Showing posts with label LSAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LSAC. Show all posts

Which College Majors Get The Best LSAT Scores?

Professor Derek Muller at Pepperdine University School of Law recently contacted LSAC to find out which college majors get the best (and worst) LSAT scores.

His findings:




Number of LSAT Takers Increased in February

Shockingly, the number of LSAT takers increased in February, according to LSAC's website. By how much? Not exactly a staggering amount:

The number who took in February 2014 (19,499) was 1.1% higher than in February 2013 (19,286). 

This is the first year-over-year increase since June 2010. What, if anything, does this news mean?

Let's not jump to any enormous conclusions here. We're dealing with an extremely small number of test-takers. The difference between these two test administrations is only slightly more than 200 test-takers. The real news is that it didn't continue to drop as it has for the last several test administrations (context):

LSAT Blog Number of LSAT Takers Increased in February



Why did this happen? Maybe because the barrage of bad news about job prospects in the legal profession has softened a bit (see this recent story in the WSJ). 

Perhaps as career prospects improve, the good news will trickle down to potential law school applicants. To be sure, it'll take a while for the number of LSAT takers (and law school applicants) to increase by any significant amount. However, this recent update from LSAC suggests that the trend over the last few years may reverse itself with time.


October 2013 LSAT Score Release Dates

LSAT Blog October 2013 LSAT Score Release Dates
Good luck to everyone taking the October 2013 LSAT!

The October 2013 LSAT scores / results are scheduled to be released via email by Wednesday, October 30, 2013, so you'll have to wait for your LSAT score.

However, the scores usually come out a bit earlier than scheduled.

Let's look at the trend over the past several years (click to enlarge):

LSAT Blog October 2013 LSAT Score Release Dates


Last year, for the first time ever (that I know of, anyway), LSAC released scores after the scheduled release date for a test administration. Why? It may have something to do with the fact that this was in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (LSAC's office was closed).

Let's assume this won't happen again.

I've also never heard of them coming back on the scheduled release date itself. So, assuming a hurricane doesn't delay score release like it did last year, I'm going for Monday, October 28th, or Tuesday, October 29th as the most likely score release dates based on the above.


"But at what time specifically do scores come on score release days? I need to know when to constantly refresh my email / LSAC account!"

In batches over the course of several hours. Likely starting late in the day (Eastern Time).

No one knows how the batches are organized, if at all.

The batches do not seem to be organized in any of these ways:

alphabetical/regional/high-to-low scores/low-to-high scores/test center #, etc.

Wish everyone all the best!

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See other LSAT score release dates posts and read about admissions.

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Please feel free to vent and discuss your general thoughts on the exam in the comments, but no specifics about particular questions themselves, please. (LSAC doesn't permit such discussion.)

LGBT Law School Application Video LSAC

LSAT Blog LGBT Law School Application Video LSAC
The following 4:30-minute video from LSAC titled "Coming Out on Your Application" gives some detailed advice about whether, and how, LGBT law school applicants should come out on their law school applications.

It features a variety of excerpts from interviews with LGBT applicants.

Justice Department Seeks to Intervene in Lawsuit Against LSAC


Here's a press release from the Justice Department.

(Read more information about the LSAC accommodations process.)

LSAT Logic Games Layout - 2 Pages?


Those of you who took the June 2012 LSAT (PrepTest 66) got quite a surprise when you saw that LSAT Logic Games were presented in a 2-page layout rather than being confined to a single page.

Of course, the previous layout in every exam prior featured the game's initial paragraph, rules, and questions all crammed onto a single page. This has been the case  since the dawn of time.

For those of you new to the LSAT, you can see what this looks like in any LSAT PrepTest, including the free June 2007 LSAT on LSAC's website (PDF - p3-6).

Here's the first page of Logic Games from that exam, using the old one-page layout:

GPA, LSAT Data Shared Between LSAC, American Bar Association

LSAT Blog GPA LSAT LSAC American Bar Association
In the past, law schools haven't always been accurate in reporting the GPAs and LSATs of their entering (1L) classes. Essentially, they've sometimes lied about their numbers in order to game the U.S. News rankings.

In an attempt to verify the accuracy of these statistics, the Law School Admission Council is now partnering with the American Bar Association.

Below is a press release straight from the American Bar Association with all the details:

Extra Time on the LSAT for Nursing Mothers

LSAT Blog Extra Time LSAT Nursing Mothers
I've blogged about the fact that the Law School Admission Council denies extra time on the LSAT to nursing mothers, while providing it to a test-taker with ADHD. (Above the Law picked up the stories.)

At the time, the ACLU took up the nursing mothers' case, arguing (emphasis mine):


Law School Applicant / Application Numbers Update

LSAT Blog Law School Applicant Application Numbers Update
If you've been following LSAT Blog over the past few months, you know that the number of law school applicants and applications has dropped precipitously this cycle compared to previous ones.

I've created graphs and provided analysis on what these changes may mean for those who applied this cycle (and, perhaps, future cycles as well).

In a further update, LSAC has just put together a few nifty graphs showing the number of law school applicants / applications for this cycle as compared to the previous two admission cycles.

What's cool about these is that these graphs is that they show the number of applicants and applications as they're counted over the course of each cycle. You'll see what I mean below:

LSAT Test Day: Use Previous Photo?

LSAT Blog LSAT Test Day Use Previous Photo

You'll need to bring a passport-sized photo with you on LSAT Test Day, so that LSAC employees can vote on all test-takers, Hot-or-Not-style. (Just kidding, it's for test security purposes. Supposedly.)

LSAC requires that this photo be recent, which, according to them, means it must have been taken within the past 6 months.

How to Cheat on the LSAT (or not)

LSAT Blog How to Cheat on the LSAT
Cheating on the LSAT is serious business. There are documented cases where people have been arrested and charged with crimes for it. They've gotten criminal records and will never get to become attorneys.

In this LSAT Blog post, I review a few cases where people attempted to cheat on the LSAT, were caught, and faced the consequences.

I also discuss Caveon Test Security, the company hired by LSAC to prevent unauthorized sharing of test-related information on the Internet.

Former LSAT Question-Writer Interview

LSAT Blog Former LSAT Question Writer Interview
I recently interviewed Stephen Harris, former LSAT question-writer and author of Mastering Logic Games. (He's written hundreds of the questions that appear in your books of LSAT PrepTests.)

Our discussion follows.

You can also:

1. Read ALL of my interviews with him (more than 5!)

LSAC To Seek Cash From Grad Schools

LSAT Blog LSAC Seek Cash Grad Schools
Amid the declining number of law school applicants, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) recently raised fees in an effort to meet its annual expenses.

In a further quest to protect its bottom line for the years to come, LSAC is now seeking to provide application-related services to graduate schools.

LSAT Cultural Bias Interview


LSAT Blog LSAT Cultural Bias Interview
I recently interviewed Stephen Harris, former LSAT question-writer and author of Mastering Logic Games, about whether the LSAT is culturally biased.

(He's written hundreds of the questions that appear in your books of LSAT PrepTests.)

Our discussion follows.

You can also:

1. Read ALL of my interviews with him (more than 5!)


Do you think the LSAT is culturally biased? If so, what steps can be taken to correct for that? In writing questions, did you take measures to reduce your own cultural bias or does the question selection process correct for that? Is the LSAT a test of acculturation?

“Biased” is a word that is used in different senses. In some sense, the whole point of a test is to discriminate. A good test discriminates on the basis of reasonable considerations; a bad test not so much. For most tests, the basis for this discrimination will be cultural factors. Is a spelling test biased against bad spellers? In some sense, the answer is clearly yes. And that’s the point, even though spelling is a cultural phenomenon.

Likewise, the whole point of the LSAT is to help determine the extent to which test takers possess certain abilities, and these abilities are clearly cultural in some sense, like reading and drawing verbal inferences. But does this mean that either a spelling test or the LSAT is culturally biased in a troubling way? Not necessarily. They might be, by choosing idiosyncratic words to spell, for instance, or allowing extraneous factors that privilege one group over another to play a role on the LSAT. We can, and will, argue over which skills are the important ones, and whether a tool tests these skills in idiosyncratic ways that disadvantage otherwise qualified students inappropriately.

By any reasonable measure, it seems to me, the LSAT tests generally relevant skills in a manner that rarely prevents students who are likely to perform well in law school from gaining admission to some school or other. But bias in this pejorative sense is more like crime – you can never eliminate it, only combat it, especially since the standards by which inappropriate bias is judged are subject to dispute and undergoing constant change as a result of larger cultural conversations.

As for socioeconomic bias specifically, undoubtedly LSAT performance is correlated with socioeconomic status; life expectancy, quality of health care and education, and virtually everything else that people think is good is correlated with socioeconomic status. It would be really surprising if LSAT scores weren’t. But it seems to me that the problem with LSAT bias in this sense isn’t the LSAT per se as much as these other factors, and I doubt that there is an LSAT-specific remedy for this issue.

The most reliable way to limit one’s own inappropriate biases, I think, is to choose item topics carefully. Topics that one group might be more familiar with than another are generally poorly suited for test items. As an example, questions about sports very often risk the possibility of gender bias, since for some sports whether people play or follow them is pretty strongly correlated with gender.


Photo by 51170735@N02

LSAT Requirement May Be Eliminated

LSAT Blog LSAT Requirement May Be Eliminated
The ABA's Standards Review Committee has voted, once again, to consider dropping the "LSAT requirement" for admission to law school.

In this post, I address 3 questions:

1. What is the LSAT requirement?
2. Why would the committee consider dropping it?
3. How would this affect law school admissions?

Guy Sues LSAC For Refusing Double-Time LSAT Accommodations


LSAT Blog LSAT Accommodations: Double Time LSAT
Nathan F., a law student in Massachusetts, wants to transfer to a better law school.

Unfortunately, he has learning disabilities that limit his ability to do well on the LSAT. He's also got ADHD, anxiety disorder, OCD, and mild depression. When he applied for LSAT accommodations, he was granted 50% extra time on the LSAT.

However, even with this extra time, he didn't do particularly well on the LSAT the two times he's taken it. Despite lots of studying, he scored only 150 on the December 2010 LSAT and 151 on the February 2012 LSAT.

LSAC Responds to LSAT Fee Hike Criticism

LSAT Blog LSAC Responds LSAT Fee Hike Criticism

I've recently posted about how the LSAT fee increase will affect law schools. You may have also read Professor Brian Tamanaha's criticisms of the Law School Admission Council for raising the fee.

Well, LSAC recently issued a response to his criticisms. I've posted LSAC's response below (via TaxProf Blog).

After reading it, you may also be interested in reading Professor Tamanaha's comments on LSAC's response.

How Will Law Schools Be Affected By The LSAT Fee Increase?


LSAT Blog Law Schools LSAT Fee Increase
Last week, I wrote that the Law School Admission Council significantly increased the LSAT registration fee, as well as other application-related fees, in response to the declining number of test-takers and applicants.

I was puzzled by this reaction, given that it will lead to a further decline in demand for LSAC's services.

Of course, LSAC has a monopoly on the processing of law school applications and the administration of the LSAT, so it can raise its fees as it pleases. If you've decided that law school is for you, but don't qualify for a fee waiver, you'll manage to come up with the $160 LSAT registration fee, $155 Credential Assembly Service (CAS) fee, and $21 fee per CAS law school report.

Law School Applicant Numbers Continue Decline

LSAT Blog Law School Applicant Numbers Continue Decline
The Law School Admission Council's latest update indicates that the decline in the number of law school applicants is lessening little, if at all, compared to LSAC's last update.

LSAC's newest data indicates that the number of applicants to ABA law schools has declined 15%, and that the number of ABA applications is down 12.9% from the same time last cycle (through 4/13/12).

(LSAC states, "Last year at this time, we had 93% of the preliminary final applicant count.")

Based on this information, we can project that this cycle will have a total about 67,022 applicants.

LSAT Test Registration Fee Increase: Why?


LSAT Blog LSAT Test Registation Fee Increase GMAT Test Registration Fee Why
The Law School Admission Council has jacked up the LSAT test registration fee from $139 to $160 for the 2012-2013 admission cycle.

And, strangely enough, LSAC has acknowledged that the increase is in direct response to the recent drop in law school applicants and LSATs administered.