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LSAT Info, Test and Registration Dates

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a half-day, standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. All American Bar Association-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many other law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of their admission process.

Many law schools require that the LSAT be taken by December for admission the following fall. However, taking the test earlier—in June or September—is often advised.

The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions or to preequate new test forms. The placement of this section will vary. A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test. LSAC does not score the writing sample, but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.

The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension of complex texts with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability to think critically; and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others.

The three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT are:

• Reading Comprehension Questions— These questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work. The reading comprehension section contains four sets of reading questions, each consisting of a selection of reading material, followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities.
• Analytical Reasoning Questions—These questions are designed to measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about that structure. You are asked to make deductions from a set of statements, rules, or conditions that describe relationships among entities such as persons, places, things, or events. They simulate the kinds of detailed analyses of relationships that a law student must perform in solving legal problems.
• Logical Reasoning Questions— These questions are designed to evaluate your ability to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete a variety of arguments. Each logical reasoning question requires you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer a question about it. The questions test a variety of abilities involved in reasoning logically and thinking critically.

LSAT Test and Registration Dates for the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean for the 2009-2010 Academic Year

Test Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009 or Monday, December 7, 2009*

• Registration Online, by Mail, by Telephone: November 3, 2009 (receipt deadline)
• Late Registration by Mail: November 4-10, 2009 (receipt deadline)
• Late Registration Online and by Telephone: November 4-13, 2009 (receipt deadline)

Test Dates: Saturday, February 6, 2010 and Monday, February 8, 2010*

• Registration Online, by Mail, by Telephone: January 5, 2010 (receipt deadline)
• Late Registration by Mail: January 6–12, 2010 (receipt deadline)
• Late Registration Online and by Telephone: January 6–15, 2010 (receipt deadline)

*Monday tests are for Saturday Sabbath observers only.

And future test dates for 2010-2011:

• Monday, June 7, 2010
• Sunday, June 27, 2010 (Asia/Australia/New Zealand)
• Saturday, October 9, 2010
• Tuesday, October 12, 2010 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)
• Saturday, December 11, 2010
• Monday, December 13, 2010 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)
• Saturday, February 12, 2011
• Monday, February 14, 2011 (Saturday Sabbath Observers)

Basic Fees:

• LSAT Registration: $132
• Late Registration: $66
• Law School Reports: $12
• One time fee for optional paper copies of LSAT Ticket, LSAT Score, Activity Updates, and Master Law School Report for online account holders: $25
• Nonpublished Test Centers, Domestic: $245
• Nonpublished Test Centers, International: $326

To Register:

By Phone: Call weekdays at 215.968.1001 between 8:30 am and 7:00 pm ET, September-February, and between 8:30 am and 4:45 pm ET, March-August.

By Mail: Contact LSAC for a mail packet or e-mail their candidate service representatives at LSACINFO@LSAC.org.

Information compiled from www.lsac.org. For more information or for international test sites and information, please click here.

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