Law School Admission Test (LSAT) - What You Need to Know

With entrance to law school becoming more and more competitive, the Law School Admission Test is playing a large role in determining the fate of the candidates. It's not enough to just pass the test, successful applicants need to ace it. Students with a 3.5 GPA are a dime a dozen, but LSAT scores of 165 and higher show your analytical thinking ability in it's best light.

The LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, is offered by the Law School Admission Council and is necessary for admission to the more than 200 law schools who are members of the LSAC. Though there are hundreds of test locations, not all test dates are available at all test centers. Check the LSAC website for exam schedules and sites. You should register as early as possible to ensure that you get your first choice of location.

You can register for the LSAT either online, by telephone or by mail. But do yourself a favor and signup on time. There is a late registration period available, but you will pay an extra $64 for the privilege. For those students who celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday, alternative exams are usually given on the Monday following the regular Saturday tests or the June exam is given on a Monday.

The LSAT is given four times a year in February, June, October and December and includes five 35 minute multiple choice sections and a 35 minute writing sample at the end. Four of the five multiple choice sections are scored...the non-scored one is used to check new test questions. You may not know which is which, so be prepared to give full attention to all sections.

The four scored sections will fall into the following categories: reading comprehension, analytical reasoning and two of logical reasoning. The writing sample is not scored either, but a copy of it is sent to all law schools to which you apply, so you want to put forth your best effort.

Once you've decided to take the LSAT, your next step is preparation. You can find sample questions and tests on the LSAC website, as well as on various LSAT test preparation sites such as Kaplan. Question categories are consistent from test to test, so once you've completed a few sample exams, you will have a good idea of what's coming. If the sample tests aren't sufficient to make you feel comfortable, there are courses available both online and in a classroom setting. The online courses have the advantage of being accessible 24 hours per day, important for someone who may be juggling a busy work and school schedule. Taking the course in the classroom allows direct interaction with the teacher, as well as forcing you to focus to be prepared for class.

Scoring is based on the number of correct answers given. If you find yourself coming down to the end of a section and you have several blanks, make sure you get some answer marked. Even guessing, you'll have a 20% chance of a correct answer and if you could eliminate any definitely wrong answers, your percentage goes up.