Future Lawyers Suffer

Fifty one weeks of the year, Harvard pre-meds have a monopoly on pain. Endless orgo problem sets, bio-chem labs and MCAT study sessions put them at the top of the heap when it comes to suffering.

For one proud week, however, that honor belongs to the amorphous group known as "pre-laws," many of whom think that this one test can make or break the test of their lives.

The Law School Admission Test, affectionately known as the LSAT, is held this morning.

How much pressure is there?

John V. Donnelly '97 says, "If you prepare and do well, that's great; if not, then find something else to do."

Students accustomed to the College's admissions process which looks at candidates in a holistic manner, are often surprised that for law school admissions, the LSAT is king.

According to Tracy Kiley of the Princeton Review, many schools use a formula of LSAT scores and grades, called an index, to rank applicants, with the test often counting for up to 60 percent of the index.

Only for marginal candidates do other, subjective admission criteria, such as recommendations and essays, come into play, she says.

Some schools, such as consistently top-ranked Yale Law School, do not use indices. But here too the LSAT reigns supreme.

"The LSAT is an important indicator of future potential, and we look at it very seriously in our admissions process," says Director of Admissions for Yale Law School Jean Webb.

Stanford Law School uses a closely-guarded "secret index". Although there is no guarantee of denial or admission because of the LSATs, the average score for an admitted candidate is 168 out of a possible 180.

But pre-laws need not suffer on their own.

Because their hopes and dreams rest on this one exam, several corporations have stepped in to provide tutoring and moral support through programs like Kaplan, LSAT180 and the Princeton Review.

Adam J. Rymer '97 says he took the LSAT180 course to improve his score and found it "student-oriented and worth-while."

The Princeton Review holds two five and a half week courses in the Harvard area that include 13 three-hour sessions of classes, workshops and practice exams.

Princeton Review also offers extra tutoring at no cost as the test approaches, Kiley says.

"There are lots of calls asking for extra help,"she says, adding that course tutors are kept very busy during the last week.

Review sessions, however, have a dark side.

The cost of these courses, which run upwards of $1,000, are prohibitive for many students.

Donnelly says he decided not to take an LSAT review course because of the cost.

"It was too expensive, so I bought a bunch of review books," he says.

Many pre-laws chose to take the LSAT over the summer or last June in hopes of reducing their stress level.

For those who did not, however, don't worry.

There's no pressure.

It's only the final exam before law school applications are due.