Thanks to the global health crisis that is the novel coronavirus, the traditional law school entrance exam, the LSAT is going home. That’s right, after previously announcing the cancellation of the April administration of the exam, the Law School Admission Council, the organization that administers the LSAT, has announced that there’ll be a May LSAT that law school hopefuls can take at home.
From their announcement:
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, we are introducing an online, remotely-proctored version of the LSAT — called the LSAT-Flex — in the second half of May for test takers who were registered for the April 2020 test. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic closely and will make other LSAT-Flex test dates available this spring and summer if the situation warrants. We plan to resume the in-person LSAT once conditions allow, in strict accordance with public health authorities and using all necessary health and safety measures. In the meantime, the remotely proctored LSAT-Flex will provide candidates with the opportunity to earn an LSAT score even if the COVID-19 crisis makes it impossible to deliver the test in-person.
This isn’t a tremendous surprise, after all the alternate law school admissions exam, the GRE, has already announced the home version of that test. This is just the LSAC getting with the program.
Jeff Thomas, executive director of admissions programs of Kaplan Test Prep, had this to say about the at-home test:
“Creating a version of the LSAT that aspiring lawyers can take from the safety of their own homes is a win for test takers, many of whom had their admissions timelines disrupted because of COVID-19-related test cancellations in April. This makes an uncertain and stressful situation a lot more manageable. Our advice to students is to take the LSAT-Flex if they qualify, especially if they are planning to apply for enrollment in the fall 2020 semester. It seems likely that some parts of the country will still be hard hit by COVID-19 this summer, making it unlikely that normal test administrations can take place for a few months. The good news is that the format of LSAT-Flex is the same as LSAC’s new digital practice tool, so this will not be in a format with which students are unfamiliar.”
Good luck to all those who, despite the current turmoil in the industry, still have their heart set on becoming a lawyer.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).