What law school a student gains acceptance to is greatly determined by their LSAT percentile scores. Of course each school places different emphasis on the scores in relation to other factors. The school will still use it as a standard for how you compare to other applicants, as each school wants the top applicants to attend their school.
The law school admission test or LSAT is used to see if you are suited to be in law school. The law student has to be able to perform certain tasks to be successful. Each must have great reasoning abilities and be able to argue their point. These are backed by maintaining and organizing information that has been read, comprehended and analyzed in great depth. The inferred information is just as important and written facts.
It is a standardized test that is used to determine a students reading comprehension and their logical and analytical reasoning. There are six sections in total. Each section has a 35 minute completion time. All but two sections will contribute to the overall score. There is a variable section not entered into the scoring because it has questions that are actually pretest questions for future tests.
There is a writing portion of the test which does not contribute to the score either. An essay must be written about a given topic within the 35 minute time frame. Although it is not part of the score, it is very important because it is sent to every law school you have applied to.
The remaining four sections are all multiple choice. One section each is on analytical reasoning and reading comprehension. The last two sections are on logical reasoning. Wrong answers are not marked against you so answer everything. From the test a raw score is generated. This is then given a scaled score based on the level of difficulty of the test. It will be between 120 and 180. This is then placed in a score band. This lets you know how you are expected to score 68% of the time plus or minus three points. It can be used to determine if you want to take the LSAT again.
An average scaled score of 165 or over is considered above average for most schools. These scores are then put in percentiles. The percentile is your score in comparison to all the scores for the past three years. The competition is more than just the current year. You must seriously prepare for this test to be successful. If your score is 166 in the 66th percentile then you have scored better than 66 percent of all other testers.
Approximately six weeks after taking the test you will receive your results. Each law school has a different acceptable scaled scores and LSAT percentile scores. You will need to look into your school to find out how you must do to gain acceptance. If you are not happy with your results you can retake it up to three times. Keep in mind that a school can ask for your highest LSAT score and/or your average score. Once again you must inform yourself as to what your intended school looks for.
Find out more about LSAT scores at www.Test-Guide.com. Visit Scott Mansfield’s site to understand more about free study guides for LSAT, Praxis, GRE, GMAT, TOEFL exams and more.
