What Is LSAC And Why Does It Matter For Law School?

What Is LSAC And Why Does It Matter For Law School?

If you’re interested in applying to law school or even just thinking of attending a law fair and possibly taking the LSAT, then you will certainly need to become familiar with how to use the LSAC website, www.LSAC.org. In short, LSAC administers the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). It also hosts law school applications (in addition to many, many other things). So, create one soon to get started applying to law school!

What is LSAC?

LSAC stands for Law School Admission Council. They are a service provider that both law schools and candidates rely on. They are a “nonprofit organization devoted to furthering quality, access, and fairness in law school admission by providing the core products and services that candidates and law schools depend on…,” as is stated on their website.

What do you need LSAC for?

LSAC provides a ton of resources for pre-law students and law school candidates. Information on all of these services is online. So, it’s vital you know how to use the their website.

One of two most important things you should know is that LSAC administers the LSAT.  Every year, it administers the LSAT to 100,000 test takers worldwide.  To gather more information on the exam, or sign up for the actual test, you will log onto their website.

Secondly, LSAC hosts law school applications for 220 law schools across the country. You must log onto the LSAC website to compile and submit your law school application. Last year, over 60,000 candidates applied to law school through LSAC. Most schools have done away with paper applications and only accept e-applications. Most law school websites have a link to apply to their program that quickly re-directs you to the LSAC website.

As a law school candidate, you can simply upload your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and many other application documents. Better yet, you need to do this just one time. LSAC then submits those documents to every law school you wanty to apply to. Note, however, that you will still need to fill out an actual e-application that contains mostly biographical information for each school. Nonetheless, LSAC services will save you a lot of time.

Anything else you use the LSAC website for?

The website is built around helping law school candidates prepare for, and apply to, law school. With that, they offer a plethora of different services, including:

• LSAT test preparation – You can download free practice LSATs, questions and answer explanations, LSAT e-books in English and Spanish, watch LSAT test prep videos, and now sign up for Khan Academy LSAT resources— a new partnership rolled out this year.
• Law School Forums– These 1-2 day events are organized throughout the country and are opportunities for candidates to meet with countless law school representatives face-to-face in one room. Law school representatives line up behind tables of information waiting to speak to interested candidates. The forums allow you to speak to every school you’re interested in in one afternoon. The forums also offer workshops throughout the day.
• Diversity Initiatives– LSAC uses the term “diversity” incredibly broadly to include, but is not limited to: age, disability, gender, gender identify, race, ethnicity, geography, religion, and socioeconomic status, among other identifiers. There are many initiatives it undertakes to promote diversity in legal education and the legal profession. These include sponsorships, workshops, and training among many other offerings.
• Credential Assembly Service (CAS)- LSAC provides this service to streamline the application process. Through this service, you will submit your transcripts and letters of recommendation to LSAC only once. They assemble the documents and bundle them together with your LSAT score and writing sample.
• Candidate Referral Service (CRS)- This is a free, opt-in service allowing laws schools to reach out to you. Oftentimes, law schools target candidates that are geographically located near them to advertise workshops or events. Schools may also reach out based on your profile (ethnicity, GPA, LSAT score if you have one) with scholarship opportunities you qualify for or other legal education programs that might interest you.

Note that while many of the resources provided by LSAC are completely free of charge, but that others, such as the CAS report service or taking the LSAT, come with a fee.

There are also fees charged by law schools to apply to their school. If you experience financial hardship, there are fee waivers available through LSAC for some of these services. Also, many law schools will provide applicants with fee waivers upon request.

If you’d like to learn more about the fees associated with applying to law school, we can help. We have an upcoming post breaking down the costs of applying to law school and preparing for the LSAT.

How do I get started?

The first thing you need to do is create an account. Go to the LSAC website at www.LSAC.org. In the upper right corner there is a “create an account” prompt. In the dropdown, select “Future JD Student.” Fill out the biographical information requested and start exploring!

Also, be sure to sign up for the Candidate Referral Service via the link above and see if any law forums are being held near you.

Lastly, be sure to check out the links in this post to take you directly to the LSAC website and learn more about their services.

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