The LSAT vs. The State Bar

Thanksgiving season tends to be a tense time for many prospective lawyers.  Pre-law students planning to take the December LSAT are getting in their final preparation, while July Bar-takers get their results back shortly before Thanksgiving.  It seemed like this was an appropriate time to compare these two critical exams:

• The State Bar is taken by students who graduated from law school, and is the necessary prerequisite to the practice of law.  The LSAT is taken by students planning to attend law school, and is generally considered the most important part of one’s law school application.
• The California State Bar lasts three days (other State Bars tend to last two days), whereas the LSAT lasts a half-day.
• The State Bar is a pass/fail exam – for example, approximately 55% of the California bar-takers passed the July Bar and approximately 45% failed.  The LSAT is scored on a continuum from 120-180, reflecting the percentage of students nationwide that a student did better or worse than – one does not “pass” or “fail” the LSAT.
• The State Bar is largely an essay exam, whereas the LSAT is entirely multiple choice (with the exception of the ungraded Writing Sample).
• The State Bar requires a great deal of memorization.  Although it requires application of the information one learns, a heavy dose of memorization is involved.  The LSAT is a logic-based test that requires very little memorization.
• The State Bar tests substantive knowledge of law that one learns through law school and in preparing for the Bar exam.  The LSAT is more akin to puzzle solving, and requires no legal knowledge.
• The State Bar is offered twice a year (February and July).  The LSAT is offered four times a year (February, June, October and December).
• If one fails the State Bar, one can retake it as many times as one wants.  The LSAT can be taken up to three times in a two-year period.
• Preparation for both the LSAT and the State Bar typically lasts about three months.  However, students who have more time are encouraged to consider prepping for the LSAT a little earlier rather than later.

Finally, the LSAT’s curve (unfortunately) is harmed for pre-law students because some LSAT Prep instructors repeatedly take the LSAT to try to try to advertise a high LSAT score or multiple high LSAT scores.  This practice makes it artificially more difficult for legitimate pre-law students to earn high LSAT scores, and is not condoned by ScoreItUp or the LSAC.  There is no such motivation with the State Bar.