Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a standardized test administered by Law School Admission Council (LSAC). LSAT test scores are taken as one of the criteria by law colleges approved by American bar Association for admission of students. This test evaluates verbal reasoning, reading comprehension and logical reasoning.
Eligibility-
The individuals interested to choose law as their career and willing to pursue post secondary education in same must register for LSAT. LSAT is also taken into consideration by many colleges and universities which are not approved by American Bar Association. The law colleges situated in United States, Canada, Australia and some other countries have been accepting LSAT scores as admission criterion.
Test Overview-
This test is divided into five sections followed by an additional writing section. Two of these sections belong to logical reasoning. There is one section for reading comprehension and one for analytical reasoning titled ‘Logic games’. One of the five sections is experimental which can appear from any of the other sections. The experimental and writing sections are not scored, therefore not contributing to final score. The test consists of multiple choice questions except essay writing part.
Test Format-
The allotted time for each section is 35 minutes. The essay writing has to be done in 30 minutes. There are total 101 multiple choice questions. The sections on logical reasoning are titled ‘arguments’. An examinee is given a text or set of facts from which logical interpretations are to be done. It is based on analysis and evaluation of the given arguments. The analytical section is comprised of logic games. There is a set of rules given in a problem which are to be applied in a situation and a result from it has to be found out. There can be more than one possible outcomes in some problems. The reading section consists of passages pertaining to law, social science, humanities and physical sciences followed by sets of related questions. The questions in reading section can be based on derivation of facts or comprehension of a situation from given passages.
Marking Scheme-
Each question in this test is given a single point. Hence, the maximum raw score of this test is of 101. This score is scaled in a range of 120 to 180 in order to derive the final score. The examinee can cancel his/her score within six days from the exam. Despite of cancellation of scores, LSAC formally reports the colleges applied, that the candidate had registered and took the exam. LSAT can be taken at most three times in two years. The scores of each attempt with a separate average score of all attempts is reported to the law colleges at the time of admission process.
Schedule-
LSAT is conducted four times in a year in the months- June, September or October, December and February. The registration for this exam can be done online or by phone or mail. First, one has to take membership of LSAC which remains valid for five years and has no charges. Upon registration, an exam ticket is sent at address of the examinee.
Exam Fees-
The exam fee of LSAT is $123.