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Law School Admissions TestThe Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) is a standardized test used for admission to law schools in the United States of America and Canada that are members of the Law School Admissions Council. It is scored on a scale of 120 to 180, based on the nationwide distribution of raw scores: a 180 represents the best score among all the test-takers, while a 120 represents the worst and a 150 represents the national median. Unlike other American standardized tests, the LSAT is by far the most important admissions criterion for law school. The second most important criterion is undergraduate GPA. Most prestigious law schools receive far more applicants than they can accommodate; the examination offers admissions officers a simple and generally effective way to eliminate a large number of applicants from the pool. The "best" law schools (such as Harvard, Chicago, and Stanford) usually look for an LSAT score of 170 or above, while top-50 law schools look for scores of 160 or above. Also unlike other standardized tests, the LSAT is very rarely re-taken. This is because all of a student's LSAT scores are reported to their law school, not just their highest or most recent score. Most law schools consider all of an applicant's LSAT scores in their admission decisions, although a few only consider the highest or most recent score. The LSAT is usually taken in the June or October preceding the year of admission, although most law schools will let applicants take the examination in December as well. The test consists of six sections; with the exception of the writing section, all are multiple choice. Two logical reasoning sections of 35 minutes each. Each question begins with a logical statement (e.g. "A is B; therefore C must be D"), and then asks the student to find unspoken assumptions, alternative arguments, logical omissions, or logical errors in the statement. Criticism Many law schools in Canada have begun reviewing their use of the LSAT, with charges that it discriminates against students of various ethnic and economic backgrounds, and that it is geared towards Americans and thus doesn't truly represent the needs of Canadian law schools or Canadian students. California nursing home abuse |
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