Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT /ˈɛlsæt/ EL-sat) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning. The test is an integral part of the law school admission process in the United States, Canada (common law programs only), the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a growing number of other countries.
| Acronym | LSAT |
|---|---|
| Type | Standardized test |
| Developer / administrator | Law School Admission Council |
| Knowledge / skills tested | Reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, logical reasoning, and (unscored) writing |
| Purpose | Admissions to Juris Doctor programs of law schools in the US, Canada, and some other countries |
| Year started | 1948 |
| Duration | 35 minutes for each of the 4 sections, for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes (excluding breaks) |
| Score / grade range | 120 to 180, in 1 point increments |
| Score / grade validity | Scores of up to 12 tests taken since 1 June 2008 are valid |
| Offered | As of 2023, 9 times a year, with dates listed on the LSAC website. |
| Restrictions on attempts | Starting September 2019, no more than 3 attempts in one LSAC year (June–May), no more than 5 attempts in 5 years, no more than 7 attempts in a lifetime. Exceptions may be granted for special circumstances. |
| Countries / regions | Worldwide |
| Languages | English |
| Annual number of test takers | 105,883 in 2013–2014 |
| Fee | US$222 |
| Scores / grades used by | Law schools in the US, Canada, Australia and some other countries |
| Website | www |
| Legal education in the United States |
|---|
| Stages |
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| Exams and licensure |
| Organizations |
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| Country | Number of applicants |
|---|---|
| Canada | 1,306 |
| China | 458 |
| South Korea | 408 |
| India | 151 |
| Mexico | 147 |
| Nigeria | 125 |
| United Kingdom | 96 |
| Colombia | 83 |
| Jamaica | 81 |
| Russia | 70 |
| Pakistan | 70 |
| Brazil | 64 |
The test has existed in some form since 1948, when it was created to give law schools a standardized way to assess applicants in addition to their GPA. The current form of the exam has been used since 1991. The exam has five total sections that include three scored multiple choice sections, an unscored experimental section, and an unscored writing section. Raw scores are converted to a scaled score with a high of 180, a low of 120, and a median score around 150. When an applicant applies to a law school, all scores from the past five years are reported and typically the highest score is used.
Before July 2019, the test was administered by paper-and-pencil. In 2019, the test was exclusively administered electronically using a tablet. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the test was administered using the test-taker's personal computer. Beginning in 2023, candidates have had the option to take a digital version either at an approved testing center or on their computer at home.