Honestly: Is the LSAT difficult?

Question

All stigma aside of standardized tests being crippling (the ACT isn't that bad)...

Is the LSAT difficult? If I were to start studying in my first year as an undergraduate, would I do well above average?

Answer 1

To get my 162 (86th percentile), I studied for two months on and off, taking practice exams and just doing questions.  It is hard at first, but you WILL get DRASTICALLY better with practice.  My score went up radically (and could have gone up further, but it was sufficient to get into the best law school in my city).

practice makes perfect, and if you have 2 years of studying underhand, I imagine you will do VERY well... maybe even upper-170s type well!

Answer 2

Like a lot of things, it depends on how comfortable you are with the subject matter and the format. The test is based on logic, not law, but it is timed, and so even though a lot of people can answer the questions, they have a hard time answering all the questions under time pressure. Plus, the test last for several hours so fatigue plays a role.

One way of telling the difficulty of the test is to look at how it is scored. To score in the top 1 or 2% on the test, you can typically miss about 12 out of 100 questions (see http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/corr... ). That's a lot of questions you can miss to still score that well. To get an average score of 150, you can miss about 45 out of 100 questions. In my book, if missing 45 out of 100 makes you average, then the test must be pretty hard.

There are a lot of different ways to prepare, and spending a lot of time studying helps negate the difficulty of the exam. Given that intend to start studying a few years in advance of the exam, you should do pretty well. How much time and effort you put into preparing will probably determine how difficult you find the test. The mistake a lot of people make is walking in unprepared, or after studying for only a few weeks.