Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

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The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a standardized assessment used by law schools to evaluate applicants. Administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the exam is designed to assess critical abilities such as reading comprehension and logical reasoning. It is a key component of the admissions process for most law schools in the United States, common law programs in Canada, and a growing number of international institutions.

The test is graded on a scale from 120 to 180, with 180 being a perfect score.

Benchmarks

Typically, a 170 is enough to, coupled with a positive undergraduate grade point average, guarantee admission to the top-10 American law schools. A 172 is generally enough to guarantee admission to at least one of the top-5 American law schools.[1] Each individual point, then, is very valuable.

LSAT scores and Harvard Law School admission

To be a competitive applicant for Harvard Law School, you should aim for an LSAT score of 174 or higher. While the median score for the entering class is 174, the middle 50% range typically falls between 171 and 176.[2]

LSAT Preparation

Preparation for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) focuses on building reasoning and reading skills rather than memorizing legal content. Because the test measures skills rather than knowledge, preparation guides commonly advise against cramming and recommend starting with a free, timed official PrepTest on LSAC's LawHub to establish a baseline score.[3]

Test format

The analytical reasoning section, commonly called "Logic Games," was removed in August 2024.[4] Since then, the scored multiple-choice LSAT has consisted of two Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension section.[5] Each section is 35 minutes, and the test also includes one unscored experimental section that may be either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension; scores are reported on a 120–180 scale.[6] A separate, unscored writing component, LSAT Argumentative Writing, replaced the older writing sample format.[7] Further change is scheduled: on October 26, 2026, LSAC announced that the separate unscored section will be dropped starting with the August 2027 test.[8]

Study emphasis

With two scored Logical Reasoning sections, many instructors treat that skill as the largest lever on a test-taker's score, since an accuracy improvement on one question type pays off across both sections.[5] Commentators also note that study materials containing Logic Games are outdated for the current format.[7]

Materials

LSAC's official LawHub platform is the primary source of authentic practice; four full PrepTests are free, while a paid LawHub Advantage subscription provides broader access for one year.[6] Commercial options include courses from Blueprint, LSATMax, Kaplan, and the Princeton Review.

Test-day logistics

Remote testing ended after the June 2026 administration; beginning with the August 2026 LSAT, nearly all test takers must test at a Prometric center, with limited exceptions for certain medical accommodations.[7] Candidates are therefore advised to confirm their testing center and travel route in advance.[9]

Research related to LSAT preparation increasing one's reasoning skills

Two small studies from the same research group at the University of California, Berkeley suggest that intensive LSAT preparation can improve logical reasoning skills, with some limited transfer to an unpracticed reasoning task. The 2013 study found no significant improvement in LSAT Reading Comprehension scores, and the 2015 study found no evidence of broader cognitive gains beyond one relational-reasoning task. Both studies were small and did not randomly assign participants, so their findings should be treated as preliminary.

First study: Three months of LSAT preparation

Study: Intensive Reasoning Training Alters Patterns of Brain Connectivity at Rest, The Journal of Neuroscience, March 13, 2013. 33(11): 4796–4803

In a 2013 study in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers followed 25 young adults taking an LSAT course with about 70 hours of reasoning instruction and compared them with 24 age- and IQ-matched controls who planned to take the LSAT later.[10]

  • The students' practice-test scores rose significantly over the course, although the control group did not take practice tests, so these gains could not be compared with theirs.
  • Scores rose on the Logical Reasoning section and on the Analytical Reasoning ("Logic Games") section, which LSAC removed from the test in August 2024.
  • Reading Comprehension scores did not change significantly.
  • Brain scans indicated strengthened functional connectivity between frontal and parietal regions associated with reasoning, compared with the control group. Such changes are interesting, but they do not by themselves show improved reasoning ability.

Second study: Improvement on an unfamiliar reasoning task

Study: Characterizing Behavioral and Brain Changes Associated with Practicing Reasoning Skills, PLoS One. 2015 Sep 14; 10(9): e0137627. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137627

A 2015 study in PLOS ONE by the same research group tested whether the reasoning gains carried over to tasks the students had not practiced.[11]

  • Students in an LSAT course improved more than controls on a non-verbal task that required integrating relationships between pieces of information (judging relative weights from balance scales), a task unlike the text-based questions they had practiced.
  • They showed no comparable gains on a second unpracticed task that required generating rules, or on tests of working memory and processing speed.
  • The authors described their results as preliminary because participants were not randomly assigned and the control group did not take a comparable course.

Summary

The research provides evidence that LSAT preparation improves performance on LSAT practice tests and offers preliminary evidence of transfer to at least one reasoning task outside the test. It does not establish that LSAT preparation improves general intellectual ability.

Recommended books

  • The PowerScore LSAT Bible Duology 2026-2027: Prep Strategies for Each Section of the LSAT – Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension by David M. Killoran and Jon M. Denning. West Academic Publishing. April 27, 2026
  • The LSAT Trainer: A Remarkable Self-Study Guide For The Self-Driven Student by Mike Kim. Trainer Test Prep. June 4, 2024
  • The LSAT Is Easy: Crush the LSAT with common sense. by Ben Olson and Nathan Fox. Independently published. April 16, 2025
  • LSAT Practice Book: 10 Full Practice Tests for Complete LSAT Exam Preparation by Fast Prep Learning. PublishDrive. November 6, 2025

LSAT podcasts

See also

References

  1. ↑ In order, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, NYU, Columbia.
  2. ↑ Estimate the LSAT score to get into Harvard Law School, Deepseek
  3. ↑ "Law School Admission Test (LSAT) 2026 — Complete Guide", ExamDetail.
  4. ↑ "The 2026 LSAT Format: Everything You Need to Know About the New Argumentative Writing Section", College Simplified, December 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Current LSAT Format", Open Exam Prep.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "LSAT Exam 2026: Complete Guide", College Simplified.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "LSAT New Format 2026: Every Change You Need to Know", Test Ninjas.
  8. ↑ "New LSAT Format (August 2027): What Changes", Magoosh.
  9. ↑ "The Ultimate 3-Month LSAT Study Schedule (2026 Edition)", Katalyst Prep.
  10. ↑ Allyson P. Mackey, Alison T. Miller Singley and Silvia A. Bunge, "Intensive Reasoning Training Alters Patterns of Brain Connectivity at Rest", The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 11 (2013): 4796–4803.
  11. ↑ Allyson P. Mackey, Alison T. Miller Singley, Carter Wendelken and Silvia A. Bunge, "Characterizing Behavioral and Brain Changes Associated with Practicing Reasoning Skills", PLOS ONE 10, no. 9 (2015): e0137627.
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