What Is the LSAT?
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) measures the skills necessary for law school success. These skills include reading comprehension, reasoning, and writing, and are some of the same skills required for success in the legal profession.
When you prepare for the LSAT, you are also preparing for your future career in law — strengthening the core skills you will need as you move forward in your journey, from test day to law school and beyond.
LSAT Prep Courses and Materials
LSAT Course for UMass Lowell Students
UMass Lowell offers an LSAT prep course for our students. This intensive, in-person course provides a comprehensive overview of the LSAT, practice problems to analyze and solve as a group, individualized performance feedback, simulated exams, and many opportunities for casual advising and discussions about law school. Details about the course and how to register will be announced when that information becomes available.
- To be notified when the UMass Lowell LSAT course is available, sign up for the Pre-Law Email List at: "mailto:Pre-law@uml.edu?subject=Request to join the email list" title="Pre-Law@uml.edu">Pre-Law@uml.edu
- Register for the UMass Lowell LSAT Prep Course
Commercial Test Preparation
For commercial test preparation, please note that UMass Lowell does not endorse any one test prep company over another. Select your prep courses and materials based on your needs and make sure the company you work with is on the Law School Admission Council’s list of official LSAT Content Licensees. That way you know you will be working with authentic and realistic test materials. Some links to free commercial LSAT prep materials are provided below.
Preparing for the LSAT
What is the best way to prepare for the LSAT?
There is no one right way to prepare for the LSAT, and you have various options to consider.
- Self-study: If you learn well through self-study, taking practice tests on the LSAC's LawHub is a great option.
- Guided study: If you believe you’d do better with guided study, UMass Lowell's course or a commercial prep course may serve you better. Free guided study materials are available through the Official LSAT Prep program by Khan Academy.
However you choose to study, research shows that taking more full practice tests under timed conditions is the most effective way to prepare for the LSAT.
How far in advance should I start preparing for the LSAT?
Four to six months is often recommended for those taking the LSAT for the first time, but you should look closely at your own circumstances when deciding when to begin studying for the LSAT. Because every test taker is different, there is no single timeline that will be appropriate for everyone.
In a lot of ways, the more pertinent issue isn’t the “timeline” but rather the “workload.” Test preparation involves looking at a lot of LSAT questions to develop familiarity with the test and to hone one’s reasoning and reading skills. If you have a schedule that allows you to take on a large test-prep “workload,” you might be able to dramatically improve your score in as little as a month. But others may need significantly longer.
What is the benefit of putting time into LSAT Prep?
The LSAT is a test of skills — specifically critical thinking skills as applied in the areas of reading and reasoning. The LSAT is designed to measure these skills precisely because they are skills that are essential for success in law school; preparing for the LSAT helps to strengthen those very skills. So the good news is that preparing for the LSAT will benefit you not only on test day, but also in law school and beyond.
Pro Tip: Along with GPA and financial need, an applicant's LSAT score is a major factor in law schools' awarding of scholarships and grants.
What LSAT score do I need?
Your LSAT score is generally considered the single most important factor for admission to law school. The highest LSAT score possible is 180. The average LSAT score is about 152. A "good" LSAT score depends on the law schools you are considering and how selective they are.
Your LSAT percentile compares your score with everyone else who has taken the LSAT in the previous three years. Your score's percentile rank is the percentage of people who score lower than you. Because 152 is the median LSAT score, it would give you a percentile ranking of approximately 50.
It's common to talk in terms of LSAT scores, but law schools also look at your score percentile. Small LSAT score gains can net big results. Kaplan does a good job of breaking this down further.
The Law School Admission Council provides a helpful tool that allows you to search for law schools by various criteria, including by your likelihood of admission based on your GPA and LSAT score. This can be very helpful in determining which of your target law schools you have a "safe" chance of attending, which schools you will be a competitive applicant to, and which schools may be a reach.