#june lsat scores were released

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agony writhing agony blood and guts and stuff

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ROUND 2 NOTIFICATIONS LIKELY DURING FEB 9-10

For Round 2 file reviews, in order to include the January 2023 LSAT scores, which are scheduled to be released to test takers on February 1st, we are AIMING to send offer of admission notifications offers during the period of February 9-10th.  

If we manage to complete the selections earlier then we will update this blog. As per custom, we will also update this blog on the day that notifications end.  

We thank you for your patience while we take the necessary time to read, review and assess your application materials since selection is more comprehensive and holistic than simply calculating GPAs and checking LSAT scores.

We remind you that only offers of admission are made in Rounds 1 and 2. Refusals and wait lists are not determined until the 3rd and final round in March.

Everyone not yet offered, is re-considered automatically through all rounds.  

WILL UPDATED TRANSCRIPTS & JANUARY LSAT SCORES BE USED FOR ROUND 2?

For Round 2 decisions we plan on including updated transcripts received at OLSAS before February 2nd, and also January 2023 LSAT scores.

Please bear in mind, that we do not control when OLSAS will distribute application material to the Ontario law schools. Test takers will receive their LSAT scores (listed for Feb 1st release) before OLSAS can retrieve and provide them a few business days later to the Ontario law schools. Therefore, as per usual, first check for yourself at your OLSAS account to determine whether OLSAS has received your materials.  

Please do not send any materials to us directly to try to expedite matters since they are to be sent to OLSAS only, as per the OLSAS application instructions. Materials sent to us directly will be ignored.  

As per OLSAS application instructions, in fairness to all applicants, updates are not to be submitted for other type of application materials, e.g. autobiographical sketch, essays/statements, resume/cv for mature applicants, etc.  If submitted, we will ignore them.

Should the permissible materials arrive in-time for Round 2 notifications, it is erroneous to think that an offer of admission would be made. At the point of review of the applicant pool, an offer may not yet be warranted. Therefore, is no benefit to asking us whether updated materials were used for Round 2 consideration, under the assumption that the outcome was due to the exclusion of the materials.

Ultimately, what is most important is that your file is complete in time for the final round of selections in March i.e. received at OLSAS by February 17th ideally. Please refer to our January 4th blog regarding which updated transcripts are required for submission.

JANUARY LSAT TAKERS

Best of luck to everyone who sat the LSAT in January, since it was the last acceptable LSAT for admission to the first year of the UofT JD.

Remember to check that your OLSAS account lists the January LSAT in the (future) test dates, otherwise OLSAS cannot obtain those scores for distribution to any of the Ontario law schools. For assistance with amending your OLSAS account with LSAT information please contact OLSAS directly.  

I REGISTERED FOR THE JANUARY LSAT, BUT DIDN’T TAKE THE TEST

Should you have scores from tests taken from June 2018 to November 2022 inclusively, then with those scores and an otherwise complete file, we can proceed for review. Whether the scores will make your file competitive is a separate matter that can only be determined after your file is reviewed.  

If you will have no scores from June 2018 to January 2023 tests inclusively, your file will be incomplete and cannot proceed for review. Before the completion of Round 3 we will email to verify the status of your score(s), in the event there was a mishap at OLSAS, e.g. you did not provide your LSAC account number on your OLSAS application.

   NECESSITY OF LSAT WRITING

Please remember that only one LSAT Writing needs to be on file at the LSAC, in order for your score to be made available to anyone, including yourself.  

If you have never completed LSAT Writing, please complete it in time to be able to receive your January LSAT score by the LSAC published score release date of February 1st, as per the LSAC website at https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates  

Avoid any delays for obtaining your score by taking LSAT Writing as soon as possible, since the submission can take 2-3 weeks for the LSAC to process.  

Also, bear in mind that you will receive your score ahead of the law school, since we have to await the score via OLSAS only, which itself doesn’t receive it instantaneously when it is released to you.  

If you have not already done so, please take the time to read all of the FAQs on LSAT Writing at https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-lsat-writing

Best Regards,  JD Admissions Office

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The Deadline to Reschedule Your March or April LSAT Is Tonight

[Update, April 2: While the deadline for March LSAT registrants to change their test date or location has passed, LSAC has extended the deadline for April registrants. If you’re signed up for the April 2020 LSAT, you can request a change to your test date or location by filling out the April 2020 LSAT Test Date Change Request form on LSAC’s website by Monday, April 13, 11:59 pm Eastern.]

After canceling the March 2020 LSAT, LSAC automatically enrolled all March registrants into the next available LSAT registered in the “community” in which they were signed up to take the March LSAT.

But if you’re were signed up to take the March 2020, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll take the LSAT on April 25, for a bunch of a different reasons. For one, there may not be an April LSAT scheduled in the “community” you signed up to take the March LSAT in. Also, and more importantly, the chances of the April LSAT actually being administered for anyone right now is pretty low. If even the president can be talked out of forcing things back to normal by April, it seems like LSAC will soon follow. (LSAC will make an announcement regarding the April LSAT by April 10 at the latest.)

If you were signed up for the March or April 2020 LSAT, you might not want your LSAT rescheduled for you once again. So for those of you signed up for the March or April exam and want to wrest a little control over when you’ll take LSAT back from a novel strain of the coronavirus, you have some options. Last week, LSAC launched the March 2020 LSAT Rescheduling online form, which allows March LSAT registrants to request to change their test center location, to reschedule their test date (to April, June, or July 2020), or to receive a refund on their registration fee, in full. There’s also the April 2020 Rescheduling online form, which offers April registrants the chance to change the date or location of their exam (there’s no refund option on this form, however). But the deadline to fill out either form is Tuesday, March 31st, at 11:59 pm Eastern. And just in case being confined to your home has blurred all your days and weeks and sense of a diurnal cycle into a single, continuous, monolithic day (as it maybe has for yours truly), let’s be clear: that deadline is today. You have to make a decision by 11:59 pm Eastern, 8:59 pm Pacific. (Central and Mountain Times, you’ll have to do the math yourself, my coastal bias has always prevented me from remembering our time differences. Apologies.)

So, if you were originally signed up for the March or April 2020 LSAT, you don’t have as much time to make a decision on how to reschedule. Luckily, we’ve run down some options for you. What can you do before the deadline passes tonight?

1. Nothing

The old wait-and-see approach has its merits, especially during the “wait” part. For now, you won’t have to worry about doing anything, which is nice. It’s the “see” part that I’d be a little more worried about. If you were originally signed up for the March test, your study plan was already disrupted once, when the March LSAT was canceled. We think the April LSAT will probably be canceled as well, so that’ll be a second sudden change to your study plans. If the June LSAT gets canceled — well, that’ll be yet another time your study plan is upended.

If you don’t request a change now, you’re just waiting for the next available LSAT, but you won’t know when that’ll be. The goal line might be moved one, two, three, four more times. If you try to keep your study plans ongoing until we return to normalcy and can take the LSAT again, you may burnout. If you decide to take a break under the assumption that the next LSAT won’t be held, and that LSAT is actually held, you may be underprepared for the exam. LSAC is also toying with the idea of scheduling an exam in May, or may decide to start holding remotely proctored, at-home exams, so the time or format of your exam may catch you unawares.

And that brings us to the thesis of this post: Having a firm date when you’ll take the LSAT is essential to your study plan. You need to have a pretty solid idea of when you’ll take the LSAT to know whether or when you’ll take an LSAT course, how you’ll schedule your review of the LSAT concepts, when you’ll take practice exams, and more. Obviously, SARS-CoV-2 has made knowing when you’ll take the LSAT pretty difficult. But by choosing to do nothing now, you’ll just prolong this uncertainty into April, and probably May and June as well. We don’t recommend doing nothing.

2. Reschedule to April

We also don’t recommend rescheduling to the April LSAT, if you were originally signed up for the March test. We think April LSAT will soon be canceled, so this seems kind of pointless to us. But people have bet on the longshot and won before, so if you really want to take the test in April, and are willing to risk probable disappointment, knock yourself out.

3. Reschedule to June or July

We think this is a better plan. As opposed to the April LSAT, it seems a bit more likely the June and July LSATs will be held (especially the July exam). It’s hard to know what things will look like in June and July — especially now, when two weeks ago feels like it may as well have been two decades ago — but it stands to reason that these LSATs have a much better shot at being held than the April test, at the very least. Even if we’re still doing the social distancing in June or July, LSAC will have had some time to figure out how to make test centers safe for test takers and proctors or how to administer the test as a remotely proctored, at-home test.

Our point is that rescheduling to June or July gives you the option of putting a more concrete test date in place. And with the more concrete test date, you can make better plans for how you’ll study. You can take a break and recharge right now, if you feel like you need one (and I’m pretty sure we all feel like we could use some relief). You can sign up for an LSAT course, or you can take some time to review the materials from a course you’ve already taken. You can schedule out when you’ll take practice exams and, crucially, when you’ll review them. And then, when the time comes to take the exam, you can take it (we hope).

If you’re trying to apply during this 2019-2020 admissions cycle to begin law school in fall 2020, there’s a (fairly obvious) drawback to this option. While LSAC is working with law schools to extend their application deadlines (which some schools have already promised to extend!) it’s not terribly likely that many schools will accept the June or July LSATs. Especially the July exam — since scores for that one won’t be released until early August, the same month law schools should begin their fall classes. So be aware that choosing this option might mean you have a very limited number of law schools you can apply to in this admissions cycle, or that you may be punting your applications to the 2020-2021 admissions cycle.

4. Request the refund, plan on taking the LSAT in August or later

Option number four also has its merits. Especially when you consider that LSAC basically never gives test takers the opportunity to request a full refund. Once you sign up for the LSAT, you part with that $200 (and the most you could hope to get back is $50, if you withdraw by the partial refund deadline). So the option to get all $200 back is a rare opportunity. It can also give you more options for when you’ll take the LSAT.

If you request the refund, you can use the money you’re getting back to plan on signing up for the August, October, or November LSATs when registration opens for those. Those are even more likely to be held than the June or July LSATs. And you’ll have at least five months (before the August LSAT is held) to get a study plan in place. You’ll obviously be giving up the chance to apply during the 2019-2020 admissions cycle, but taking the exam in August would at least give you a shot at applying early in the 2020-2021 cycle. And, who knows, with LSAT administrations thrown into disarray this year, that cycle may end up being far less competitive than the 2019-2020 cycle.

You can also take a bit of a wait-and-see approach with this option. If you feel ready to take the LSAT before August, and LSAC administers an extra exam in May, or later, or opens registration for at-home tests at some point, you can elect to take the LSAT then. So this option can also afford you some flexibility with respect to when you’ll take the LSAT, if you want that.

(Although this refund option is not available on the April LSAT Rescheduling form, we imagine that’s only because the April test hasn’t been officially canceled — yet. Perhaps this option will be offered to April registrants if and when that test is canceled.)

5. Change your test location

It’s a little confusing on how this works, but LSAC is also giving March 2020 registrants the option to change their test location, if they’re requesting a rescheduling to April, June, or July. It’s usually $125 to try to change your test center, so the free option is quite the deal. When you reschedule, make sure to include the zip code for where you actually want to take the test under “Preferred zip code for testing.” Do a little research — check out our review of test centers, and see if there’s a suitable test location in your preferred area.

The Deadline to Reschedule Your March or April LSAT Is Tonight was originally published on Blueprint LSAT Blog

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Uh-Oh! T14 Law School Email Screw-Up Reveals Grades, Application Decisions For All LLM Candidates

It seems that law school personnel continue to find it difficult to keep their students’ personal information private. For example, in April 2012, someone at Baylor Law School sent out an email containing a trove of admissions data (including names, grades, and LSAT scores) to every student admitted to the Class of 2015. In March 2014, someone at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles sent out an email with a heap of financial information for the entire graduating class (including Social Security numbers and loan amounts) to some members of the Class of 2014. In June 2014, someone at UVA School of Law sent out an email containing every piece of vital information possible about its clerkship applicants (including names, GPAs, and class ranks) to everyone on its clerkship listserv.

Today, we have yet another example of a top law school’s email screw-up. This time, someone at a T14 law school “inadvertently” sent out a cornucopia of admissions data for all of its LLM applicants to everyone who was accepted into the program, including names, grades, TOEFL scores, and application decisions with comments.

The school in question is the University of Chicago Law School, and applicants are certainly less-than pleased with the release of their information. “I am deeply disappointed with the University of Chicago,” said one applicant whose data was disclosed. “INTOLERABLE!!!” said another.

We’re told that the school did not acknowledge the data breach until about three days after it occurred. “I was baffled that it took so long for the school to take an action, and that a short single email was all that the school can do. It was really unprofessional and disappointing,” said another LLM applicant whose information was leaked.

Here’s an excerpt from the email that U. Chicago Law sent in an attempt to assuage its LLM applicants’ anger and letdown in the wake of the school’s accidental data dump:

The document was inadvertently attached to an email that went to 297 recipients. All were applicants to the LLM program for the Fall of 2019. The Dean of the Law School has written to all the people who received that information and asked them to both delete the message and attachments, and confirm that they have done so. Those confirmation messages are coming back to the Law School daily.

Oh yes, we’re sure that all of the LLM applicants whose data was revealed deleted the attachment — after looking it over to gain a sense of where they stand among their prospective classmates at Chicago Law or another T14 law school, of course.

We’ve reached out to the powers that be at Chicago Law to see if they have any additional comment on this situation as it unfolds, but we’ve not yet heard back. Perhaps they’re busy brushing up on their GDPR obligations.

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Uh-Oh! T14 Law School Email Screw-Up Reveals Grades, Application Decisions For All LLM Candidates republished via Above the Law

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Digital LSAT: Facts vs. Fiction

Maybe you’ve heard, but the LSAT is going digital this year. I mean, you’ve probably heard this, right? LSAC has certainly done its due diligence publicizing this change. This blog, for one, has discussed this upcoming change a lot, as have many others. We even have a whole FAQ on this blog, link available to on the top of this page, labeled clearly as “DIGTIAL LSAT FAQ” — unless you’re reading this on your phone, in which case you can access that FAQ by pressing on the three horizontal line segments on the top right-hand corner of your screen.

The point is, there’s a lot of information on the digital LSAT now. If you’re taking the LSAT in 2019, you should know that this year, a test once defined by the graphite powder residue left on answer sheets by your trusty no. 2 wooden pencils will become a test defined by the sequences of 1s and 0s that signal a certain selection was made with a stylus that test administrators leant to you. You should know that the first digital version of the test will be administered in July 2019, but will only be administered to roughly half of the July 2019 test takers. You should know that the LSAT will become permanently digital in September 2019.

And yet, still, many of you don’t know this. Or, you know only in very a general sense that the LSAT is going digital — you know the broad outlines of the change, but haven’t quite nailed down the specifics. Or, worse still, you have certain misconceptions about the forthcoming digital test. I know some of you don’t know about the digital LSAT, because I talk with a lot of people who take the LSAT this year, and I’ve been surprised by the number of you aren’t aware of what we in the LSAT biz consider a “seismic” shift.

I can’t blame you, though. You have a rich and full life — tracking the vicissitudes of a standardized test isn’t high on the old priority list. So you’ve maybe relied on what you’ve heard from your law school-bound peers. And they’re relying on what they’ve heard from some unknown sources, and who knows where those sources got their info. This game of telephone happens for many aspects of the law school admissions process. It’s why the misconception that law schools average multiple LSAT scores persists today, for instance. And I think it’s why so many have missed the memo that the LSAT is going digital, or only got part of that memo, or got a completely misconstrued version of that memo.

So, let’s discuss the LSAT doing digital, once more. And let’s separate the facts from the fiction, to make sure you aren’t left with any misconceptions.

FACT: The LSAT is Going Digital LSAT in July 2019

This is true! As we’ve mentioned before, the LSAT will switch its format in July 2019. In July, all test test takers will be given the same exam, but about half of all test takers will be given that exam in its swanky new digital format. The other half will be given the dull, old paper-and-pencil test. Then, in September 2019 the LSAT is going permanently digital. That test, and every subsequent exam, will only be given in its digital format.

The digital test will be given on Microsoft Surface Go tablets, proudly mounted an adjustable stand LSAC provides. The test software was developed for the LSAT specifically, and will allow test takers to underline or highlight the text (and in multiple colors!), adjust the text size, screen brightness, line spacing, and cetera. Test takers will make their answer choice selections on the tablet, and can jump back and forth between questions at their pleasure. A stylus will be provided by LSAT to help test takers operate the software. A preview of the digital software is available here.

FICTION: The Digital LSAT Will Be Harder/Easier than the Traditional LSAT

The digital LSAT won’t be any different than the current LSAT, other than the fact that you’re using a tablet and stylus, and not a test booklet and pencil. Only the delivery system is changing. LSAC says that the “content and structure” of the LSAT will remain unchanged. So there will still be four scored multiple-choice sections, thiry-five minutes each. There will still be two Logical Reasoning sections, one Reading Comp section, and one Logic Game section, with one unscored “experimental” section thrown in for good measure.

Sure, there will be some changes with the format switch. You won’t have to bubble in your selections on an answer sheet, which will save a little time. You’ll get to quickly access whichever questions you’d like to look at, without having to flip through multiple pages in your test booklet, which might also save a little time. But most of your work will be done on scratch paper, forcing you to look at both your tablet screen and the scratch paper. That may take a little more time than just looking at your work in your test booklet on the old paper exam. In all, we anticipate that these pros and cons of the digital test will just about balance out.

And, by the way, the reason LSAC is making half the July test takers take the traditional paper-and-pencil test is to ensure that the digital test is no easier or more difficult than the traditional test. Essentially, before the permanent digital shift is made, LSAC needs to have a test in which a group of people takes the digital LSAT and another group takes the same exam in its traditional format, to make sure that the scores earned by the two groups aren’t meaningfully different. If the scores earned by the groups are meaningfully different, expect LSAC to make the needed adjustments.

The questions you’ll get on the digital exam will also be the same as the questions that were asked on the traditional exam. So whatever strategies and methodologies you’re studying right now will also help you on the digital exam.

FACT: You’ll Be Given Scratch Paper to Work With

Yep. LSAC, in its beneficence, will give test takers scratch paper. This, believe it or not, was a luxury not afforded to those who took the test in its traditional paper-and-pencil format. Those unlucky souls had to do all of their work in the margins of their test booklet, which was especially difficult when they used to jam the whole Logic Games section onto four pages. But, since digital test takers won’t be able to write with their stylus, LSAC will provide scratch paper and a pen to allow test takers diagram conditional statements, map out logic games, and make notes for Reading Comp.

FICTION: You’ll Get Your Score Back Instantaneously

Unfortunately, no. The interminable period between test day and grey day (AKA score release day) will still remain a roughly three-week affair. For every test, digital or not, LSAC needs to process and analyze test takers’ raw scores in order to scale the exam. That takes time no matter the test format, so it’s still going to take a few weeks to get your score back.

In fact, LSAC has suggested scores for the July 2019 exam may take even longer to come out, since processing and comparing the scores from the two different formats “will take additional time.” Fortunately, those who survive the elongated wait for the July test will get a reward. They get to decide if they want to cancel their score after receiving it. And, those who do decide to cancel their July score will get to retake the test one time, free of charge, for any LSAT administered through April 2020. Some things are worth the wait, apparently.

FACT: The Writing Sample Will No Longer Be on Test Day

This is technically a change that’s occurring with the June 2019 exam, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless. Instead of having to spend an extra thirty-five minutes in your test center risking carpal tunnel syndrome handwriting your response to the writing sample, you’ll now get to complete the writing sample at home, on your own time, after the exam. Plus, you’ll get to type out your response to the writing sample. Moreover, you only have to do the writing sample once, rather than retake it every time you take the LSAT. It’s a pretty sweet change for 2019.

Digital LSAT: Facts vs. Fiction was originally published on LSAT Blog

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All the LSAT News from 2018

We are certainly in the final moments of 2018 — if this year were an LSAT, we are solidly in the Writing Sample portion of the exam, which means we’re mostly just phoning it in and thinking about how hard we’re going to party tonight. But before we close the metaphorical test booklet of the year that was two thousand and eighteen, let’s get contemplative. Believe it or not, this LSAT blog has some stuff to say about the LSAT.

Last week, we spilled a lot of digital ink about the LSAT in 2018, paying special attention to what was on the five exams administered over the course of this year. Today, we’re going to cover the things that weren’t on the LSAT. Today, we’ll give a recap of all the LSAT news that came out over 2018.

And this year had more LSAT news than … maybe any year ever? The LSAT will undergo many changes in 2019, and so we spent much of 2018 scrambling to make sense of the myriad announcements LSAC and others made about the forthcoming changes to the test. Some announcements were a big deal, others were minor blips, but all augured changes to the test in 2019. So let’s review all the LSAT news from 2018 that was fit to print … or post. You get the idea. Let’s go!

A July 2018 LSAT is Announced

In a January announcement, LSAC released a selfie.* A coy smile, its partner supportively grasping its shoulder, its hands gently cupping its slightly-more-rotund-than-usual abdomen … we all knew what this photo meant. LSAC was expecting. It was with child.** And in July 2018, LSAC would give birth to this brand new LSAT, bringing the number of LSATs administered this calendar year to five.

*Technically, it released an updated LSAT schedule on Twitter.

**The child in this rapidly devolving metaphor being, of course, a new LSAT.

The Score Release Date Got a Little Less Stressful

The modern LSAT turned 27 this year. But — as anyone who has seen their temples grey and their bodies ripen into a slack, soft mush as they study for an LSAT that is approaching improbably quickly knows — time moves pretty fast when you’re studying for this test. So the LSAT ages, if not quite in dog years, at least much more quickly than we do. So in 2018, the LSAT was really entering a wizened middle age. And as it reached this maturity, the test lost some of that DGAF spunk of its youth, and began to mellow out and make some common sense solutions to issues that have historically plagued test takers.

The first of these changes came via an early March announcement. The LSAC CEO personally addressed test takers, letting them know that LSAC was making the score release process a little less stressful. LSAC used to release test takers’ scores basically whenever it felt like it … usually a week or so before the announced score release. So test takers would spend a few weeks following the exam as an frazzled ball of nerves, constantly checking their emails and LSAC accounts to see if the scores were released early, on a whim. In March, LSAC announced that it would stop doing that, and would instead release the scores on the promised release date. Now, it didn’t do a great job of keeping that promise, at least early on, but this promise was the step in the right direction.

It’s Now Harder to “Accidentally” Cancel Your Score

Another student-friendly change to the test came quickly after that, when LSAC announced that it was “simplifying” its score cancellation policy. Apparently, there were a bunch of test takers out there who weren’t the best at following directions and would accidentally check the box on their test booklets that cancels their score when they actually … whoopsie … didn’t want to cancel their score. LSAC threw these test takers a proverbial bone when it announced that for future exams, test takers would have to cancel their scores using their online account, hopefully limiting those accidental cancellations.

LSAC Made Good After Screwing Up the Score Release/Registration Dates in July and September

Even with all the calendar and scheduling apps available to me, I still screw up my schedule all the time. So I sympathized with LSAC when it too made a scheduling blunder. But I was still pretty mad, on behalf of my students. After opening registration for the brand new July LSAT, we realized that the last day to register for the subsequent September exam was the same day as the July exam. Which meant that if test takers didn’t feel great after the July exam,* they would have at most a couple hours to decide whether they should drop $190** on the September test. And this was after LSAC created a similar scheduling issue for June and July test takers.

But fortunately, LSAC cleaned up this mess. LSAC announced that anyone who signed up for the July and September exams could get a full refund of their registration fee to the September test if they were happy with their July score once that came out (and June test takers who signed up for July could get the same refund if they were satisfied with their June score). As we wrote at the time, “Who says LSAC can’t be nice sometimes?”

*A feeling shared by pretty much all test takers, regardless of the LSAT.

**A fee that was raised in 2018, to add insult to injury.

The LSAT, for Better or Worse, Fended Off Major Challenges from the GRE and GMAT

Why was LSAC being especially cool this year? Did it finally find that special someone? Did it begin talking to a professional? Meditating? Did it adopt a loving pet and start prominently displaying a bumper sticker on its midsized sedan that reads, “Who Rescued Who [sic]?”

Maybe. But a perhaps more like explanation is that LSAC was feeling the pressure from the GRE and GMAT, as more and more law schools announced that they would accept applicants who took those tests in lieu of the LSAT. In fact, for a minute there it looked like the American Bar Association would drop a rule that made the LSAT the default test for law school applicants. But a year of playing nice was apparently enough for the ABA to keep that rule, further entrenching the LSAT as the king of law school admissions exams.

LSAC Got With the Times and Allowed Cell Phones in Some Test Centers

If you’ve taken the LSAT or have perused the incredibly long and complex list of “Test Center Admissions Requirements” on LSAC’s website (both of which I do more than what would be considered to be “healthy” or “normal”), you’ll know that cell phones are strictly verboten in LSAT test centers. Despite the fact that we do almost everything with those devices — including, for many, coordinating our rides to and from the test center — LSAC wants you to leave your phone at home. Or, if you’re using your phone to hail a ride share service to get you home … maybe in a bush near the test center?

LSAC seemed to recognize that this policy inconveniences many test takers. It offered a few September test takers the chance to try out a new cell phone “pilot program,” in which test takers were allowed to bring their cell phones into their test center, provided they turned the phones off and placed them into an LSAC-provided “lockbox” (shout out to Al Gore jokes from the year 2000). We haven’t heard any updates on how this program went, or whether LSAC’ll offer this service to future test takers, so this is a story we’ll track into 2019.

The LSAT Will Officially Go Digital in September 2019

The biggest announcement of them all came at near the end of 2018. After teasing us for years that the LSAT would make the switch from the traditional pencil-and-paper exam to a digital format used by pretty much every other graduate entrance exam … LSAC finally announced that the September 2019 LSAT would be digital.

Since the announcement of the digital test in October, LSAC has filled in some the details on how the switch from analog to digital will go. The digital exams will be given on Microsoft Surface Go tablets, there will be programs to allow test takers to get comfortable with the digital format before next September, and, best of all, the Writing Sample will be administered at home.

The July 2019 Test Will Be a Freebie (Aside from the Sign Up Fee, Of Course)

Finally, there was a bit of weird announcement with respect to the July 2019 test. Technically speaking, it’ll be the first digital LSAT. Except only half of the test takers will be given the test in its digital format. The other half will be given the traditional paper-and-pencil format. And test takers won’t know whether they’re getting the new or old format until test day.

This, apparently, is consistent with “best testing practices,” but it’s also consistent with “no one’s going to sign up for this.” So to sweeten the pot, LSAC announced that it would allow July test takers to get an early preview of their score, and then decide whether they’d like to keep or cancel the score. Which is maybe the most generous thing the typically miserly LSAC has ever done. Here’s to more of these kinds of announcements in 2019.

All the LSAT News from 2018 was originally published on LSAT Blog

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HAVE MULTIPLE LSAT SCORES? (RE)TAKING THE LSAT IN JANUARY 2023?

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR JD FIRST YEAR ADMISSION

For entry in 2023, an acceptable LSAT is a test taken from June 2018 to January 2023 inclusively, that produced a test score. A cancelled test does not produce a score.    

As you are aware, the LSAT is mandatory. If from all of the acceptable LSATs, you will not obtain any test score, then regardless of the strength of the remainder of your applicant file, you will not be considered for admission in 2023.      

OLSAS is our source for LSAT scores. Therefore to ascertain whether your scores were retrieved check your OLSAS account.  

Scores are not retrievable by OLSAS at the same time they are released to test takers. Please allow 3-6 business days for your scores to be visible on your OLSAS account.    

For OLSAS to retrieve your scores, in your OLSAS account you must provide your LSAC account number. For tests you intend to take after your OLSAS application was submitted, you must also specify which future tests they will be.   

If you are not seeing your scores at your OLSAS account, then inquire with OLSAS regarding its retrieval of scores. If OLSAS doesn’t have them, then no Ontario law school will have them.  

#1) LSAT Writing

Your official LSAT Report requires both the Multiple Choice score and one LSAT Writing. Remember to complete BOTH otherwise your score will not be released at all, whether to you, OLSAS or any law school. Refer to the LSAC website for details and FAQ.

#2) Re-taking in Jan 2023, do I Inform UofT Law?

>>> YES, BUT ONLY VIA OLSAS, PLEASE <<< Since we get scores via OLSAS, informing us is meaningless. Simply update your LSAT future test date in your OLSAS account, please do not email/phone the law school.

As per the instructions on the online OLSAS Application: “Enter the most recent LSAT date and/or the date on which you plan to write the LSAT. Ensure that you update your application if your test dates change.”

1.    Log into your OLSAS account

2.    In left sidebar menu of Application Links, select LSAT

3.    Select the action to Change, and update Your Future LSAT Test Dates.

4.    In left sidebar menu of Application Links, select Review and Submit; and at the very bottom of that web page, Agree and Verify the change.

There is no need to inform us with the reason(s) for re-taking the test. Updating the future test date online at OLSAS is sufficient.  

#3) MULTIPLE LSAT SCORES

Which will you use? Can you hold off and wait for my new score?

As long as your application file is complete, i.e. all required documents have been received, including scores from an acceptable LSAT (i.e. taken from June 2018 to January 2023 inclusively), then it can proceed for review. Again, since OLSAS retrieves the LSAT score, check with OLSAS for its receipt. ARRIVAL OF NOV 2022 SCORES The results of the Nov 2022 LSAT are scheduled to be released to test takers on Nov 30. The scores will not arrive at the law school that day since they must first be retrieved by OLSAS, then distributed to the respective Ontario law schools to which candidates applied. This can take 3-5 business days. Therefore, since we must await the scores via OLSAS, it is not possible for us to know how likely might the Nov 2022 be available for our first round of decision-making.

MAIN CONSIDERATIONS

Prior to the re-take, if your entire file is already competitive with your current score(s) Then we need not await the new score to make an admission decision. Otherwise, if it is not already competitive, we will re-assess automatically with the new score after it has been received via OLSAS. As we’ve stated quite clearly on our website we do not average scores and we give emphasis to the highest score. A cancelled test does not produce a score or any indication of why the test was cancelled. Therefore a cancelled test only impacts selection if it resulted in the lack of any score for use in the admission cycle.  

There is no need to contact us to (re)consider with a future acceptable score Simply update the future test date on your OLSAS application. That’s our way of knowing to expect a new score and therefore, to re-assess automatically.  

We remind you that assessments occur only after a file is complete Please ensure that your LSAT scores are visible on your OLSAS account.    Notifications of the admission decisions are expected at three times in the cycle: early-mid December, mid-late January and mid-to-late March. Applicants with completed files are considered for each round of decisions automatically.  

Refusals and wait lists are determined at Round 3 only, in March. Your focus should not be on gaining admission in the first round, since offers of admission are made at each of the three rounds. Once their files are complete, candidates are considered automatically up to, and including, the last round of decision-making.

WHAT’S NEXT? Please allow the process to unfold which includes awaiting the decision patiently. We will update this blog to indicate when we expect to send Round 1 notifications.

JD Admissions Office Faculty of Law University of Toronto

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ROUND 2 NOTIFICATIONS LIKELY DURING FEB 4-8

Our timelines have been revised.

We are AIMING to send notifications of Round 2 offers of admission sometime during the period of February 4-8th.  If we manage to complete the selections earlier then you will be updated. As per custom, we will update this blog on the day that notifications begin.

We thank you for your patience while we take the necessary time to read, review and assess your application materials since selection is more comprehensive and holistic than simply calculating GPAs and checking LSAT scores.

We remind you that only offers of admission are made in Rounds 1 and 2. Refusals and wait lists are not determined until the 3rd and final round in March. 

Everyone not yet offered, is re-considered automatically through all rounds.

  WILL UPDATED TRANSCRIPTS & JANUARY LSAT SCORES BE USED FOR ROUND 2?

It’s a matter of timing entirely since we do not control when application material is received via OLSAS.  You can check for yourself at your OLSAS account to determine whether OLSAS has received your materials.

Please do not send any materials to us directly to try to expedite matters since they are to be sent to OLSAS only, as per the application instructions. Materials sent to us directly will be ignored.  

Updates are not to be submitted for any other type of application materials, e.g. autobiographical sketch, resume/cv for mature applicants, etc.

Ultimately, what is most important is that updated transcripts and January LSAT scores are received via OLSAS in time for the final round of selections i.e. received by mid-February ideally. Please refer to our January 4th blog for which transcripts are required for submission.

It is erroneous to think that an offer of admission would be made if your materials arrive in-time for Round 2 notifications. The final outcome could be the same regardless of the timing. Therefore, is no benefit to asking us whether the updated materials were used for Round 2 consideration, as it does not change the final outcome.

JANUARY LSAT TAKERS

Best of luck to everyone who sat the LSAT in January, since it was the last acceptable LSAT for admission to the first year of the UofT JD.

Remember to check that your OLSAS account lists the January LSAT in the (future) test dates, otherwise OLSAS cannot obtain them for distribution to any of the Ontario law schools. For assistance with amending your OLSAS account LSAT information please contact OLSAS directly.

I REGISTERED FOR THE JANUARY LSAT, BUT DIDN’T TAKE THE TEST

If you have scores from tests taken in June 2017 or later With those scores, if your file is otherwise complete, then the file will proceed for review. Whether the scores will make your file competitive is a separate matter that can only be determined after your file is reviewed.   

If you will have no score(s) from June 2017 to January 2022 tests Your file will be incomplete and cannot proceed for review. Before the completion of Round 3 we will email to verify the status of your score(s), in the event there was a mishap at OLSAS, e.g. you did not provide your LSAC account number on your OLSAS application.

NECESSITY OF LSAT WRITING

Please remember that no more than one LSAT Writing taken from June 2017 needs to be completed, in order for your score to be made available to anyone, including yourself.

If you have never completed LSAT Writing, please complete it in time to be able to receive your January LSAT score by the published score release date (at time of this post) of February 2nd, as per the LSAC website at https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates

Avoid any delays for obtaining your score by taking LSAT Writing as soon as possible, since the submission can take 2-3 weeks for the LSAC to process.

Also, bear in mind that you will receive your score ahead of the law school, since we have to await the score via OLSAS only, which itself doesn’t receive it instantaneously when it is released to you.

If you have not already done so, please take the time to read all of the FAQs on LSAT Writing at https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-lsat-writing

Best Regards, JD Admissions Office

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From the Vault: Understanding Your LSAT Score: The "Curve," Explained

In a surprise move, LSAT scores were released late last night (so much for day-old promises, LSAC), which means a bunch of LSAT students have a shiny new LSAT score. You’ll hopefully hear lots of score recipients gushing about their scores, and you’ll probably hear some folks who are bummed out as well (we’ll have a post for those guys in the next couple days).

And when it comes to the February LSAT, that’s about all you’ll hear — the test is nondisclosed, which means that LSAC doesn’t release the test questions, nor do they tell students what they got wrong or even how many questions they got wrong. Students get their scores out of 180, and that’s it.

However, the February LSAT is still “curved” in the same way any other LSAT is. For the uninitiated, LSAT scores range from 120 to 180, and the test is “curved” so that even if a test was relatively easy or difficult, a 160 on any given test is equivalent to a 160 on any other test.

(I’m using scare quotes because the LSAT isn’t technically “curved”; instead, LSAC performs a statistical process called test equating in order to make the scores equivalent. Steve Schwartz over at LSAT Blog has a more detailed explanation about what that means, if you’re interested, but for all intents and purposes you can think of it like any other curved test.)

This means that not all tests are exactly the same level of difficulty — some might be particularly tricky, while others might be pretty straightforward with no real curveballs. However, when a test is tougher, you can get more questions wrong to end up with a certain score.

When we talk about the “curve,” we’re usually talking about the number of questions you can get wrong and still get a 170 (just since that’s an easy number to discuss). On a particularly tough version of the test, you can get as many as 14 or 15 questions wrong and still get a 170; on a test that is relatively easy, you’ll need to get as few as 9 questions wrong for that same score.

For instance, let’s take a look at the curves on the last few (released) test administrations. September and December 2017 were relatively “forgiving” tests, on which you could get 11 and 12 questions wrong, respectively, and still get that 170. In June 2017, however, you could only get 9 questions wrong if you wanted a 170.

It’s also interesting to compare these curves to the number of questions you needed to answer correctly to get a 160. We just established that September and December 2017 had relatively lenient curves for a 170. For those same tests, if you wanted a 160, you could get 26 or 29 questions wrong, respectively. And in June 2017, the test with the tougher curve for a 170? You could get 26 questions wrong, just like on that September test.

So, if you’re reading about LSAT chatter and you hear someone say, “Oh, that was a really hard test — the curve was -12,” you’ll know that they’re referring to the number of questions you could get wrong and still get a 170. However, you’ll also know that a test with a bigger curve at the top of the scoring scale doesn’t necessarily mean that you had more wiggle room when it comes to other parts of the score spectrum.

From the Vault: Understanding Your LSAT Score: The “Curve,” Explained was originally published on LSAT Blog

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WILL YOU/DO YOU  HAVE MULTIPLE LSAT SCORES? ARE YOU (RE)TAKING THE LSAT IN JANUARY 2022?

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR JD FIRST YEAR ADMISSION

For entry in 2022, an acceptable LSAT is a test taken from June 2017 to January 2022 inclusively, that produced a test score.   

If you will not have a test score from an acceptable LSAT, then regardless of the strength of the remainder of your applicant file, you will not be considered for admission in 2022.     

OLSAS is our source for LSAT scores. Therefore to ascertain whether your scores were retrieved check your OLSAS account. Scores are not retrievable by OLSAS at the same time they are released to test takers. Please allow 3-6 business days for your scores to be visible on your OLSAS account. Of course, scores can only be retrieved if in your OLSAS account, you’ve provided your LSAC account number and specify which tests you plan to take after your OLSAS application was submitted. 

#1) LSAT Writing

Your official LSAT Report requires both the Multiple Choice score and the unscored LSAT Writing. Remember to complete BOTH otherwise your score will not be released at all, whether to you, OLSAS or any law school. Refer to the LSAC website for details and FAQ.

   #2) Re-taking in Jan 2022, do I Inform UofT Law?

 >>> YES, BUT ONLY VIA OLSAS, PLEASE <<< Since we get scores via OLSAS, informing us is meaningless. Please inform OLSAS only, do not email/phone us.

As per the instructions on the online OLSAS Application: “Enter the most recent LSAT date and/or the date on which you plan to write the LSAT. Ensure that you update your application if your test dates change.”

1.    Log into your OLSAS account

2.    In left sidebar menu of Application Links, select LSAT

3.    Select the action to Change, and update Your Future LSAT Test Dates.

4.    In left sidebar menu of Application Links, select Review and Submit; and at the very bottom of that web page, Agree and Verify the change.

There is no need to inform us with the reason(s) for re-taking the test. Updating the future test date online at OLSAS is sufficient.   

#3) MULTIPLE LSAT SCORES:

Which will you use? Can you hold off and wait for my new score?

As long as your application file is complete, i.e. all required documents have been received, including scores from an acceptable LSAT (i.e. taken from June 2017 to January 2022 inclusively), then it can proceed for review. Again, since all application materials are to be submitted to OLSAS, check with OLSAS for their receipt.

Prior to the re-take, if your entire file is already competitive with your current score(s), then we need not await the new score to make an admission decision. Otherwise, if it is not already competitive, we will re-assess automatically with the new score after it has been received via OLSAS. As we’ve stated quite clearly on our website we do not average scores and we give emphasis to the highest score.  A cancelled test does not produce a score, therefore a cancelled test only impacts selection if the cancellation results in the lack of an acceptable LSAT for use in the admission cycle.   

There is no need to contact us for (re)consideration, as long as you have updated the future test date on your OLSAS application. That’s our way of knowing to expect a new score and therefore, to re-assess automatically.   

We remind you that assessments occur only after a file is complete, and that notifications of the admission decisions are expected at three times in the cycle: early December, mid-late January and mid to late-March. Applicants with completed files are considered for each round of decisions automatically.   

Refusals and wait lists are determined at Round 3 only, in March.

Please allow the process to unfold which includes awaiting the decision patiently. We will update this blog to indicate when we expect to send Round 1 notifications.

JD Admissions Office Faculty of Law University of Toronto

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Two Truths About Retaking

You have officially completed the LSAT and hope you got a good LSAT score. You prepared with LSAT courses and LSAT practice exams. June LSAT scores have officially been released, which means that at least some people are now faced with a difficult decision: To retake the LSAT or not to retake? Furthermore, how many times can you take the LSAT?  There are two big truths that you need to take into consideration when deciding whether to give the LSAT another try.

How much is it to take the LSAT?

Before we dive into retake specifics, you need to remember some basic logistics. The LSAT registration fee is $200. There’s no discount for retaking the LSAT, though you can take solace in the fact that you may skip the LSAT Writing section if you’ve already completed it. You will have to keep an eye on registration deadlines and make sure it’s still open for the LSAT you want to take.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about retaking the LSAT.

Truth #1: It will almost definitely help your law school application

If you think you can do better on the LSAT, then it will almost certainly be worth your while to retake, even if it means taking more prep courses. You won’t be able to submit your applications until later in the cycle than you’d originally planned, but given the choice between submitting earlier with a lower score or later with a higher score, the latter option will pretty much always result in more success.

Truth #2: Most people don’t actually score much higher when they retake

LSAC has actually released data on what happened to people who took the LSAT more than once (PDF), and it’s pretty interesting stuff. The data shows that, although most people did increase their scores, on average their scores were only higher by a couple points. For instance, of the 531 people who originally got a 160 on the LSAT, 359 managed to score better on the second time around, while 42 got the same score and 130 actually did worse. (Yikes!) The average LSAT score for people who took it a second time and originally scored a 160 was 162. You see the same trend all over this chart — test takers at pretty much all levels snagged one to two extra points, but not much more than that.

Now, there’s no question that scoring even a couple extra points on the LSAT can boost your application (see truth #1). But there are a couple lessons we can learn from this information (if we leave the realm of verifiable data and enter the world of measured speculation).

I surmise that one reason test scores change so little on average is that many retakers underestimate the amount of time they’ll be able to spend studying for their second take. If you decide to retake but then don’t have much time to actually prepare, your score isn’t going to change by much. On the other hand, if you’re able to continue devoting a lot of time to your studies, by taking practice tests, reviewing a writing sample, or attending test prep classes, it’s more probable that you’ll “beat the odds.” So if you’re going to do this thing, you should be prepared to go all in on your studying.

At the same time, statistics are statistics for a reason. So if you’re choosing whether to give the LSAT a second (or even third) try, you should consider the very real possibility that your score will only improve marginally (if at all). Only you can decide whether it would be worth dedicating the extra LSAT preparation time, money, and effort for that kind of change. Again, that’s not to say that your score definitely will follow the average trend; you just need to be cognizant that it’s a possibility.

You might think I’m trying to talk you out of retaking the LSAT, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite — if someone is unhappy with his or her score, in most cases, I’d advise that it makes sense to take the test another time. But the best decision is a fully informed one, so make sure you’ve asked yourself all these questions and considered all possible outcomes before you take that step.

So, before you make that decision to retake, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself if it’s worth it and if you really need to. Still leaning towards a retake? Here’s how to do it right:

1. Review Correctly In the days before the LSAT, you were probably doing lots of practice tests and timed practice. Now, it’s time to slow down. Review everything. Take advantage of in-depth analytics in your LSAT prep to discover what your weaker areas are. Find out what you need to work on before you dive back into your prep.

Reviewing questions you’ve done is always important, but it’s especially important for you now. Every time you miss a question or get one right by lucky guess, try to pick that question apart until you feel like you could explain it to someone else. Don’t worry about your speed just yet; it’s time to really focus on your mastery of the LSAT’s underlying logic.

2. Practice as Realistically as Possible If you never took your tests in realistic testing environments, the real thing probably seemed like a hellish nightmare. When prepping for a retake, try to replicate the real testing environment as much as you can when taking LSAT practice tests. Get someone to proctor for you. If you found five-section tests to be harder than four-section tests, take only five-section tests. Build up your stamina and mental endurance.

3. Switch LSAT Prep Methods

It’s important to find the right prep for your unique learning style. When evaluating how you can improve in an LSAT retake, consider taking a different type of LSAT prep. If you took an LSAT class, maybe try private tutoring or an online course. Sometimes changing one thing can make a big difference in your overall score.

4. Find the Time

The most critical thing you need during your LSAT prep is time. The best prep materials in the world mean nothing if you don’t have adequate time to prepare. Make more time than you did last time. Make more time than you think necessary. Aim for at least a month of timed LSAT sections and full LSAT practice tests. But that should come after your thorough review of everything. Get started now.

Finally, stay positive. Whether you were happy with your practice test LSAT scores but got tripped up on the real thing, or you never quite got to where you wanted to be, it’s ok. You’ll have to put in some serious work, but think of where you’d like to be in a few years and use that as motivation.

My advice to someone thinking about taking the LSAT a third or fourth or seventh time is the same as my advice to someone thinking about taking the LSAT a second time. Do it, if that’s what’s needed to get into a law school you’d want to go to. Without an LSAT score that’s within the school’s 25-75 median LSAT score range, you’re probably not getting in. With that score — even if it took you several attempts to get it — you at least have a shot.

In all, don’t look at having to take the LSAT more than once as some enormous failure in your application. Every applicant has their own story to tell — and if your story involves taking the LSAT more than once, that is totally OK. Law schools don’t look down on multiple LSAT scores. Take a look at the upcoming LSAT test dates and find a test center close to you. Register now!

Two Truths About Retaking was originally published on Blueprint LSAT Blog

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C'Mon LSAC, You Can’t Be Serious With This …

The Law School Admission Council — AKA LSAC, the folks who write and administer the LSAT — just posted the deadlines to register for the September LSAT. Normally, this isn’t newsworthy. Especially when we’re still focusing on all of our students taking the forthcoming June and July LSATs. But we’ve actually been waiting on this news with baited breath, over here at Blueprint.

Is that because we’re total nerds who are way too obsessed with the vicissitudes of this exam? Perhaps — in a deep-seated-I’m-not-ready-to-acknowledge-or-publically-admit-this-kind-of-way. But the reason I’ll give you right now is a bit different. Since LSAC announced that there would be a July LSAT in 2018 for the first time, we — after the shock of a new LSAT subsided — realized that this new test might present a bit of a scheduling challenge to test takers.

You see, LSAC usually makes the deadline to sign up for an LSAT about five weeks before the date of the exam. They used to have a more expensive “late registration” deadline a week after, but they got rid of that this year. Anyway, if LSAC made the registration deadline to sign up for the September 2018 LSAT the usual five weeks prior to the test, that deadline would fall on the same week as the brand new July 2018 exam. So as we waited for LSAC to release the registration deadlines for the September tests, we wondered if they’d move the deadline a week back. To give July test takers who decided they wanted to take another bite at the apple and sign up for the September LSAT the time and opportunity to do so.

I mean, we thought this was a reasonable assumption. After all, last year LSAC removed the cap on the number of times people can take the LSAT, so clearly they’ve thought about this and want to encourage people to take the test more than once. And LSAC CEO Kellye Testy is out here, just this week, offering quotes like, “I want our organization to be the one to not only open those doors [to a legal education], but reaches out to help people through them. That’s my main goal: to position us as prospective students’ best friend.” So we figured that LSAC would make a student-friendly decision and put the deadline to register for the September LSAT at least a few days after the July LSAT, probably even a week after.

Boy, were we wrong.

LSAC announced that the deadline to sign up for the September LSAT is July 23, the same [explicative deleted] day as the July LSAT.

So, here’s the unfortunate reality for July test takers: You’ll take the July exam. We hope it goes great. If you’re a Blueprint student, stick to your current study plan, and there’s no reason to believe that it won’t go great.

At any rate, after the test is over, you’ll be ready to forget about the LSAT, for at least a day or two. To cast logic games and the common fallacies aside for just a moment and celebrate finishing a milestone on your path to a legal career.

Except you can’t really do that. Not yet, at least. You’ll have to make a decision, and you’ll only have a couple of hours to do so. If you think that you didn’t do as well on the July LSAT as you hoped, and you want another shot to try again before November, then you’ll have until 11:59 pm EDT — or if you live in the Pacific time zone, 8:59 pm PDT — to sign up for September. The July LSAT will excuse test takers around 5 or 6 pm. So you’ll literally have a few hours to make this decision. We’re not even sure how it’ll work for those of you in Hawai’i, who have a 5:59 pm deadline.

You might not think this is a big deal; making a decision within a few hours shouldn’t be that difficult or onerous. But here’s the thing: immediately after the LSAT, everyone feels like it didn’t go well. It’s a long and grueling exam. One that typically ends with the most difficult material. We always caution our students who are thinking about canceling their score or signing up to retake the test again to sleep on it and do some reflection.

Except July test takers won’t be able to do that. They’ll have to make their decision — distorted by the experience of having just taken the exam — within a couple hours. I’ve given countenance to countless students following an LSAT, and they’re often nervous and emotional wrecks. Some of my best students, who ended up doing great on their LSATs, were ready to cancel their scores immediately after the test, sight unseen. They’re good people, but they were in a position in which they’re prone to make rash decisions. I imagine that many July test takers will feel not great after the exam — even though they did quite well on the exam and don’t really have to take test again — and will decide to sign up for the September exam that day.

To add insult to injury, LSAC also announced today that they’re raising the fees to register for the LSAT. It’s not a huge change — it’s up from $180 to now $190 — but it’s a little bit of a low blow, right? They’re introducing a policy change that might lead to people unnecessarily signing up for a later LSAT and they’re making it more expensive to sign up for said later LSAT. As the youths say, smdh.

So the announcement today is disappointing to us. In the grand scheme of things, maybe not the biggest deal; after all, there were more upsetting announcements made today. And hopefully by next year, with a new schedule, LSAC will figure out a way for this to not happen again. But for an organization that has for a few years touted how it’s going to make the LSAC more open and accessible to students, today’s announcement runs counter to its stated ideals.

C’Mon LSAC, You Can’t Be Serious With This … was originally published on LSAT Blog

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A Look at the June 2018 LSAT: Logic Games and the Curve

Throughout this week, we’ve been sharing our thoughts on the recently released June 2018 LSAT. Today, we’re finishing our breakdown with a check in on the Logic Games section and a discussion of the curve. Check out Thursday’s discussion of Reading Comp here, Tuesday’s discussion of the score release and Logical Reasoning here, and Monday’s discussion of the truly wackadoodle parts of the exam here.

And we’re finishing up our fantastic voyage through the June 2018 LSAT today with Logic Games and “the curve.” In many ways, these are the easiest parts of the LSAT to predict. And yet, in my experience, these are the two sections students freak out about the most.

It’s important to note that the curve isn’t something you can control. However, you can control how you study for the LSAT. Whether you choose an in-person classroom LSAT course, online LSAT course, a hybrid of the two, or tutoring, only you can dictate how you prep for the LSAT; hard work really does pay off. That said, you’re not alone in this. If you need help deciding how you should prep, speak with one of our experienced Acamdeic Managers!

The chance of getting a completely novel game tends to worry a lot of test takers. And yet, pretty much every games section features one basic ordering game, one tiered ordering game, a grouping game of some sort, and then either a second grouping game or a game that combines ordering and grouping. People worry about whether they’re going to get a hard test or an easy test, and then if it’s an easy test, they worry that the curve will be totally unforgiving. But, not for nothing, our resident LSAT soothsayer has been nailing the curve for awhile now.

Did the June 2018 test veer wildly from the expected course in these regards? The suspense is almost definitely killing you at this point. So let’s get to it.

Logic Games

• For Logic Games, not really! The first game, about scheduling eight shipments of flowers, was as basic of an ordering game that is ever on the LSAT. So basic that it probably enjoys mimosas at brunch and binge watching Netflix at night. The next game, about assigning four architects to certain projects and scheduling those projects from first to fourth, was a tiered ordering game with a very typical deductions.

The third and fourth games were both grouping games — stable grouping games, as we call them, in fact. The one twist was that in both, you a discrepancy between the number of players given and the number of slots you had to fill. In the third game — which was about selecting nominees to run for mayor, treasurer, and counselor in an election — we had four slots to fill but we had six potential nominees. That meant this game was overbooked, and we had to keep track of the two players who would not get nominated in an “out” group. In the fourth game, we had two groups: a group of four corporations that would offer 5-year bonds, and a group of four corporations that would offer 10-year bonds. Except there were only six groups in total, making this an underbooked game. Which meant that some corporations would offer both 5- and 10-year bonds. These overbooked and underbooked stable grouping games are getting more common. Although they almost never appear back to back in a Logic Games section like they did here, they’re common enough that they shouldn’t throw any test taker for a huge loop.

• In addition to getting set of games one should reasonably expect to see, games two through four should have been solved using a very common method: making scenarios. For whatever reason, making scenarios has been the way to go on nearly all of the recent games, and June’s set was no exception.

In fact, you should have made scenarios using the same principle for games two through four. In each of these games, we were presented with “or” rules: rules that say there are two mutually exclusive ways the game can play out.

For the second game, about the architects, we learned that the architects Fredericks and Guerrero could only go in the first and second or the second and third spots, respectively. We also learned that either Fredereicks or Guerrero would be assigned to this one project. Using those two mutually exclusive “or” rules created four scenarios that answered every question in just a few minutes.

In the third game, about the nominees, we got two more “or” rules. One was that only Frost or Hu could be nominated to run for treasurer. The other was that Kuno could only be nominated to run for mayor — so Kuno was either nominated for mayo or Kuno wasn’t nominated for anything. As on the second game, if you (ahem) elected to make four scenarios by combining these two “or” rules, you would have sped through the questions.

The last game, about the 5- and 10-year bonds, also had an “or” rule, although this was a little bit hidden. We learned that two companies, HCN and Lorilou, could not offer the same bond. So one had to offer a 5-year bond, and the other had to offer the 10-year bond. So either HCN or Lorilou offered a 5-year bond. Although things were a little more open ended with these two scenarios, they still would have given you a head start on the questions.

Making scenarios with rules that present two mutually exclusive options is generally a good idea. In fact, this was a technique that should have been employed for a few games on the December 2017 exam as well, so it seems like this an increasingly common way to solve games.

• The fourth game was the only of this bunch that I would classify as difficult, so let’s chat about it. There were a lot of annoying things in this game, starting with the unnecessarily convoluted names of the players themselves. We had six corporations, named “Goh Industrials, HCN, Lorilou, RST, SamsonGonzales, and VELSOR,” all of which sound like they were named by some alien life form operating with a vague understanding of what a corporation is and maybe having seen half of Office Space. Obviously, these should have been abbreviated to “G, H, L, R, S, and V” in your set-up, but even doing that didn’t solve all trouble these tortuous names presented. Processing “HCN” as just H, “RST” as just R, and “VELSOR” as just V when the rules made reference to those was a little more difficult than I wanted it to be.

I guess a game being made complicated by intricate names is better than a game being made complicated by impossible deductions. And this game, as long as you were organized and methodical (like a good corporate drone), you would have gotten through the questions easily enough. For this game, I found two strategies particularly helpful: (1) starting off with the aforementioned scenarios (which saved a little bit of time on some of the questions), and (2) realizing that when you have to form a group of four from six potential players, once you find out that two players can’t join a group, the remaining four must join that group. For four of the six questions, strategy (2) answered the question for you, more or less.

• In all, I thought this was a particularly mild game section, which is of a piece of the last year or so of LSATs. These games featured straightforward set-ups, consistent ways to make scenarios, and didn’t ask especially difficult questions, with only one dreaded “substitute a rule” question thrown in. Of course, easy games have their drawbacks. When a lot of people are able to earn a lot of points on the Games section, the curve will be a lot more unforgiving …

The Curve

• … Which is precisely what this curve was. Here, take a look:

• When most people who talk about LSAT curves talk about LSAT curves, they refer to the number of questions that you can miss on that exam and still earn a 170. Which on this exam was ten questions. So you’ll hear people refer to this exam as a “-10” curve (this is what we predicted for this exam). Generally speaking, the more questions you can miss and earn a 170, the more difficult that exam. By that metric alone, the December 2017 test was the hardest of the last four, and June 2017 was the easiest.

However, if you look at the rest of the chart, you’ll realize that the 170 metric doesn’t tell the entire story. While you could miss a few more questions than you could in the June 2017 exam to earn scores of 165 and higher, to earn anything lower, you had less room to work with. While things got slightly more forgiving on the edges of the bell curve, things were pretty dodgy in the middle, which is where most test takers end up.

• What I’m trying to say: the June 2018 curve was rough. If I got to choose which one of these four exams to take based on the curve alone, June 2018 is my last choice, no question.

And I bring this up for all of you who are still dwelling on the June exam and are debating taking the test again. The severity of June’s curve could have negatively impacted your score. Now, the curve does change a fair amount in the middle from test to test, and it’s impossible to know what the curve will look like in July, September, or November (in large part because LSAC can’t set the curve until people actually take the exam). That said, odds are that the curves in June, September, and November will be a bit more forgiving than this one was. If you’re thinking about retaking the LSAT, this should be a consideration, I think.

Conclusion

• And that will wrap up our coverage of the June 2018 exam. In all, it was a pretty easy test (in relative terms of course … nothing is easy about the LSAT). But, as would be expected with an easier test, the curve was brutal. Although I wouldn’t expect to see anything drastically different in July, September, or November, I would count on getting some more difficult passages or games, but accompanied by a kinder, gentler curve.

A Look at the June 2018 LSAT: Logic Games and the Curve was originally published on LSAT Blog

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New LSAT Dates for 2018

In 2018, the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) is making some changes to the LSAT schedule. Before 2018, and since time immemorial — well, technically, since the introduction of the current LSAT in 1991, but for most Millennial test takers, Nirvana has been played on classic rock stations for their entire lives and the first Bush Administration may as well be the middle ages — there were four LSATs in a given year. There would be an exam in February, in June, in either late September or early October, and then in December.

And this pattern held all the way through 2017, during which we were treated to tests on February 4th, June 12th, September 16th, and December 2nd. But with the turning of the calendar to 2018, LSAC is turning the page on its classic LSAT schedule. It’s making some radical changes. Let’s check them out:

OK, OK. If you just look at the 2018 exams, we’re not exactly seeing at a seismic shift. There are no real changes to the February and June exams. The September exam is a little bit earlier than usual. The biggest change is that the December exam has been scheduled a couple weeks earlier and will now be held in mid-November.

If you look at the 2019 dates, you’ll see more significant changes, and the slight change to the 2018 exam starts to make more sense. As we previously discussed, LSAC made some noise this year when it announced it would start administering six exams per year. A 50% increase from the aforementioned schedule of four exams per year! But in order to get a seamless transition to this new schedule, LSAC had to engage some clever calendar chicanery. The first year in which it will provide six exams is actually some new, made-up 2018-19 calendar year that spans from, I guess, June 11, 2018 to June 10, 2019. You’ll notice that the first exam given in Year 1 A.D. (After December test) is on June 11, 2018. And the sixth exam given in this year is on June 3, 2019. So they just barely got that last one in, but there will technically be 6 official LSATs administered in the made-up year of 2018-19.

But why did they make this seemingly arbitrary change? Well, right now, LSAC is fighting a war on two fronts. The first front was the precipitous decline in the number of LSAT takers and law school applicants. Now — thanks, perhaps, to the efforts of our real Commander-in-Chief — LSAC is finally making advances on that front, with test takers and applicants way up this year. The second front, however, involves the encroachment of the GRE as a viable alternative to the LSAT, as law schools are increasingly allowing applicants to take the GRE rather than the LSAT. Unfortunately for LSAC (which, to be clear, administers the LSAT and profits from students taking that exam, but neither administers nor profits from the GRE), it is very much losing ground on that front.

So rather than resting on its laurels and hoping that pre-law types get scared by the math sections on the GRE, LSAC is trying to make the LSAT a more appealing alternative to the GRE. And one way to do that is making it easier to take the LSAT — hence eventual increase in the number of LSATs administered per calendar year, made up as those calendar years may be.

But for the actual calendar year 2018, the schedule hasn’t changed that much, so our advice on when to take the test won’t change much either. Which is the “best” LSAT to take? No matter what, the answer to that question will always be the test you can dedicate the most study time to.

So take a look at the above schedule, and then take a look at the 2-4 months before each test date. Which 2-4 month time period will allow you the most time to hunker down and learn how to do the LSAT?

If you’re just now thinking about taking the February 2018 exam, well, you’re already a little late to that party. The February exam is a little more than a month away, so it may be too late for you to dedicate adequate study time to it. But if you’ve studied for the LSAT in the past and have a solid foundation on the logical concepts it tests and if you’re able to find a lot of study time in January — seriously, like, 2-4 hours per day — you might be able to knock out the LSAT early, giving you plenty of time to get your application materials together for the 2018-19 application season.

Also, you should be aware that the February exam is still undisclosed. That means that the February exam, unlike the others, doesn’t get released to test takers (or test prep companies, if you want to empathize with our plight). So you’ll get your score back, but that’s it. It’s not a big deal, especially if you only have to take the LSAT once — and it definitely doesn’t mean the February exam is “harder” or “easier” than any others — but you should be aware of that difference.

If you’re considering the June 2018 exam, then you should consider whether you’ll be able to study from February or March until test day. Most people study for the LSAT while still in college. For those, the June exam falls uncomfortably close to finals week. For those on the semester system, the June exam is about a month after finals. For those on the quarter system — such as students at UCLA — the exam falls on the same week as finals week. Either way, studying for the LSAT will overlap with studying for finals. Think of the LSAT as like studying for two or three classes, and honestly assess whether you’ll be able to handle that increase to your workload. On the plus side, check-in time for the June exam is 12:30 pm, as opposed to the ignominiously early check-in time of 8:30 am for the other exams. If at 7:00 am you have trouble thinking about anything other than how to exact revenge on the thing that woke you up that early, consider the June exam.

The September 2018 exam will make the most sense for most of those in school, since they can use their summer break — between May and August — to dedicate a ton of time to the LSAT. In fact, by moving the September exam up a few weeks, the new schedule offers even more advantages to undergrad students. Before, when the exam was in late September or early October, it would conflict with the start of the fall semester for most students. On the years in which this fall exam was given especially late, it could even butt up against some students’ midterms. Now that the September test is given in early September, it’s safely in the I’m-still-just-figuring-out-where-my-classes-are-located-and-definitely-not-worried-about-midterms-or-papers-yet period of the fall semester, and way before fall quarters begin. Plus, this September test has the added bonus of following Labor Day, giving students one extra holiday to make the final push before test day.

The biggest change is shifting the December exam up to November 17th, which is brings both good and bad news for test takers in school. First up, the good. The December exam, whether it was given in early- or mid-December, always conflicted somewhat with finals week. By moving it up a few weeks, students will be able to finish the LSAT before getting to work on finals. Which would make for a very intense November and December, but would excuse any and all indulgences of the holiday season. Additionally, by being a few weeks earlier, students will be able to apply earlier in the application cycle, potentially giving them a better shot at admission (more on this below). Plus, this November exam is right after Veterans Day, giving these students an extra holiday of study time.

But there are some drawbacks too. The first is that Thanksgiving break was always hugely beneficial to those studying for the December test. Those days off from school or work being the equivalent to Squanto teaching the Pilgrims how to fish for eel and harvest maize. Those studying for the November test, occurring as it does before Thanksgiving, will no longer see that benefit. The second is that the December exam was often useful for those who were re-taking the exam following a disappointing September score. By moving that exam up a few weeks, those students now have less time to study. Finally, although those taking the November exam will be able to apply earlier in the application cycle than those who took the December test in the past, so will everyone else who took the November exam. Taking the winter exam earlier won’t really create a competitive advantage for those test takers, since they’re not competing against students who will take the exam in December. Really, moving up the winter exam to November will allow everyone to apply a little bit earlier than in the past. This might, paradoxically, make the February exam a little later in the application cycle, despite that exam being held at basically the same time as years past.

So take the above information into account when planning on when you’ll take the LSAT. Not much has changed with the new schedule. Least of all the fact that more study time means a better score. So plan accordingly, and good luck in 2018.

New LSAT Dates for 2018 was originally published on LSAT Blog

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Which 2020-2021 LSAT Date Should You Choose?

There has never been more choices when it comes to taking the LSAT — there are three LSATs left in this 2019-20 LSAT “year” and the following “year” will feature eight more. But as anyone who has spent hours scrolling through Netflix to find a new show (before settling on something they’ve seen before (and spending most of the watch time on their phone)) can attest, more choice doesn’t always make the choice easier. So today, to make your LSAT choice a little less difficult, we’ll go through each of published LSAT dates through 2021 and discuss some pros and cons of each administration.

But first, the ground rules for choosing your LSAT ….

The most important factor, by far, in choosing an LSAT is study time. Studying for the LSAT is, for most people, a two-to-four month, twenty-hours-per-week process. So when choosing an LSAT, think about the two to four months before that test date. Will you have the time during those months to dedicate about twenty hours of weekly study time?

The second most important factor should be whether the LSAT will allow you to apply early in the law school admissions cycle. Law schools use rolling admissions, which means they start offering acceptance letters as soon as they start receiving applications. Ideally you want to get your applications submitted early in that cycle, before too many acceptance letters are sent out. You should aim to have your applications submitted by October or November in the year before you’d start your first year at law school (so October or November 2020 if you plan on starting law school in fall 2021). Obviously, taking an LSAT after that October or November would prevent you from meeting this goal.

And you definitely shouldn’t try to game the system by choosing an LSAT you’ve been told is usually “easier” than other LSATs. First of all, no one — other than the malicious logicians who make this test — knows how hard or easy an exam’s questions will be ahead of time. Second, LSATs are curved, so test takers who take an LSAT with “easier” questions have to answer more questions correctly to earn the same score as test takers who took an LSAT with “harder” questions. For that reason, no LSAT has been historically harder or easier than any other LSAT. You can’t game the system with the LSAT; any LSAT will require at least a few months of hard work, which brings us back to the first point.

And with all that said, let’s get to the 2020-21 LSAT dates …

March 30, 2020 (Monday, 12:30 pm)

Registration Deadline: February 11, 2020 (Tuesday)

This one’s fast approaching — as you can see, you have less than a week to sign up for it. Unless you’re already studying to prepare for this exam, or are just trying to boost your score by a couple points, it’s probably too late in the game to choose this one. But if you decide it’s March or Die, check out our one-month and two-month study plans.

April 25, 2020 (Saturday, 8:30 am)

Registration Deadline: March 10, 2020 (Tuesday)

The April 2020 LSAT exists in a weird liminal space. It’s administered too late in the year for applicants who want to begin law school in fall 2020, but it’s really early for applicants who want to begin law school in 2021. It’s administered quite a bit after most university’s spring break, so that week off won’t provide a late study opportunity. But it’s also administered a little bit before most university’s finals weeks, so finals studying probably won’t conflict with LSAT studying. So if you’re a graduate, or a university student who doesn’t mind threading the needle between spring break and finals, and you want to begin law school in 2021, and you want a lot of runway before the 2020-21 application season to retake the LSAT or get your application materials together, we can recommend the April LSAT.

June 8, 2020 (Monday, 12:30 pm) (disclosed test)

Registration Deadline: TBD

The June LSAT is perennially great for working folk. You can take the June LSAT and get your score back by July, giving you several months to leisurely compile your application materials before sending them in early in the admissions cycle. Even with a busy work schedule, the June LSAT grants you enough time to prevent your stress level from hitting the red during application season.

The June LSAT is a little less kind to folks still in school, however. It’s held less than a month after finals for most students (or around the same time as finals for students on the quarter system), which will obviously eliminate the study time you can dedicate to the June exam. For these students, we recommend holding off ’til July or later.

July 13, 2020 (Monday, 12:30 pm)

Registration Deadline: TBD

The July test can help out working folks nearly as much as the June LSAT. The scores will likely be released in mid-August, so those in the workforce will still have at least a month to build their application and submit them very early in the 2020-21 application cycle.

But the July LSAT helps out students and recent grads way more than the June LSAT. The July 2020 LSAT will be held a couple months after finals at most universities. We’d recommend starting the LSAT study process before you begin finals, pushing through finals weeks and the inevitable post-finals hangover, and then reigniting you LSAT studies in earnest, and carrying that momentum through July.

Also, night owls should be advised that this is the last afternoon LSAT in the 2020-21 year. So if you’d prefer not to take your test at the early hour of 8:30 am, consider July 2020.

And, nota bene, if you hear anything about being able to cancel your July LSAT score after receiving it, or getting a free retake if you cancel your July LSAT score, that applied only to the July 2019 LSAT. The July 2020 test offers no such deal.

August 29, 2020 (Saturday, 8:30 am) (disclosed)

Registration Deadline: TBD

This one’s super exciting for me. The fall LSAT has historically been held in mid-to-late September or early October. Before the July LSAT was introduced in 2018, students who wanted to use their summers to study for the LSAT were forced to take the September or October LSAT. However, the September or October LSAT would often conflict with midterms or papers for these students. So people would spend their entire summers getting ready for the LSAT, only for the LSAT to conflict with their Global Environment and World Politics class or something. For this reason, I’ve long advocated that the September/October LSAT should be moved to late July or August. So I’d love it if droves of you signed up to take this LSAT, just to prove me right.

But regardless of any selfish desires for validation, this is a pretty good date for any student who wants to use their summer to study for the LSAT. It’s especially good for those who want to go straight from undergrad to law school. Those students can dedicate the summer between their junior and senior year to study for the August test, which shouldn’t conflict with their senior-year classes.

That said, if you want to apply early in the application cycle, you should also use your summer to start assembling your applications. That way, you’ll have your applications ready to go around the time you’ll receive your score in September, allowing you to apply early.

October 3, 2020 (Saturday, 8:30 am)

Registration Deadline: TBD

This is another exam for students who want to use their summers to study. I think it’ll be especially good for students on the quarter system. They get out of school in mid-June, which would make it difficult to get fully prepared for the July or even August 2020 exams. But they’ll have plenty of time to get ready for the October test. And the fact that fall quarter classes won’t begin until late September means this exam won’t rub up against midterms or papers or anything like that.

Of course, those who are taking the October exam should make sure they have all their application materials ready to go before they receive their October scores in late October or early November. Otherwise, they may have to apply later in the cycle than they’d prefer.

November 14, 2020 (Saturday, 8:30 am) (disclosed test)

Registration Deadline: TBD

Now we’re at the LSATs “late” in the admissions cycle. If you’re taking these tests in anticipation of starting law school in 2021, then you won’t be able to apply early in the admissions cycle. Now, if these “late” tests are the only exams you can dedicate adequate study time to, that’s totally fine. We’ll refer back to the very first point we made — study time is the most important factor to consider when choosing an LSAT. Just make sure you’re getting your application materials together as you study for this test, so you can submit your applications as soon as you get your score back in early December.

In the last few years, this winter LSAT has been the most taken exam in the LSAT calendar year. So for the November test, test centers can fill up quickly, and test takers frequently get placed on the waitlist and sometimes assigned to test centers as many as 100 miles from their homes. The demand for the for the November exam, plus the fact that the LSAT switched to a digital format in September 2019, led to the November 2019 LSAT being a veritable disaster.

However, we’re cautiously optimistic that the November 2020 LSAT (and the rest of the 2020-21 LSATs, it should be said) will go a lot more smoothly. The January 2020 LSAT didn’t go perfectly for all test takers (frankly, and unfortunately, no LSAT does), but it went a helluva lot better than the November 2019 exam. And we’re hopeful that the test administrators will spend the year following the November 2019 exam recruiting and training new proctors who can ensure the exams will be held without a major hitch.

January 16, 2021 (Saturday, 8:30 am)

Registration Deadline: TBD

Another “late” LSAT. This one, at least, will allow students and workers alike to dedicate their holiday vacations to study time. As with October and November, make sure to assemble your applications as you study for this exam.

February 20, 2021 (Saturday, 8:30 am)

Registration Deadline: TBD

Now we’re in the “super late” portion of the 2020-21 application cycle. Some law schools won’t accept the February 2021 LSAT for 2021 matriculants; if you’re planning on taking this exam to attend law school in fall 2021, make sure the law schools you’re applying to will accept this exam. Alternatively, this test is in the “super early” portion of the 2021-22 application cycle. And any study time you dedicate to the February 2021 test will be done during the thick of winter, so you won’t be sacrificing any balmy summer days or crisp fall afternoons to the LSAT.

April 10, 2021 (Saturday, 8:30 am)

Registration Deadline: TBD

And we’re back to April. In 2021, however, the April LSAT will be positioned a little bit closer to most universities’ spring breaks, which can provide a helpful week of studying. It’s also a little bit further away from finals week, making those even less of a concern. Like the April 2020 exam, however, it’s too late in the year for those who want to begin law school in 2021 (although some law schools may still accept this exam — it never hurts to check).

—————

So, pre-lawyers, choose wisely, study up, and best of luck in 2020-21.

Which 2020-2021 LSAT Date Should You Choose? was originally published on Blueprint LSAT Blog

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JANUARY 2020: KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Notifications of second round admission decisions are expected to be sent sometime during January 24-28th.

Since there will be one last round in February/March, now is the time to ensure that you don’t have any loose ends with your application. Check to be certain that you’ve followed the instructions for providing these key items:

DO I NEED TO SUBMIT ANOTHER TRANSCRIPT?

You may have received from OLSAS a general email to submit another transcript. This is to ensure that the Ontario law schools are working with up-to-date academic records.

Do you have to submit another transcript?  

There’s no need to guess if you do,+ since your obligations were listed in the OLSAS Instruction Guide from the first day applications opened last August. To their detriment, many applicants do not take the time to read the transcript information completely.

In short OLSAS instructs that transcripts are required up to 3 times in the cycle in order that law schools have your updated post-secondary academic record:

1. EVERYONE: With your submission of the OLSAS application form An initial set of official academic transcripts are required. This includes transcripts from ALL post-secondary attended from the source institutions/schools.  This includes student exchange programs, undergrad and graduate programs etc.

2. Feb 1 submission: If you had/have courses in progress during the admission cycle An official transcript showing the final grades for fall term/1st semester courses is required at OLSAS by February 1st. This is required for all applicants including new admits.

Exchange Programs Again if you were on a student exchange, a transcript is required directly from the host institution. What your home school chooses to do with the exchange grades is internal to the home school for its purposes, and has zero bearing on the requirement to submit the transcript to OLSAS.  If it is customary for the credit (not the grades) granted for the exchange courses to be displayed on your home institution’s transcript, then the exchange host’s transcript must be sent to OLSAS. Otherwise, if it is not customary for the credit (not the grades) granted for the exchange courses to not be displayed on your home institution’s transcript, then the exchange host’s transcript must be evaluated by WES Canada, and the evaluation sent by WES to OLSAS directly.

WES Canada Evaluations Applicants who must provide a WES Canada evaluation of their non-student exchange international transcripts, should not obtain a new WES evaluation for the new first semester/fall term grades. You may instead provide an official new transcript from the home institution to OLSAS directly.

3. Final transcripts for courses in progress are due by June 30. As long as you had courses in progress during the admission cycle, then please provide an official final transcript. This includes undergraduate and graduate courses and also for everyone admitted and those on a wait list. 

The final set of new grades can make the difference for promotion off the wait list since we will have a complete academic record to consider versus an incomplete academic record.

JANUARY LSAT & RE-WRITES

As we have listed on our website, JD Admission Guide booklet and in the OLSAS Application Guide, the January 2020 LSAT is the last viable test for admission consideration for entry into first year in 2020.

I’d like to (re) write in February/March/April. Can I be considered for 2020 with the later test for Year 1 entry? No. We’ve stipulated extensively that consideration ends with the January 2020 test. This is a matter of timing, as the class will be set by April 1st. Regardless of the reason, a later test score becomes available far too late for consideration. You are welcome to use that later score for a subsequent application in the next 5 years.

LSAT WRITING

As per prior posts and our website, without the Writing your LSAT Report will be incomplete since the test consists of two parts: Multiple Choice, and Writing. 

Quite simply, having a complete Report is required. Please refer to our earlier posts for more information, in particular when it is best to complete LAST Writing (hint: before the release of scores for the Multiple Choice portion).

Do not hesitate to contact us if you are uncertain about the requirement.

Bet Regards, JD Admissions Office