We got together with our friends at Spivey Consulting and hosted a special, free webinar for students to receive expert LSAT and law school admissions pointers.Dave Killoran and Jon Denning from PowerScore, plus Mike Spivey, Karen Buttenbaum, and Derek Meeker from Spivey Consulting covered a variety of topics relating to the LSAT and law school application best practices, while also fielding the attendee's individual questions about their … [Read more...]
Do Law Schools Average LSAT Scores or Use the High Score?
To prospective law school applicants, few questions are as confusing as whether law schools use the average of all your LSAT scores or just the high score. The confusion exists because law schools will see an average score if you take the LSAT more than once. The all-important US News rankings, on the other hand, use only the high score. To top it off, some schools specifically state they take the high score whereas others talk about an average … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to LSAC About LSAT Score Release Times
NOTE: shortly after we published this letter, LSAC agreed to our request and thereafter fixed LSAT score release times to a specific date and time that is announced well in advance. Thank you LSAC!Hi LSAC,I hope everyone there is doing well! We just went through the June LSAT score release and I wanted to share some of my thoughts and the thoughts of many students I spoke to. Let me start by saying that we appreciate you moving up the … [Read more...]
ABA On Track to Drop LSAT Requirement: What Happens Now?
This article was co-written with Mike Spivey of Spivey Consulting.What happened? On Friday, May 11th an ABA council approved a proposal that formally removes the requirement that the LSAT be used for admissions purposes at every ABA-approved law school. In its place is broader language that allows schools to skip using an admissions test entirely if they so choose. Is it final? No, but it’s very close. The next step is for the full ABA … [Read more...]
What Does -9, -10, -11, -12 Mean When Talking About the LSAT Curve
The shorthand reference of -8 to -14 refers to the number of questions you can miss to obtain a 170 on the LSAT. It's also a reflection of test difficulty. Harder LSATs allow you to miss more questions whereas easier exams require you to miss fewer questions.After every LSAT, there is a discussion of the relative difficulty of the test. You often hear numbers such as -10 or -12 thrown around as indicators of the LSAT scale. Simply, it refers … [Read more...]
The June LSAT and the Law School Waitlist
Every year from January through spring, in each law school admissions office a Wait List is created. Students who aren't accepted but also not rejected are put on the Wait List (WL). And once on the WL, there's a chance they might get in at some point. In other words, they are in law school admissions purgatory. And it's not just one or two students: Mike Spivey over at law school admissions firm Spivey Consulting Group notes that, "many schools … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Are Splitter-Friendly? Which Ones Aren’t?
When you discuss law school applications, the question of which schools are "splitter-friendly" comes up pretty often, and it's not really an easy question to answer. Are we looking for schools to which a high percentage of splitters are admitted relative to non-splitter applicants? Schools that seem to value an applicant’s LSAT score much more than his/her GPA? How about schools that are willing to go really low on the GPA scale to nab those … [Read more...]
What 25th and 75th LSAT Score Percentiles Mean for Law School Admissions
With your LSAT score in hand, it's time to consider what that number means for your admissions odds. Everyone knows that an LSAT score is almost universally prized above all other factors. It often counts more towards an acceptance than GPA, letters of rec, personal statement, and resume combined! Often several times more than that collective "other." But exactly what does this number mean to the schools you intend to apply to? Let's … [Read more...]
Do Law Schools View Multiple LSAT Attempts as a Negative?
This blog is from special guest, Spivey Consulting Group. One of the most persistent law school admissions myths is the notion that schools consider every LSAT score – or the average score – for individual applicants when assessing their admissions profile. This is a particularly tough myth to counter because it often originates from the carefully crafted semantics law schools themselves use in describing how they view multiple tests. The High … [Read more...]
What is Yield Protection in Law School Admissions
In the world of law school admissions, the U.S. News and World Report’s (USNWR) annual law school rankings are always looming, in one way or another, in the background.For better or worse, the USNWR rankings are the most widely cited. For many, they are considered the gospel truth when it comes to law school rankings. They receive heavy criticism along a number of lines. Many criticize them for placing insufficient emphasis on employment … [Read more...]
Are There “Reverse-Splitter Friendly” Law Schools?
We cover which law schools are "splitter-friendly" in this blog post. The analysis of the data in that post also gives us some insight into which school might also be "reverse-splitter friendly." For the uninitiated, check out What Are Splitters, Reverse Splitters, and Super Splitters. It breaks down the differences to help you determine which one you are if any.There are a couple things worth mentioning before we dive into that analysis, … [Read more...]
Should I Add an Addendum for a 2nd, Higher Score?
Sometimes students wonder what a drastic jump in LSAT score from one test administration to the next relays to admissions officers when considering applications. In this discussion on the PowerScore LSAT Forum, Dave Killoran provides advice for a student who is wondering if their score jump will raise suspicion and whether or not they should provide an addendum in their application. Here's a quick preview. Make sure to check out the full … [Read more...]
Law School Applications: Every Word Counts
The other night I co-hosted a free PowerScore online seminar on the basics of the law school admissions process. This seminar, known as Admissions 101, covers each step of applying to law school, and it discusses how to approach the application process and what the law schools are seeking from you as an applicant. During this seminar I spend a lot of time answering questions about two things in particular: letters of recommendation (LOR) and the … [Read more...]
3 Pieces of Admissions Advice from the USC Law Fair
The University of Southern California's annual Law Fair was held last Monday, November 7th, and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance. Over the course of the day I was able to speak to dozens of prospective law students about their LSAT plans, a number of other test prep companies about their various offerings, and, most central to this blog, an incredibly gracious admissions officer from UC Hastings College of Law.*Our conversation was … [Read more...]