Building a strong career in law is a dream for many but accomplished by some. If you are someone who stands for justice, wins arguments and loves to accumulate knowledge, then you are the right person to pursue Law. Lawyers are revered as the torchbearers of justice and truth. Donning black suits, they exude an aura that would make anyone fall for it. While several law schools around the globe offer intensive degrees in this field, pursuing it from top schools adds to its appeal. A bachelor’s degree like LLB is a prerequisite to practice law. Political System, Introductory Economics, Preliminary Psychology, Basic Sociology, etc are some of the BA LLB subjects which give you a birds-eye view of the Judiciary, Legislature, and human behaviour. To get admission to a law school, the LSAT exam is imperative. It is an aptitude test to evaluate a candidate on various parameters to ensure that highly skilled and dedicated applicants are chosen for the course. 

LSAT Overview

Law School Admission Test is an entrance exam required for taking admission to law schools. The test is conducted by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and is valid all over the world. Besides the marks obtained in the class 12th class examination, the LSAT score is a prerequisite to pursue an LLB degree. The test consists of 99-102 multiple-choice questions which are scored on a scale of 120-180 points.

LSAT vs GRE

While LSAT is accepted at all the Law schools in the US and other countries, GRE, on the other hand, is recognized only by some. They are different in their goals. The law admission test is used for securing admission to Law schools, GRE can help you get into business schools, engineering, and medical schools also. Some of the key differences between the two exams have been tabulated below:

What Does the LSAT Exam Consist of?

The exam is aimed at testing your skills based on three parameters namely, Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. Each section has a set of questions and an allotted time limit. Let’s have a look at LSAT Syllabus in detail.

• Analytical Reasoning

The primary objective of this section is to assess your ability to study a given text and answer the questions using deductive reasoning in the allotted time of 35 minutes. A set of conditions is given in the passage and you are required to answer the questions based on the available data. Since the candidates come from different fields, the questions asked in the section are not related to the Law. Further, The questions asked comprise ordering or grouping relationships or a combination of both. Grouping, distribution, seating arrangement questions, etc are some of the topics from where questions are generally framed.  You can also go through the sample questions from this section on LSAC’s official website.

• Logical Reasoning

This section comprises short data passages with several arguments and situations which you are required to analyze. After reading the passage, you are required to draw well-supported conclusions, identify flaws in arguments, and reason by analogy. To answer a question efficiently, you need to identify the various components of the argument and approach them one by one. This section constitutes an important portion of the LSAT examination as arguments are fundamental to Law. The section comprises 24-26 questions that are to be completed in 35 minutes. The questions are designed to test a wide range of skills like critical thinking and legal reasoning. 

• Reading Comprehension

Law schools, as well as the legal profession, require extensive reading of lengthy texts which include case files, evidence, judgments, lawsuits, wills, etc. As a lawyer, you are likely to encounter densely written texts from a variety of sources and of varying nature which require you to have strong comprehension skills to make apt inferences. The language of legal documents appears ambiguous to an ordinary citizen but as a legal professional, you are expected to understand and make conclusions from that text. LSAT’s Reading Comprehension section is thus aimed at checking your reading comprehension through four sets of reading questions. Each set consists of a text which is followed by 5-8 questions. While three sets have a single passage, the last part comprises two short passages that form the Comparative Reading. In this, around 27 questions are asked which have to be completed in the allotted time of 35 minutes. 

• Writing Sample (Unscored)

This part of the LSAT exam is unscored and additional. Many Law Schools require you to submit a writing sample to consider the completion of the exam. The test can be taken online on the LSAC’s official website using the webcam where you will be given 35 minutes to write the essay on the query presented to you. No score or marks are attached to the test but many Law Schools evaluate your profile based on the writing sample. 

Must Read: LSAT Syllabus

Registration and Eligibility for LSAT

As such, there are no eligibility criteria mentioned on the official website however, going through the requirements mentioned by the law school you are applying to is advised. The candidate can register online on the official website of LSAC. The application fee for the exam is USD 200 which is around 14,400 INR. It is advised to read the guidelines carefully before applying.

*Source: official website for LSAT, lsac.org

The steps to apply for LSAT India 2023 are as follows:

• To register, click on the application link. To complete the application form, enter your name, email id, mobile number, pin code, and academic details.
• Fill out your personal information, communication details, course preference (8 choices allowed), colleges where you want to apply, and exam centres. Note that a maximum of 3 centres can be selected in the order of priority.
• Upload documents like the photograph and signature must be uploaded as per the prescribed specifications.
• Pay the application fee can be paid online mode using credit or debit cards, or net banking.