The Importance of the LSAT

As I said in my first blog, your LSAT score and GPA are the two most important factors in acceptance to law school. And most likely, a high LSAT score is better than a high GPA.

LSAT stands for Law School Admission Test, and it is offered only four times per year. The lowest one can score on the LSAT is 120. The highest is 180. Of those who take the test, the average score is 150. The average LSAT score for some top rated state supported schools (at least for those I looked at in the southeastern United States) such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, the University of Florida and Florida State University is above 160. To be considered for an Ivy League school, you probably need a LSAT score of around 170.

I'll tell you a personal story from my application experience that illustrates the importance of the LSAT:

The University of Arkansas is one law school where I applied. They are unique among many law schools in that they provide you with a formula on their website that allows you to plug in your LSAT score and GPA. If your LSAT and GPA are high enough, then you can tell before you even apply whether or not you will be accepted at the University of Arkansas (provided you don't have other negative marks against you like a criminal record). The university does admit students who score below the cutoff of their formula, but these admittances are few as I found out first hand.

I took the LSAT twice, in December 2007 and February 2008. My December LSAT score combined with my GPA was not enough to be automatically admitted to the University of Arkansas. They sent me a letter of rejection but invited me to write an essay in competition for the handful of slots they would have for people who scored below the formula cutoff. They advised that I would be competing against hundreds of other applicants for these few slots.

My February LSAT score was higher, high enough to be automatically admitted to the University of Arkansas. I called their admissions office and told them my situation. The admissions officer said the school would have to wait for my official LSAT score to arrive, but that I should be admitted. Sure enough, two weeks later I received a letter of admission from the University of Arkansas, along with a scholarship offer that reduced tuition to the in-state level.

My February score was only two points higher than my December score.

Two points on the LSAT was the difference between rejection and admission at the University of Arkansas with a generous scholarship offer. I was very happy to be admitted to Arkansas and made plans to go there until a school in my native state of North Carolina admitted me with a financial package that topped Arkansas's offer.

So what can you do to improve your LSAT score? Unfortunately I don't have groundbreaking advice. The LSAT is a difficult thing for which to study. I suppose a good vocabulary would not hurt as some of the reading can be challenging. But the LSAT tests the way you process information, and that is probably a difficult thing to change.

I can't speak to how well improvement courses or seminars may work as they were too expensive for me to gamble upon. I took two timed practice tests at Western Carolina University, and my score on those were virtually identical to what I scored on the real test.

As I said, I only scored two points higher on my second attempt, but I did try a different strategy. The first time I took the test, I made sure I went to bed early to get rest, though I really didn't sleep well. During the first test I had too much energy and experienced some trouble concentrating. When I left that test, I did not have a good feeling.

Then I remembered a story that Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan told about fellow Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Stargell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Morgan for the Cincinnati Reds. One of the teams came into town to play the other, and Morgan and Stargell went out together for a night on the town. After a while, Morgan said he had to go home to rest before the game the next day. Stargell teased him for leaving early and stayed out himself partying late into the night. The next day, Stargell hit two home runs as the Pirates beat the Reds. As Stargell rounded the bases after his second home run, he said to Morgan, "Rest is overrated."

With that idea in mind, the night before my February LSAT I went out and had a good time. I found a gathering just off campus and did not get to bed until about 2:30 am. The test was at 8 am that same morning.

I was tired when I got to the test, but it turned out to be a good thing. I was able to relax and focus on the questions, and my sleepiness gave me a sort of careless attitude that eliminated the anxiety I felt during the first test. Unlike my first attempt at the LSAT, this time I completed each section with time to spare, and I left feeling I had done about as well as I could do on the test.

The results bore it out for me. While this may not be a wise strategy for everyone, I can only offer advice that helped me. The LSAT is very important in admittance to law school, but it helps to find a way not to think about that while you are taking the test. I thought about it a lot during my first time taking the test. The second time, I was tired and just focused on the questions and answers in front of me.

Hopefully, this will help some people.

Note: I recently went back to the Arkansas School of Law website, and it has changed. Apparently, the formula is no longer published.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn