LSAT Inbox
Welcome to the LSAT Inbox! This is a weekly blog series that answers frequently asked questions about the LSAT®. We encourage you to check back often for answers to more questions you may have as you prepare for the test.
For this week, we’re going to address some comments made by LSAT test takers in past Post LSAT Questionnaires (PLQ). Within days of taking the LSAT, all test takers receive a prompt to offer us feedback on their test taking experience. While this is entirely optional, we kindly ask you to consider answering this survey. Your answers will provide important insight as we strive to improve the testing experience.
“I feel like there should be a disclaimer that the timer starts on the next screen even though the next screen only shows instructions.”
To be very clear about the answer to this comment, the timer on each section of your LSAT starts when the sixty second “break” timer expires or when test takers hit the “Begin” button in the LawHub interface, whichever happens first. On the next screen, the clock is running while the section directions are displayed. Now you may ask … why?
The LSAT is a standardized test, so the same conditions need to be recreated for every test taker. Prior to the LSAT going digital, and even today for test takers who request and receive a paper-and-pencil format accommodation, the clock begins when they open the test booklet. The 35-minute time limit was designed to take this reading time into account.
So, as you prepare for your LSAT, always remember that the time you take on the section directions screen counts toward your 35-minute time limit in each section.
“I just read on the previous page that there were other options like underlining and collapsing. It would have been nice to have a tutorial of that prior to taking the test.”
To familiarize yourself with the content and interface of the LSAT, we recommend using the free Official LSAT PrepTests® that are available through your LSAC LawHub account. LawHub also includes a series of tutorial videos that can help you get better acquainted with the test’s format and features.
Through a subscription to LSAT Prep Plus, you also gain access to an expansive library of PrepTests that offers even more opportunities to practice and get better acquainted with the format so that there are no surprises on test day.
Please note: Test sections (Analytical Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension) may be presented in any order during your actual LSAT exam, even though the sections in each of LawHub’s LSAT sample tests are always presented in the same order.
“Can I take the LSAT more than 3 times in a single year?”
Starting with the September 2019 test administration, test takers are permitted to take the LSAT:
- Three times in a single testing year (LSAT testing years run from July 1 through June 30)
- Five times within the current and five past testing years (the period for which LSAC reports scores to law schools)
- A total of seven times over a lifetime
Beginning in August 2023, test takers will be able to take the LSAT five times within the past five testing years and seven times overall. Test takers will be allowed to test more than three times within a testing year as long as they abide by these other two requirements.
Please note: Canceled LSAT scores, including those canceled with the Score Preview option, count toward the testing limitations, while absences and withdrawals do not.
If you need more information, please visit our website.
How can I contact LSAC if I have additional questions?
If you have a question that wasn’t answered here, you can contact us using our “Chat” feature by clicking on the chat icon on the bottom right corner of the LSAT pages on our website, via email at LSACinfo@LSAC.org, or call us at 1.800.336.3982. You can also refer to our The LSAT This Week blog for details on upcoming test deadlines, how to prepare for the test, how to avoid having your session flagged, and more.