Law Schools

Don't Freak Out About Applying To Law School During The Pandemic

The LSAT-Flex may be your only option, but it's a solid one.

By  
on

I know you know this, but it’s a weird time to be alive right now. Nothing is typical and that includes law school admissions. Instead of the standard LSAT that generations of law school applicants have learned to love/hate, COVID-19 has forced the advent of the LSAT-Flex.

The LSAT-Flex is similar to the traditional LSAT but is composed of three 35-minute scored sections instead of five 35-minute sections (four scored and one unscored). It’s an online exam available on any computer with a Windows or Mac operating system, and is proctored through webcam and microphone. All of which is nice — especially if the length of the traditional LSAT was a challenge for you — but how is the new test going to play out when it comes to the competitive admissions decisions?

Good news, prospective law students! According to a new Kaplan survey, it’s really not going to negatively impact your law school chances. Kaplan asked ~100 U.S. law schools how they plan on evaluating the LSAT-Flex compared to the regular LSAT and an overwhelming 92 percent said applicants will be assessed equally regardless of the variety of LSAT the applicant sat for. Plus a second survey found 60 percent of law schools believe an online LSAT “would produce a fair, reliable score for test-takers that I would have confidence in as an admissions officer evaluating applicants.” Only 13 percent disagreed with that proposition, and the 27 percent balance didn’t have a clear opinion one way or the other.

Jeff Thomas, executive director of legal programs at Kaplan, breaks it down for wannabe law student:

“The most asked question we’ve received from pre-law students this year has been, ‘Should I take the LSAT-Flex or wait until I can take the regular LSAT again?’ Now we have an answer. Almost every law school reports that a strong score is a strong score no matter which version of the test you take. There has been lagging skepticism among some prospective law school applicants, but hopefully these survey results erase those doubts,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of legal programs, Kaplan.

Mr Thomas continues: “At Kaplan, we strongly encourage aspiring law school students to take advantage of the at-home version of the LSAT instead of waiting for testing centers to reopen. Not only is the exam significantly shorter than the regular LSAT, but there’s also no telling when the regular LSAT in testing centers will be offered again, as LSAT-Flex is the only version being administered through the end of 2020. The bottom line is that not only is LSAT-Flex your best option, but it’s your only option until at least early 2021.”

So there you have it — COVID-19 doesn’t mean you have to put your law school plans on hold. And it looks like plenty of applicants plan on taking advantage of that fact.

Sponsored

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , ,