LSAT's Predictive Ability | Interview

Michelle Fabio, the About.com Law School Guide, recently interviewed me about the LSAT's predictive ability, among other things.

Our discussion follows.

1. When should potential law school students take the LSAT? That is, how long before they want to apply to law school should they sign up for the test?

For students who are still in college, take the LSAT in October or February of your junior year if possible. This allows you to do the bulk of your studying over the summer or winter break at a more leisurely pace. You want to ensure that studying for the LSAT will not detract from your junior-year grades.

Too many students wait to take the LSAT until the October or December of their senior year. However, since law school applications are reviewed and decided upon soon after they're submitted, early applicants face less competition. By taking the LSAT earlier, you avoid the scrutiny those taking it in the 11th hour will face.

Whether or not you're in college, try to take the LSAT by June of the year you intend to apply. This way, you can apply to law schools on the day they begin accepting applications. Try to take the LSAT no later than September/October of the year you intend to apply.

Sign up for the exam as early as possible. Contrary to popular belief, there's no limit to how early you can register. However, the best and most convenient LSAT test centers fill up quickly, so registering is not something to leave for the last minute.


2. How long before the test should they start LSAT prep--and when should they stop?

Far too many students fail to allow enough time to adequately prepare. 1-2 months is not adequate for the vast majority of students, especially when they have to balance LSAT prep with school or work.

Students who shoot for high scores (as well as those who shoot for mid-level scores) need time to fully understand the various sections, to develop strategies for attacking them, and to work on pacing and endurance strategies. I recommend students devote a minimum of 3 months of preparation and that they study on a regular basis during this period of time.

Take the day before the LSAT off and just relax. Do anything low-key and fun to get your mind off the exam. Last-minute cramming won't help because this isn't a memorization exam.


3. How important is the writing portion of the LSAT, and how much time should LSAT takers spend on preparing for it?

The writing sample is unscored, so it's not a big deal compared with the rest of the exam. However, law school admission officers are able to see it, and some choose to do so.

Fortunately, it only takes 5 minutes to learn everything you need to know for the writing sample. I wrote a blog post a while ago called "How to Prepare for the LSAT Writing Sample" that covers this info.


4. Even if they don’t do anything else to prepare for the exam, what is the single most important LSAT takers can do to be ready?

Review recent LSAT PrepTests. Familiarity with the question-types is crucial. However, reviewing PrepTests is necessary but not sufficient (too much time with the LSAT leads me to structure my sentences this way more often than I'd like).


5. You seem to believe the LSAT can be learned. If this is true, what does this suggest about the test's validity? Will a high LSAT score lead to high 1L grades?

People who ace the LSAT and ace law school tend to fall into the same categories:

1. They're geniuses and just "get it" the first time around.
2. They study around the clock. As a result, they walk around bleary-eyed, drink lots of coffee, sleep very little, and buy pencils in bulk.

If someone is able to learn the LSAT, this suggests they're more likely to do well in law school than someone who was not able to learn the LSAT.

Standardized exams get a lot of criticism, and much of it is deserved. However, I believe the LSAT is a good independent predictor of law school performance. People born with the "LSAT mindset" are likely to do well on the LSAT and in law school. People who intensively prepare for the LSAT and eventually acquire the LSAT mindset are likely to intensively study in law school and eventually get the law school mindset.

For more information on its predictive validity for 1L GPA, I highly recommend checking out a study conducted by Marjorie Schultz and Sheldon Zedeck. They're the two professors behind the Looking Beyond the LSAT project.

In reviewing past studies, they report LSAT and undergraduate GPA are both good predictors of 1L GPA, with LSAT being a better predictor than undergraduate GPA. The LSAT alone has a correlation of .35, undergraduate GPA alone has a correlation of .28. Together, they have a correlation of .49 with 1L GPA. See page 61 of their study, "Identification, Development, and Validation of Predictors for Successful Lawyering" (PDF).

An excellent point Schultz and Zedeck make, however, is that 1L GPA should not be the only variable measured. For instance, we should also concern ourselves with students' law school GPAs as a whole and students' future success in the field of law. This is what Looking Beyond the LSAT's proposed test would attempt to do by adding a personality component. However, just as the LSAT mentality can be learned, students can learn to display desired personality traits, even if only for the purposes of an additional exam.


6. Finally, on a personal level, what inspired you to become an LSAT tutor?

You might think I'm crazy for saying this, but I actually enjoy the LSAT. It's a better exam than most despite the fact that it, like most exams, is "learnable." It's rewarding to see students feel themselves "getting smarter" as they learn the LSAT mindset.

Photo by garryknight