Heading into the October LSAT: Updates Based on Lessons Learned

The Law School Admission Council will be releasing scores from the September LSAT — including scores from make-up tests — on Monday, October 14, as planned. We’ve been able to extend the registration deadline for the November test until 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 15, now giving September test takers 24 hours to see their September scores and decide whether they want to retake the test in November. 

There are currently 19,600 people registered for the October test and 27,700 registrants for the November test. We guarantee that everyone who registers for the LSAT by the respective deadlines will have the opportunity to take the test. Our teams are working hard to place test takers in test centers that are as close and convenient to them as possible.

Based on the steady progress and lessons learned from the July and September test administrations, we are fine-tuning some of the rules for the October digital test which is offered in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean:

• Test takers will now have the flexibility to use the built-in kickstand at any angle except straight up and down in order to angle their tablet for the most comfortable position and to deal with any potential reflection or glare issues in their testing room. 
• Based on feedback from test takers, we have upgraded the scratch paper provided to all test takers with stronger, whiter paper and a less prominent security watermark. 
• All test takers are allowed to bring standard No. 2 pencils to the test; for more information about what kinds of pencils are allowed, visit our Admission Requirements page. Highlighters are no longer allowed for candidates taking the digital test. Note: Candidates taking the test in paper format (international test administrations, certain accommodated test takers, etc.) are permitted to bring highlighters.

As a reminder, test takers may use either their fingertip or the provided stylus to choose their answers, navigate between questions, and access the various features of the digital test. Based on field testing and user feedback from July and September, it’s clear some test takers prefer the stylus, while others prefer their fingertip. We encourage test takers to spend time on familiar.LSAC.org to familiarize themselves with the layout and features of the digital test before test day, and to try both the stylus and their fingertip during the tutorial session at their test center so they know what works best for them.

While a few test centers experienced technical issues or long wait times in September, most test centers had efficient check-ins and smooth test day operations. We won’t be satisfied until every test taker has a smooth and positive test day, so we’ve been providing additional training, guidance, and technical support to our testing centers so they can deliver a great experience in October. 

We’re focused on identifying any problems from July and September and fixing them for October, but we’ve also received a lot of favorable feedback on the Digital LSAT. Test takers generally like the digital format, they find it smooth and intuitive, and they love some of the features, such as the time-remaining clock, the ability to flag questions to return to, and the ability to answer a question with a single click instead of filling in bubbles on a separate answer sheet. Many test takers have said they were initially skeptical about the digital format, but now prefer it to the paper test.

That said, we’ll continue to review and analyze all the feedback we’ve received from July and September test takers and test center staff, and we’ll continue to use that feedback to make the Digital LSAT even better.