Prospective law school students who are sweating over their Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) scores may be able to breathe easier.
The American Bar Association now requires that law schools report the highest score students receive, which experts say may improve some students' chances at admissions.
Because students may take the exam up to three times in a two-year period, law schools have traditionally submitted an average of test takers' different scores. Now that those law schools are required to submit only the highest score to the ABA, law schools may apply the policy to their own admissions process by not averaging scores.
"Interestingly, what we're hearing from many law schools is that the ABA policy change is having a ripple effect, impacting not only how the schools report their data, but also how admissions officers evaluate individual applicants' LSAT scores," Steven Marietti, director of pre-law programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, said in a press release.
"Until recently, if a student took the LSAT more than once, most schools would take the average of the test scores when evaluating that applicant. Now, schools are shifting towards evaluating only the highest score, which is a great benefit for students."
The effect on schools is already apparent, according to a study cited in the press release.
Before the ABA announcement this summer, 87 percent of law school admissions officers surveyed said that they used average scores. Weeks after the announcement, 74 percent of those surveyed said that their schools were already using the highest scores or were considering doing so.
Senior Jesse McCormick, who took the LSAT on Sept. 30, is currently applying to law schools, but he said that had the change been made earlier, he would have considered taking the test more than once.
"I think it would be beneficial for everyone if you could take [the LSAT] multiple times."
Even with the potential boost, student enthusiasm might be tempered by the fact that some schools note the number of times students take the LSAT and evaluate accordingly, placing more value on students who achieved a standout score in fewer tries.
- Jeremy White and David Pomerantz
