Law School Admission Test

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT /ˈɛlsæt/ EL-sat) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension and logical reasoning. The test is an integral part of the law school admission process in the United States, Canada (common law programs only), the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a growing number of other countries.

The test has existed in some form since 1948, when it was created to give law schools a standardized way to assess applicants in addition to their GPA. The current form of the exam has been used since 1991. The exam has four total sections that include three scored multiple choice sections, an unscored experimental section, and an unscored writing section. Raw scores on the exam are transformed into scaled scores, ranging from a high of 180 to a low of 120, with a median score typically around 150. Law school applicants are required to report all scores from the past five years, though schools generally consider the highest score in their admissions decisions.

Before July 2019, the test was administered by paper-and-pencil. In 2019, the test was exclusively administered electronically using a tablet. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the test was administered using the test-taker's personal computer. Beginning in 2023, candidates have had the option to take a digital version either at an approved testing center or on their computer at home.