LSAT FAQ's

The LSAT is the official admissions test for all ABA-accredited law schools in the United States. It is the most important factor in law school admissions. It is considered by many to be the most rigorous and difficult standardized examination in the American collegiate system. The LSAT is composed of six 35 minute sections, two logical reasoning sections, one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning (logic games) section, one ungraded test section, and a writing sample.


What is the hardest section of the LSAT?
This really varies individually. In my experience everyone is different, but students will usually either struggle on logic games or reading comprehension mightily. Those students without significant and recent physical science, engineering, or mathematics course work such as humanities, political science, and philosophy have tended to struggle on logic games—experience with some type of quantitative reasoning seems to prepare students well for logic games. Conversely, those students from highly technical backgrounds such as science, engineering, and mathematics that have not read a considerable amount in varied topics tend to struggle on reading comprehension.

However, I feel that students will tend to focus too much on their “hard section” and neglect the other sections as a result. Because logical reasoning makes up half of the test, but is usually not a test taker’s “hardest section,” it is many times neglected and students miss many more points that they have to. Focus on the entire test.


How is the writing sample used by law schools?

Law schools understand that by the writing sample is generally not great evidence of an applicant’s writing ability—after taking the most strenuous test of your life, you are many times not in a great mental state to write well. Therefore, the writing sample is generally not used by law schools. However, a copy is sent to every school that you apply to.

If your personal statement is well written, schools may compare the writing sample to the personal statement to make sure you wrote it. Also, if you write leave the writing sample blank or write something like “I know you won’t read this” over and over, schools may be rather unhappy with you.


Can I take the LSAT as many times as I want?

No. You may only take the LSAT three times in a two-year period. This rule even applies if you cancel or do not show up to the test three times. However, if you can find a school willing to give you a waiver to take the test again, and submit this waiver to the Law School Admissions Council, you may take the test past the three times limit.


How much time should I allocate to prepare for the LSAT?

I would recommend taking three to five months of solid time to prepare for the LSAT. I personally would have scored around a 148 or so on the test originally, but improved to a 174 (99.5 percentile) average after four months of 2-5 hours of practice per day, five days per week. While this may sound excessive, I was able to get into one of the five best law schools in the country with my score and would have been able to get full ride scholarships at many, many schools in the United States. Every hour I spent studying was worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in lifetime earnings to me.

Taking a great prep course such as the BYU LSAT preparation course can greatly decrease the time you need to spend studying on your own. Working with skilled instructors that are able to identify your individual weaknesses and answer questions is a great boost in studying.


Can I improve __ number of points from my diagnostic test?

You have a great chance to do so if you prepare well. Diagnostics are more useful in identifying current weaknesses than estimating how high you can score. View diagnostics in this light and do not let them undermine your personal confidence. For example, I was only able to finish half of a logic games section the first time I attempted one (and only got 8 or so problems right). Nevertheless, after a month and a half of practice, I was able to finish logic games sections 10 minutes early and rarely ever missed any points.

Set a goal and work toward it, prepare intellegently, and have faith in yourself. Instead of seeing LSAT improvement in terms of points, view it as different skill sets and knowledge you must gain in order to improve. There is no magic in LSAT improvement. You must simply identify personal weaknesses and improve upon them. I believe that it is within the abilities of most students to get a 170 or above on the LSAT

What (not) to Bring

The following information comes from LSAC.org:

“Items Allowed in the Test Room

Test takers may bring into the test room only a clear plastic ziplock bag, maximum size one gallon (3.79 liter), which must be stored under the chair and may be accessed only during the break. The ziplock bag may contain only the following items: LSAT Admission Ticket stub; valid ID; wallet; keys; analog (nondigital) wristwatch; medical or hygiene products; #2 or HB wooden pencils, highlighter, erasers, pencil sharpener (no mechanical pencils); tissues; and beverage in plastic container or juice box (20 oz./591 ml maximum size) and snack for break only.

Items Allowed on the Desktop

Test takers may only have tissues, ID, wooden pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, highlighter, and analog (nondigital) wristwatch. No electronic devices are permitted. Neither are timers of any kind except analog wristwatches.”

While the instructions above may seem obvious, countless students violate these rules every year. Many people brought cell phones to my LSAT administration to call for rides or text friends before and after the test. Do not bring any prohibited item to the testing center. If a proctor or other employee of LSAC catches you at the testing center with an electronic device, a piece of scratch paper, mechanical pencils, or even a digital wristwatch, you may be issued a misconduct/irregularities notice which will be sent with your score as an addendum to every school which you apply to. Even if you plan to retake the test, schools will continue to see the warning which may or may not reflect to them that you cheated on the LSAT. Be careful on test day not to be issued such a warning.

Students have also been given such warnings for making loud noises during the test and laughing or talking to neighbors. Anecdotal accounts have even pegged proctors to give warnings to students shortly before or after the test has begun. Additionally, if students look ahead in test books or attempt to rebubble or otherwise work on sections that have been completed, the section proctor has the authority to issue such a notice. Any such notices could seriously harm a student’s chances at getting admitted to any law school.

It is not necessary to bring all allowed items to the test. I do not recommend bringing highlighters to the test. Some test takers will bring many different colored highlighters to the test and use a color coding system to mark particular passages. This is a misguided waste of time. When portions of a passage need to be marked, a pencil will be much faster to use.

In terms of a watch to bring, make sure to have practiced with the watch which you bring to test day. You can only bring a non-digital analog wristwatch. It is best to reset the watch while the proctor reads the instructions to turn to the next section. This should be done in five seconds or less. I would simply reset the watch to 25 minutes after the hour each time.

Finally, be prepared. Bring any items which will make you comfortable while taking the test. Wear multiple layers in case the center is too cold. Bring food even if you don’t think you’ll be hungry. Having a snack or box of juice during the break is a good way to alleviate stress. Bring a pencil sharpener with you to the test, you’d be surprised how quickly you break pencils when you’re nervous.