Once you have registered for the LSAT, and your LSAC Credential Assembly Service file has been assembled, you are eligible to submit law school applications. This post will guide you through the 4 steps for completing an LSAC online law school application.

 1) Starting your law school application

Locate the law school you want to apply to in the LSAC website’s lists of schools.  Add it to your schools list, then select which term you’re applying for. Click on Start, and read the instructions. Don’t worry if you cannot complete the entire law school application in one sitting.   You can access every law school application in your schools list at any time, and there is a “save” option for every section.

 2) Answer the specific questions on the law school application

Complete the list of questions on each specific application.   Take note of supplemental materials or optional essays some sections may ask you to provide.  Also, assign your letters and evaluations to the school.   Be aware of the preferences and limits the school gives in the instructions and/or notes within the box for assigned items. Remember to save whenever you make changes.

 3) Upload attachments

Next, you will need to upload your personal statement, resume, and any other attachments.  These following formats are accepted: DOC, DOCX, HTM, HTML, RTF, TXT, WP, WPD, WPS, WPT.  You cannot submit PDF files.   For each section within Attachments, either select “does not apply” or find and save the appropriate file.

4) Review and submit

Now that you have finished all of the sections, your progress should read 100%. You will be asked to open a preview copy. Review the law school application, then add it to your cart.  Complete the checkout process, and pay the fees.  Wait for the status to indicate the law school application has been transmitted, then check to ensure everything was sent successfully.

Congratulations!  You have submitted your law school application.

Within the next few days, the law school will send a report request to the LSAC, who will then send your transcripts and other CAS materials to the school.

Our June 2007 LSAT Explanations begin with the first logic game.  The LSAT Logic Games section is one of the toughest and trickiest sections on the LSAT for students.  Some students obsess over it.  Others are downright terrified of it.  The video explanation below and our other June 2007 LSAT Explanations aim to relieve that apprehension and demonstrate a straightforward, calculated method for approaching LSAT Logic Games and conquering them.  Whether it’s Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, or Reading Comprehension, there are a lot of LSAT tips and information on this blog that can help you.  Take advantage of it!

June 2007 LSAT Explanations – Section 1, 1st Logic Game

Have a question about our June 2007 LSAT Explanations?  Post a comment!

If you have any questions about this explanation or any of our other June 2007 LSAT Explanations, please post your question in the comments section, and we will do our best to answer it.  Feel free to ask anything you’d like.  As we’ve stated before, our goal is to help students with this exam.  Sometimes, it also helps to discuss exam issues with other readers and students on a limited basis.

If you enjoyed this video explanation, please check out our other June 2007 LSAT Explanations and our LSAT prep course.

As we cover the LSAT on this blog, we often forget about the most basic question for people who are just venturing into this area: “What is the LSAT?”  That might be an easy question to answer for those of us neck-deep in this area of law school preparation.  For others, however—such as the senior in high school or freshman in college who is just thinking about or toying with the idea of going to law school . . . or the 30-something engineer who wants a career change—”What is the LSAT?” is as basic a question as any out there.  These individuals understandably wonder what is the LSAT all about, what is the LSAT comprised of, and what is the best way to prepare for it.  Heck, some people don’t even know what “LSAT” stands for!

In this blog post and a series of posts that come after this, we will look at some of these basic questions and hopefully provide people with as much information as possible about the LSAT.

What is the LSAT?  An Introduction . . . .

Some LSAT Basics

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a standardized exam administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).  The LSAT is administered four times per year (February, June, October, and December) at designated test centers throughout the world.  The LSAT is usually administered on a Saturday, except in June, when it is administered on a Monday.

If you took the SAT to get into college, then you likely have an idea of what the LSAT is all about.  The process and experience are very similar, but the LSAT, unfortunately, is much harder.

The LSAT is a critical part of the law school admissions process in the United States, Canada, and even other countries.  Law schools consider your LSAT score as one of several factors in the admissions process.

What is the LSAT Format?

So what is the LSAT comprised of?  Well, the LSAT is a bit of a marathon.  It takes approximately 3 ½ hours to take the exam.  The LSAT consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple choice questions.  Only four of those sections, however, contribute to your overall score.  These four sections consist of an analytical reasoning, or “logic games,” section, a reasoning comprehension section, and two logical reasoning, or “arguments,” sections.

The fifth, un-scored section—commonly referred to as the experimental section—is used to test or “experiment” with new types of questions or forms.  Unfortunately, you will not know which section is the experimental section; its placement among the five sections varies.  Therefore, you will have to approach each section with the same focus and determination.  (Some people, however, can figure out how to identify the LSAT experimental section.)

In addition to the five sections above, the LSAT includes a 35-minute writing sample section, which is administered at the end of the exam.  The writing sample is not scored, but copies are, indeed, provided to the law schools to which you apply.

What Does the LSAT Measure?

The LSAT is designed to test reading and reasoning skills, including an area of study that many people have never been exposed to before: logic.  Specifically, these skills include analysis, insight, organization and management of information, the ability to draw reasonable inferences, critical thinking, and evaluation of reasoning and arguments.  These skills are generally considered necessary and essential for success in law school.

This information is a good start on figuring out what is the LSAT all about . . . .

And, in future upcoming posts, we will look at the LSAT in more detail, including what is the LSAT comprised of (specifically, the various sections of the LSAT identified above), the LSAT and the law school admissions process, and re-taking the LSAT.  For those of you who are just jumping into this pool and wondering what is the LSAT all about, we are here to help and give you as much information as possible.

After you have registered for the LSAT, the next step is to organize your law school applications through the LSAC’s  LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS).  Most law schools’ applications are available on the LSAC website, and the CAS is the service that  sends your transcripts, recommendations, and evaluations to each school you complete an application for.   This post will show you how to prepare your CAS file in 3 simple steps.

1) Register for LSAC Credential Assembly Service

Log in to your LSAC account, then purchase CAS. After completing the checkout process, you will be able to create a CAS profile. The profiles help law schools find students they would like to send information to. Complete the sections for institutions attended and recommenders.

2) Send transcripts, recommendations, and evaluations

For each institution/recommender you’ve entered, a form will be generated for you to print out. These forms must accompany your transcripts and letters. Remember to sign the forms before giving them to your school(s) and recommenders. For evaluations, you will use the CAS to email the questionnaire to evaluators. Please note that you cannot submit applications until the LSAC has processed every item for which you printed out forms, which leads us to step 3.

3) Check the status with LSAC

You can check the status of every item with your LSAC account. There is a processing period of 3 days- 2 weeks for items to be fully added to your CAS. An academic summary report will appear in the Transcripts section after your transcripts have been processed. Read this report, as the LSAC may make adjustments to GPAs or other data. Recommendations and evaluations will be listed as L1, L2, E1, E2, etc. These codes make assigning items to law schools easier. When you complete a law school application, the school will submit a request to the LSAC, who will then send your transcripts and assigned items.

Now that your CAS file has been prepared, you are ready to apply to law school.

A special thanks to Dean Sherolyn Hurst for participating in LSAT Freedom/Parliament Tutors Admissions Spotlight Series. Dean Hurst is currently serving as the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Scholarships at Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Joseph Fernandez from ParliamentTutors conducted this interview.

As the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Scholarships, what are your day-to-day responsibilities?

My daily responsibilities change according to the flow of the application cycle as well as based on the needs of the given day.  Generally, I’m responsible for the big picture and goals of the Admissions Office for the law school and have oversight for ensuring that strategies and the details to achieve the goals are carried out and met.  These duties include outreach and recruiting of prospective students, the application process and reviews, and recruiting and yielding admitted students.

Additionally, I have responsibility for scholarships at the law school, including administering our policy and awards for our new and continuing students.

What do you consider the most significant parts of an application for admission, the parts which applicants should prepare the most carefully?

I think an applicant should consider the entirety of the application important; we wouldn’t ask for the information if we didn’t have a need or use for it.  That being said, as a reviewer, the objective indicators of the LSAT score and the UGPA work in conjunction with the more subjective factors and are only valuable in that context.  So, within our application, I find that a well-written personal statement and solid letters of recommendation are important beyond the objective factors.

However, applicants should remember that each member of the reviewing committee could find different components of their application valuable or significant; no two readers will necessarily have the same opinion on what is the most significant part of an application and it will always depend on the overall quality of the application.

Is there anything you frequently see on an admission application that you hope to never see again?

There are two things that I see on applications that are irksome and I hope each year not to see again.  First, I am always amazed by the lack of solid grammatical writing.  My advice… proofread!

Second, I hate to read excuses.  Explanations for grades, LSAT scores, or character and fitness issues are expected.  My advice is to own whatever the weakness is and then explain why you aren’t the same person or why it won’t be a behavior or result we will see at the law school level but don’t offer me excuses.

Finally, the poor and over- use of quotes.  The use of quotes can be far more dangerous a trap than I think applicants realize.  Done well, they can lift a personal statement to a new level.    Done not so well, they become a detriment.

What common pitfalls should scholarship applicants be careful to avoid?

I think there are three common pitfalls that I see regularly when it comes to scholarship:

1.       New law students shouldn’t believe that law school is going to be easy or anything like their undergrad or graduate school experience.  Work hard and stay focused; the award was given with the belief that you are capable of keeping it.

2.      Scholarship applicants and recipients often believe they should receive similar or increased awards from other law schools.  The reality is that all law schools have varying pools of applicants, have different missions or goals for their scholarship dollars, have distinct scholarship budgets, and have very different tuition and living costs.  My experience is that based on individual priorities and limitations, law schools award their scholarship dollars accordingly.  It is not necessarily true that a law school can always give you a scholarship award in an amount that fully reflects their desire to have you as a student at their school and it shouldn’t be mistaken as doing so.

3.      Failure to read the information provided and ask questions to clarify any confusion or concerns you may have about the scholarship award and the continued us of the award in the future.  A scholarship is a fairly common example of a unilateral contract where the law school acts as the offering party to the scholarship “contract.”

Are there any myths about the application process which you would like to dispel?

Yes, there are two.  One, I wish students would stop believing the much lauded myth that admissions decisions are based solely on LSAT.  I’ve worked at several law schools during my career, and while the LSAT score is an important objective factor in the decision-making process, I’ve never known it to be the sole factor dictating the end result.

And two, I wish students would stop believing that rankings tell them everything they need to know about law schools.  While they can be a valuable tool, a ranking is unlikely to tell you whether or not a law school has an environment and resources that complement your individual learning style.  Each student needs to understand what is needed for them to thrive and then find a law school that will help them be as fully successful as they are capable of being.

What advice would you give to an admissions applicant with below-average test scores but significant work experience?

My advice would be to take full advantage of the entire application.  Law schools like ours are looking at many factors to assist us in determining your ability to be successful in law school, and we have provided you with a number of tools that are meant to be formats for you to illustrate exactly that.  For example, utilizing the resume to highlight your work experience and advancement as well as areas of critical-thinking and leadership are key.

We also allow applicants to submit four letters of recommendation, although we only require two.  A student that has a weakness in their application by way of test scores really ought to be taking full advantage of the ability to submit all four, and be thoughtful about what kind of skills and traits represent their ability to be successful in law school.  That thought process should also assist the applicant in identifying the four people who should be writing letters speaking to that potential for success.

Does your program frequently have to turn away applicants whom you wish you could admit?  If so, what could those applicants have done differently to be admitted?

Each year we have more applicants that we can possible admit and seat.  Applying earlier in the review cycle could have increased their ability to be admitted.  Other applicants don’t full advantage of the complete application and use it to illustrate their ability to be successful in law school so the reviewing committee was left with too many unanswered questions to admit them.

Finally, we sometimes turn away students on the waitlist that could have received an admit decision because they failed to update their application, their contact information, or just stayed in touch with us sharing their continued interest in the law school.

How much faith do you have in the ability of an LSAT to predict success in law school?

I have faith that the LSAT, used properly, is a solid measure of some of the skills that successful students need and use in law school.  What that means is that the LSAT is only one of a number of tools and factors that I, and the entire committee, has to use to assist us in making a decision.  The LSAT is an objective and quantifiable factor, but there are other objective and subjective factors that have to be part of the decision-making process for us to “get it right.”

What do you look for in a recommendation letter?

I look for an honest and objective assessment from the recommender that the applicant has the necessary skills and traits to be successful in law school.  This includes an assessment of the reading and critical-thinking skills along with the ability to engage academically or professionally in the assessor’s given setting, and that there may have been real and solid examples of good writing skills, class participation, or leadership.  Finally, I look at the quality of the assessor; this should not be a mother or family-friend who has no real objective viewpoint to speak from.

Suppose an applicant has little or no experience relevant to your program, but has significant experience in other fields.  What can that applicant do to distinguish himself or herself in your eyes as a good candidate for your program?

Because we assume that many of our applicants will enter the application process with majors and work experience not necessarily in line with the practice of law, we try to be broad in our evaluation and understanding of their experiences and how they relate to and reflect the ability to be successful in law school.  And that is where the applicant can help themselves — using the components of the application to highlight those experiences and skills that readily translate or illustrate similar skills that are used by law students to excel.  This may begin by conducting research and asking questions to have a better understanding of how law school classes operate, the expectations of law students on a daily basis, and how law school exams are typically administered. Engaging with the Admissions Office in valuable conversations that lead to this increased understanding is an excellent way for us to become familiar with you and to have a sense that you are serious and focused on law school, and distinguishes you in a very positive way.

Joseph Fernandez offers hometutoring with Parliament Tutors.  He specializes in LSATTutoring.