The LSAT — Law School Admission Test — is the standardized admissions test required by virtually all American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law schools in the United States and Canada. The LSAT is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and has been a requirement for law school admission since 1948. Along with undergraduate GPA, the LSAT is one of the two most heavily weighted components of law school applications.
The LSAT is not a test of legal knowledge — it tests the reasoning and analytical skills considered foundational to success in legal study: logical reasoning (identifying argument structure and evaluating arguments), analytical reasoning (formal deductive logic problems), and reading comprehension. The skills tested by the LSAT — reading complex materials carefully, constructing and evaluating arguments, applying rules to scenarios — mirror the core skills developed in the first year of law school. Research by the LSAC shows that LSAT scores are among the best available predictors of first-year law school GPA.
The LSAT is now administered digitally, delivered online with remote proctoring or in-person at test centers. The test is offered multiple times per year — typically in January, February, March, April, June, August, September, October, and November — and applicants can take it up to three times in one testing year, up to five times within five years, and up to seven times over a lifetime. Law schools see all LSAT scores, though most schools report that they primarily consider the highest score when multiple attempts exist.
The LSAT consists of four scored sections (Logical Reasoning × 2, Analytical Reasoning × 1, and Reading Comprehension × 1) plus an unscored writing sample. Understanding each section is essential for targeted preparation.
Logical Reasoning — also called Arguments — makes up approximately 50% of the scored LSAT (two sections of roughly 25 to 26 questions each, 35 minutes each). Each Logical Reasoning question presents a short argument of two to five sentences and asks you to perform a specific reasoning task: identify the argument's conclusion, identify assumptions the argument relies upon, strengthen or weaken the argument's conclusion, identify parallel reasoning, identify logical flaws, evaluate what information would help resolve a disagreement, and others. The reasoning tasks are labeled and learnable — the same question types appear consistently across all LSAT administrations. High performers on Logical Reasoning recognize question types quickly and apply the appropriate analytical framework to each.
Note: The Analytical Reasoning section — commonly called Logic Games — was removed from the LSAT beginning in August 2024 following a legal settlement (National Federation of the Blind v. LSAC). As of the August 2024 administration, the LSAT no longer includes the Logic Games section. The current LSAT has Logical Reasoning sections and Reading Comprehension only. Study materials and information referring to the LSAT as including Logic Games are outdated for test-takers preparing for the August 2024 test and beyond. Verify the current LSAT format on the LSAC website before preparing.
Reading Comprehension consists of one section of four passages (typically three single passages and one comparative reading set featuring two related shorter passages), each followed by 5 to 8 questions. Passages are drawn from humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and law — all dense, academic-level prose. Questions test: main idea and organization, specific details and their relationship to the whole argument, author's attitude and purpose, inference, and application of the passage's argument to new situations. Comparative reading questions additionally ask about the relationship between two passages — points of agreement and disagreement, how the authors would respond to each other's arguments, and similarities and differences in structure.
The LSAT is scored on a scale from 120 to 180. Understanding how the LSAT is scored helps you interpret practice test results and set realistic preparation goals.
The number of questions answered correctly (the raw score) is converted to the 120-180 scaled score using an equating process that accounts for variation in difficulty across different test administrations. There is no penalty for wrong answers — every question should be answered, even if you must guess. The scaled score conversion varies slightly across administrations, but approximately: a perfect raw score converts to 180; missing approximately 5 to 8 questions typically falls in the 173 to 175 range; missing 20 to 25 questions typically falls in the 163 to 167 range; approximately half correct (roughly 50-55 correct of 100-102 total scored questions) typically produces a score near the median of 151.
Each LSAT score corresponds to a percentile ranking showing what percentage of test-takers scored below that score. The distribution is not uniform: scores in the 160s and above represent a smaller fraction of test-takers, meaning small score increases at the upper end of the scale correspond to large percentile jumps. A score of 160 is approximately the 80th percentile; 165 is approximately the 90th percentile; 170 is approximately the 97th percentile; 175 is approximately the 99th percentile. These percentile benchmarks are relevant because many law school class profiles list both median LSAT scores and 25th/75th percentile scores — allowing applicants to assess their competitiveness.
LSAC allows up to three LSAT attempts per testing year (June 1 to May 31), five attempts within five years, and seven total lifetime attempts. Law schools receive all LSAT scores on your LSAC account when you apply — there is no way to hide a previous score. However, most law schools primarily consider your highest score, and the LSAC official score recipient page indicates this. Some schools average scores; a growing number explicitly consider only the highest. Research the specific LSAT score policies of your target schools before making retaking decisions.
The LSAT is one of the two most heavily weighted components of law school applications — alongside undergraduate GPA. Understanding how law schools actually use scores helps applicants position themselves effectively.
Every ABA-accredited law school publishes its 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile LSAT scores for its most recently enrolled class. These data points — available on each school's website, on LSAC's website, and on third-party sites like US News and Law School Transparency — give applicants the clearest picture of their LSAT competitiveness for each school. An applicant scoring above the 75th percentile at a school is statistically competitive for admission; an applicant at or below the 25th percentile is at risk of admission rejection regardless of other credentials. Targeting schools where your LSAT falls within the 50th to 75th percentile of enrolled students provides the most realistic admissions outcomes.
Law schools consider LSAT and GPA together — typically with LSAT weighted somewhat more heavily than GPA, though this varies by school. A strong LSAT score can partially compensate for a lower GPA, and vice versa. Applications that fall significantly below a school's median in both LSAT and GPA have poor admission odds regardless of the strength of other application components. Applications that exceed the median in one index while falling below in the other — a 'splitter' applicant — require careful school selection based on each school's historical patterns for similar profiles.
The LSAT is an unusually learnable test — the same skill sets and question types appear consistently across administrations, and dedicated preparation reliably produces score improvements for most test-takers. Average preparation time for significant improvement is 150 to 300 hours over 3 to 6 months.
Official LSAT PrepTests — actual past LSAT examinations published by LSAC — are the most valuable preparation resource available. LSAC has published dozens of PrepTests, available at LSAC.org. Using official materials ensures you practice with actual LSAT questions, not approximate imitations. The LSAT Official Prep subscription on LSAC.org provides access to a large library of PrepTests and an online practice interface. Complete official PrepTests under timed conditions and review every wrong answer thoroughly — understanding why each answer is correct or incorrect is the primary driver of LSAT score improvement.
Logical Reasoning preparation — now the most important section given Logic Games' removal — centers on recognizing question types and applying consistent analytical frameworks. The PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible, the Manhattan Prep LSAT guide, and 7Sage's online course are among the most respected Logical Reasoning preparation resources. The key preparation method: learn the question types and their analytical approach, then practice extensively on official LR questions, reviewing the reasoning behind every answer choice.
Reading Comprehension improvement comes primarily from consistent practice with complex reading materials and developing active reading habits — identifying main ideas, author's position, and argument structure while reading rather than after. LSAT Reading Comprehension passages are harder than typical reading comprehension tests — practicing with dense academic texts and developing annotation techniques builds the reading fluency needed for high accuracy under time pressure.