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LSAT Score Medians Are Out Of Control
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LSAT score inflation is out of control. It used to be that having a 173 put you in the 99th percentile. Now you've got to get a 175 to be in the 99th percentile. And the top 14 law schools all have LSAT score medians of 170 or above, with Yale having a median of 175. I'll share with you today why this is happening and what you can do about it. For those who don't know me, my name is Steve Schwartz. I've been teaching the LSAT since 2005 and I personally increase my LSAT score from a 152 to a 175 on LSAT test day. And I have never seen so many students getting such high LSAT scores in my career over the past nearly 20 years of doing this. There are a number of reasons for this. One reason is the temporary LSAT flex format at the beginning of the pandemic made it easier for students to study, made it easier for them to do well with a test that was only three sections where it had previously been five sections. LSAT underestimated just how much easier that would make the test that students would have more time to study while they were stuck at home for a long time. And that would be easier for them to do well in the comfort of their own homes, the familiar environment relative to the stressful environment in person at a testing center with other stressed out students and the proctors circling around. However, there is also an additional unstated factor that I think students don't really recognize, which is that it has become much easier to get accommodations on the LSAT. It used to be as default policy. LSAT would say no to deserving students. Their default policy was no, you don't have sufficient documentation, no, your needs are not sufficient to warrant this. They got sued several times, including by the federal government under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They also got sued by blind test takers who contended that they were at an unfair disadvantage on the LSAT because they couldn't benefit from diagramming on logic games the way other test takers could. LSAT ultimately had to settle that lawsuit and degree to create a new version of the test without the current logic game section. That became the new LSAT format we see going forward starting in August. That is the reason why logic games have been removed from the LSAT for everyone. That of course is just a side note. My point here is that the pendulum has now swung the other way. LSAT has gotten sued so many times for denying deserving test takers their accommodations like extra time. And now LSAT has swung the pendulum in the other direction and they're granting accommodations to virtually anyone who asks. It used to be they approved only 70% of requests for accommodations. Now they are approving 98% of requests for accommodations which means basically anyone who asks for accommodations as long as they follow the instructions as long as they doubt their eyes and cross their T's they get their note from a qualified professional like a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist they're going to get what they're asking for. And so it used to be you had to fight tooth and nail just to get time and a half on the LSAT increasing your timing from 35 minutes per section to 53 minutes per section. Now you can get double time or triple time or even more. I heard from a student who's getting 160 minutes per section on the LSAT which is more than quadruple what others are getting with standard time. All you've got to do is ask you can take the LSAT over two days rather than one day you can get unlimited breaks. You can get to take the LSAT without the unscored extra section the experimental section if you want to. You've just got to ask and if you initially get approved for time and a half and you say you know what I actually want more you can go back and ask for more you just need that doctor's note. And so when we look at why does Yale have an LSAT score median of a 175 which means half of the students going to Yale Law School got LSAT scores above 175. And so that means if you're thinking about what do I need to get into a top law school especially if my GPA is below the median you're going to want an LSAT score above the median you'll be a so-called splitter candidate which is totally fine. Law schools love splitters they actually weigh LSAT scores more heavily than undergraduate GPA due to rampant grade inflation in undergrad and of course there's now LSAT score inflation as well your GPA is what it is at this point you're probably done with undergrad or close to it but your LSAT score you still have plenty of room to improve it the LSAT has offered four consecutive months this fall August September October or November you could take any of those four and still apply to law school this cycle even taking the LSAT in January or February would not be too late. Now you have a unique opportunity going forward because logical reasoning is now two-thirds of the test reading comp is one-third and of course games is no longer on the test and so I'll share with you in just a moment what you can do to leverage this opportunity with a new format going forward but before I do I wanted to let you know that if you're looking for help on your journey to scoring a 170 or above on the LSAT I'd be glad to help you out at else and I'm plugged we offer live online classes via zoom on-demand video courses small group coaching and one-on-one coaching you can check out the links below this video to find out more and debug a call with me and my team we'd be glad to help you out so as I said logic games no longer on the test it's been replaced with a second scored logical reasoning section this is great news for anyone taking the LSAT going forward because it means you can narrow your focus you can cut away one-third of the material you previously would have had to study if you were taking the LSAT even as recently as this past of June you can narrow your focus double your attention to logical reasoning learn those different question types learn those methods of reasoning and any games you make in your understanding of logical reasoning will be doubled across those two sections now there are roughly 15 different types of logical reasoning questions depending on how you count them but some are more common than others the three big types you're going to want to focus on going forward are necessary assumption inference and flaw then move on to the relatively less common question types like strength and weaken and finally save the least common question types for last like parallel parallel flaw and evaluate the argument I know that studying for the LSAT can seem challenging there is of course a lot to learn but the good news is there's less for you to learn than before and there's no time like the president to get started so while the bad news is LSAT score medians are higher than ever before and you may need a higher LSAT score than you initially might have thought the good news is there is less material for you to study now that logic games are no longer on the test and you can get accommodations if you think you might qualify for ADHD testing anxiety talk to your doctor talk to your psychiatrist see if they think accommodations are warranted in your situation and apply sooner rather than later so you can get them when and if you need them Anyway, folks, that's all for now. In the meantime, I'll wish you all the best and take care.