Everything in life is judged on a scale. The SAT when we were growing up was graded to a 1600 and everyone knew it. Members of the opposite sex are measured on the classic 1 to 10 scale (or the less-discerning binary scale of “take home” or “no take home”). Heck, if you’re a fan of Egyptian mythology, Osiris even uses a scale to judge your soul. Scales are big, kids, that’s what we’re trying to say.

So, when looking at the LSAT, it’s important to know what the scale is.

First and foremost, LSAT scores can range from 120 to 180 (why they picked those numbers we at Blueprint Prep haven’t a clue), so it’s important to understand that there is really only a range of 60 points on the test, and it’s a 100 to 101 question test. It’s also graded on a curve, so one question right or one question wrong doesn’t necessarily mean anything significant in terms of what your actual score on the exam will be. You can get 10 questions right and still get a 120, and you can sometimes miss two questions and still get a 180. Kind of wild, huh?

At Blueprint Prep, we certainly think so. The real judge of the difficulty of any particular administration of the LSAT is how many questions a person could miss and still get a 170. If they could only miss eight, then it was probably an easier test. If they could miss 14, then it was probably the most mind-blowingly painful thing those brave test takers will ever do outside of catheter insertion.

We at Blueprint Prep think students should be aware of what kinds of scores law schools typically accept. The difficulty with this endeavor is that the range is different for different schools. Accordingly, we at Blueprint Prep recommend using the LSAC (Law School Admission Counsel) database. By using their database, you can find out where to apply and what LSAT score you’ll want for a particular school.

However, as we at Blueprint Prep know, there are caveats to the database. Law schools consider variables including personal statements, diversity issues, and letters of recommendation, etc. so we at Blueprint Prep know students who have gotten into law schools seemingly beyond their score, and students who have not been accepted to schools that seemed reasonable given their score.

In the end, we at Blueprint Prep recommend getting the best score you can in order to maximize your options. In addition, we at Blueprint Prep always think it's a good idea to contact law schools to find out what other factors they consider.

Article by Jodi Triplett and Trent Teti of Blueprint Test Preparation. Dedicated the proposition that all men are created equal, Blueprint Prep broke ground in 2005 and has been making waves and mixing metaphors in test preparation ever since. Blueprint Prep seeks to make the LSAT slightly more fun than a bowl of oatmeal.