Why Law Schools Rely on LSAT Test Scores
Students aspiring to enroll in a law school and ultimately be a lawyer are required to take the LSAT. LSAT is the acronym for Law School Admission test and is administered in Canada and in the US.
The LSAT test score is scaled at 120 to 180. To get into most law schools, the student should have at least an LSAT test score of 150. However, getting into the top law schools in the country require a higher passing score of at least 160.
It is important to note that the developer of LSAT does not assign passing scores. It is actually the prerogative of the school to assign the average passing LSAT test score.
Therefore, law schools have different policies for weighing LSAT scores and GPAs. There are those that weight the GPA than the LSAT test score. Some do the opposite. For the latter, this means that this half day test is worth more than 4 years of undergraduate work.
Many students think that it is stupid that the LSAT test score could be more important than the GPA. Many think that the LSAT is just a mediocre test whose importance is overestimated in law school admissions and performance.
However, law schools point out that there are weaknesses of other admission tests or factors that are not related to LSAT.
For example, undergraduate GPA can be subjective or even unreliable. That's because it is hard to compare grades from different programs and different schools, considering that they vary a lot in difficulty. Also, the classes taught in those schools may not be reflective of the requirements needed in law school.
Also, references may be subjective. Schools would claim that their students are excellent. This is quite difficult, considering that there are a whole lot of applicants who are deemed excellent. Even the school encourages their teachers to do anything to get their students into the top law schools, to the point of raising their grades! Therefore, the LSAT test score will serve as a neutral determiner of the student's application to law school.
Lastly, there are application essays. The applicant is required to write an essay about a certain topic. But application essays do not reflect the academic ability or even the personality of the student. In addition, admission departments often do not have enough people to read application essays.
These factors are the reason why law schools have to rely on LSAT test scores. They are objective and accurate. Furthermore, if the student learns the strategies and can manage his time in answering the test, he can increase his LSAT test score 20 to 30 percent higher than expected.
