stronger than the applicant pool for other graduate-level programs. This assumption means that percentiles on the GRE and LSAT are not equivalent. A top 25 law school will expect LSAT applicants to be performing at or above the 90th percentile. The comparison to the GRE is unclear, but these same schools might expect GRE applicants to be performing well above the 95th percentile. I want to emphasize that this is speculation, and I can only make this opinion on data that is currently available to me. That being said, I recommend taking the LSAT over the GRE.
Studying Timeline for the LSAT. Online you will often find people who say they have been studying for 9, 12, and even 18 months. Everyone needs to go at their own pace and do what works for them, but I would recommend keeping the timeline to 6 months or less. A longer timeline can encourage procrastination and lack of discipline. I believe that a shorter timeline encourages efficiency in studying and discipline in taking practice tests. I opted for a 3-month timeline when I took my test, and I would do it the same way if I had to do it again. The shorter timeline allowed me to avoid burnout and peak at the correct time for the test. Choose the timeline that works best for you, but remember to stay efficient, disciplined, and focused on your goal.
The Result Is In. Now What?
After an excruciating wait just shy of a month you will receive your score. At this point you have an important choice: do I take the LSAT again, or do I stick with this score? When law schools review your application materials, they will only consider your best LSAT; however, they are able to see your other attempts. Is a 164 on one attempt better than a 166 on three attempts? It’s hard to say. Admissions committees are not fully transparent on the repercussions of multiple attempts, and there might not be any. In my opinion, the fewer attempts it takes you to get your target score, the better off you will be. In the example described above, it’s hard to say which score will be considered better, but I would bet a 164 on one attempt is better than a 164 on three attempts. I believe the best mindset you can have going into the LSAT is that you are only going to take it once and crush it. Now, let’s rewind a second back to the moment you received your score. Once you have had a moment to digest the score and calm down, I want you to consider three questions in this order. I suggest retaking the LSAT if you answer no to all three, or feel a very strong no for any of the three.
Is your LSAT score within 3 points of your practice test average in the last two weeks? In the weeks leading up to the LSAT, you will begin to hit your stride and start producing the types of scores you’re looking for. Test day is a different animal. You’ll feel nerves that weren’t there during practice tests, make simple mistakes you’ve never made before, and second guess yourself at every turn. Ideally, you will be able to take a deep breath and lean on the building blocks you developed while studying, but inevitably test day will be challenging. A score within a few points of your recent practice average is a great score.
Is your LSAT score at or above the median of your target school? If you followed my advice above and made a realistic goal based on your diagnostic test score, then this question will be helpful for you. If you made an unrealistic goal, then your answer here will be a quick no. If your target was realistic and you still answered no, then it might be reasonable that you spend another month preparing to take the LSAT a second time. Over the next month, you will be able to fine-tune a few question types that will push you that two or three points higher.
Will taking another LSAT decrease your chances of acceptance based on application timing? The law school application process is a rolling admission and earlier applicants generally see a slightly higher acceptance rate. I’m going to use myself as an example here and then we’ll take a look at some example numbers. I began my LSAT studying process in June and was scheduled to take the LSAT for the first time in August. I received my score in the second week of September. I was about 3 points below my practice average and was thinking maybe I should retake the test. I was right on most medians for the schools I was applying to (my undergraduate GPA was hovering at or just below most medians). Now I was really thinking I should retake the test. Then I considered timing. Applications had opened two weeks ago and I wondered how different my chances would be if I applied now, or scheduled another LSAT in October and applied in November.
Here’s the hypothetical I used to make my choice. 7Sage has a clever admissions predictor based on GPA and LSAT. For this hypothetical, we are going to use their predictor and look at Boston University, the 20th ranked law school in the country. For our purposes, let’s say our GPA is 3.75, our LSAT is 165, and we just received our score and will be applying in September. This puts our acceptance chance at 55%. Now let’s say we decide to retake the LSAT and delay our application two months. To achieve the same 55% chance of acceptance we would need to score a 167. For the LSAT retake to be worth it at all, we would need to score a 168 or higher: a significant increase from the original score. This made my decision easy: I was going to stick with my August LSAT — a 3 point increase is no joke.
If you’re taking your LSAT in the spring or earlier then you have plenty of time to retake; however, if you are later like I was then you need to consider the effect of timing on your acceptance chances.
Putting It All Together
The LSAT will test you. It’s your introduction to law school, which will no doubt challenge and push you even further.
The LSAT Can Change Your Life: The current law school admissions process places great weight on this test and in turn, it can change your life. It can allow you to go to the school of your dreams and take advantage of opportunities you never thought you would get. Your performance on the LSAT will be determined by the effort you put forth and the way you study.
Keys to Preparing for the LSAT: Start by assessing your current level and then begin developing your LSAT building blocks and identifying target areas where you can easily become more efficient. Continue this process through a disciplined study and practice schedule, and finally, remember to relax and get some rest before the day of the test. This studying process should take place over a timeline that works for you while keeping it short enough to avoid burnout and loss of focus.
The Result Is In. Now What? Once you have your score it is critical to consider whether it is consistent with your practice test, it is in the range of your target schools, and the timing of a retake will hurt your admissions chances.
This process allowed me to focus, push myself to achieve the goals I had set forth, and ultimately make a calculated retake decision that led to me getting accepted at my top choice school. This process is long, but it’s worth it. Hang in there and work hard, you won’t regret it. If you have any questions or would like to chat about the LSAT studying process, please reach out to me at matt@mattgashley.com.