Career Center, Career Files, LSAT

What’s Going On With The LSAT?

Here’s a run-down of changes relating to the LSAT that you should know if you plan to apply to law school in the next year or two.

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The rapid nature of changes at LSAC has forced me to re-record and re-edit the upcoming version of The Law School Admission Game, 3rd Ed. As soon as I make changes to keep up, more changes come down the pipeline. Here’s a run-down of changes relating to the LSAT that you should know if you plan to apply to law school in the next year or two:

1. You can take it as many times as you wish. You are no longer restricted to taking the test only three times in a two-year period. This is great for people who suffer from testing anxiety, and also for those who exercised poor judgment by taking the test before they were ready. It will be especially valuable when you encounter adverse testing conditions, like a distracting situation in your testing center since you will get a chance to retake that you wouldn’t have had before.
2. For people applying to law school in Fall 2018 and beyond, there will be additional opportunities to take the LSAT: LSAC has scheduled 6 LSAT exams in 2018-2019. (Exact dates of the exams are here.) This will be great for those who need to retake because of testing conditions or underperforming on the test because they won’t have to wait as long to retake and will be able to apply earlier in the cycle. However, it also means less time to prepare between tests and that you may need to reserve space to take the next exam before you have your score for the previous one.
3. A digital LSAT may be in the works. LSAC recently tested a tablet-driven version of the test on 1,000 test takers (who took the test unscored). A digital format would enable the LSAT to be offered many more times during the year, perhaps even on-demand, as the GRE is currently offered.

Remember that law schools will still be able to see all your LSAT scores. Although it’s the highest of multiple scores that is counted in each school’s index formula, you still want to demonstrate good judgment about taking the test when you’re ready for it. It remains valuable to withdraw from a test before you’re ready to take it, and to cancel a score when you are certain it won’t reflect your abilities on the test. You want to avoid having to explain multiple LSAT scores—for example, that you took one while sick (law schools will wonder why—especially when the next exam is right around the corner).

These changes should not change your overall LSAT strategy: thinking ahead, preparing properly, and studying smartly are still what matter the most. LSAC increasing the frequency with which the LSAT is offered and allowing you to take the test an unlimited number of times should, however, allow everyone—especially nervous test takers—some extra breathing room and a chance to focus on being the best test taker you can be, rather than worrying about whether you are ready on a specific Saturday in September.

Ann K. Levine is a law school admission consultant and owner of LawSchoolExpert.com. She is the author of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert and The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers.

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