GSU Pre-Law

For most students, a good time to take the LSAT is the summer after your junior year. However, for a more detailed answer:

The LSAT is offered several times per year, with the exact dates and number of opportunities changing occasionally. So the specifics might change, but here are the steps you should take to determine when to sit for the LSAT:

1. Determine when you want to begin law school.
2. Plan on applying the fall before that year. (For example, if you wish to begin law school in Fall 2028, you should be applying in Fall 2027).
3. Look up “Score release dates” from LSAC.org. This date is when the scores from a given LSAT are released to the test-takers. Currently the delay is about 3 weeks from testing to score release.
4. Find the very last LSAT offering that will still have your score available by the time you wish to apply.
5. Sit for the LSAT before that one, or one even earlier.

This strategy will allow you to take your first LSAT, receive your scores back, and then decide if you need to take it again, without having to delay your admissions. This way if you take the LSAT for the first time and would like to perform better, you can still take it a second time and keep your original planned application date.

Some people need to study for the LSAT for months. Other people score high right off the bat. How can you know which camp you fall under?

The best way to get started with LSAT studying is by taking a diagnostic test. Diagnostic tests are administered just like the real LSAT (or as close as possible). They’re timed, they feature real LSAT questions in the same number and type as the real test, and they will give you an as-if real LSAT score, that doesn’t count! This is a great way to check in with where you’re at and get an idea of how far you may have to go.

Several companies and organizations offer diagnostic tests throughout the year. Follow this page and the CASA GroupMe for event announcements, and check out our page on LSAT study resources

If you plan on going straight from college to law school, a good time to get started is the summer between sophomore and junior year. This gives you a few months to start studying and see your progress, and then a full academic year to seek tutoring or classes before you take the LSAT in the summer after your junior year.

You do not need to take a year off to study for the LSAT.  People don’t take a year off to study for the bar exam.

Unlike the SAT, you cannot choose which scores to send to law schools. Schools can, if they wish, see all of your LSAT scores. Taking the LSAT twice is not particularly uncommon. However, there are diminishing returns once you take the LSAT 3+ times. Getting a high LSAT score will not be very valuable to a student if they have already received several lower scores.

For example: If a student takes the LSAT 5 times and scores 150, 151, 149, 155 and 169, law schools will look at that 169 as an outlier, and categorize the student around the 150 mark.

You should account for the possibility of taking the LSAT twice. Taking it 3 or more times is unlikely to be helpful for most students.

Ultimately this depends a lot on you as an individual and there are many options, but here’s some advice for getting started:

1. Early on, take an LSAT practice exam. You can do this on your own with an LSAT test book (see #2 below) but a great way to do it is to find a mock exam being held by a University or test prep company. These mock exams simulate the real thing – they use real questions, rules, and timing and provide you with a score. Whatever you do, try to make it as close to real as possible. If you do it at home on your own, do it with real timing, no distractions, and score yourself. This gives you a helpful baseline for where you’re at.
2. The cheapest and easiest way to study is to purchase an LSAT study book – one with real LSAT questions – and work through them on your own. These books cost about $15-30 dollars, and some come with tips and tricks for how to improve. See our page on LSAT Study Resources for an example link. Do a few questions a day, and every once in a while sit down, time yourself, and do an entire section like it was for real.
3. Finally, there are many tutors, test-prep companies, and other services designed to help you prepare for the LSAT. Some are listed on the LSAT page linked in #2. They are are often fairly expensive – pre-law is a big industry! These can be good options if you feel they are right for you. If you are not improving studying on your own, or if you feel you need the discipline of a regular check in to make yourself study, then investigate these options. However, it is absolutely not true that you must spend money to do well on the LSAT. Many students score highly using only self-study methods, but it does require discipline and hard work.

The LSAT is scored from 120-180. The key in determining whether an LSAT score is good or not is seeing how it compares to others who took the LSAT in the same test cycle, and what your goals are in applying.

The exact score thresholds change year-to-year, but typically speaking a score of about 152-154 is a median score – meaning right in the middle. Half of test takers score above this mark, half score below. Exactly what constitutes a “good” LSAT score depends on where you want to go to law school, how competitive their applications are, and how high your GPA is. That said, competitive scores will start in the high 150’s. To determine what a “good” LSAT score is for you – check out the law school calculators linked on our Resources for Selecting Law School Page.

LSAT percentile tables usually report each score with the “percent below” that score – meaning that if you are listed at the 75th percentile, 75% of test takers scored below your score (25% scored higher). If you are scoring at the 45th percentile, that means that 45% of test takers scored below your score (or 55% scored higher)

Early admissions programs can be helpful, but think hard about them. Some schools use these programs to lock you into attending before you have a chance to “play the field” This might be a good opportunity for some students who may not get admitted elsewhere, but by giving up your chance to be courted by other law schools, there are other costs. You may be costing yourself money in the form of scholarships, and you may be missing out on job opportunities that would come from attending a different (perhaps better ranked) school.

These programs are most beneficial if (1) you know that this law school is right for you (see our page of “Resources for Selecting Law Schools”) and (2) your chances of admission at other law schools is less than you would like it to be. If you aren’t 100% sure that a certain school is right for you, early admissions programs might not be a great fit.