Admissions and Application Help

Multiple LSAT Scores—Should You Take the LSAT More Than Once?

Law School Application Timelines

Applications: Electronic vs. Paper

What is the LSDAS?

Choosing a Law School

What to do if you are accepted, waitlisted, or rejected

Deferring Law School

Part-Time Programs vs. Full-Time Programs

The Socratic Method—Pros and Cons

Lewis and Clark Law School Interview

Accredited US and Canadian Law Schools

Recent LSAT News

What is LSDAS?

The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) is the gatekeeper of many important documents for law school applicants. The LSDAS is a service provided by Law Services, the producers of the LSAT, and almost all ABA-approved law schools require the use of LSDAS reports in the admissions process. No school that uses the LSDAS will consider an applicant until their LSDAS report is complete.

The LSDAS is required by law schools because it standardizes much of the information relevant to making admission decisions. Without such standardization, schools would have to sift through a colossal amount of disorganized information. For applicants, the LSDAS is a helpful tool in the admissions process. If an applicant is able to use all of the services included with registering for the LSDAS, the amount of work put into submitting applications is dramatically reduced.

What is in a LSDAS report?

An LSDAS report has multiple components:

1. Academic Summary Report
   
   The Academic Summary Report contains two important areas:
   
   
   • Undergraduate Summary
     
     The Undergraduate Summary presents multiple calculations of your GPA, including GPA based on semester year and overall GPA. In addition to displaying an applicant’s GPA, the report also shows the GPA in comparison to other students from the same school who registered for the LSDAS within the time frame the applicant was enrolled at that specific school. This effectively reveals your GPA ranking compared to other law school applicants from your school.
     
     
   • LSAT Score
     
     An applicant’s LSAT score is also compared to other graduates from their degree granting school, much like the GPA is compared to that same group.
     
     
2. Transcripts
   
   Transcripts from every academic institution you have attended are standardized and summarized. This includes a listing off classes you took and your grade for each class.
   
   
3. Complete LSAT Score Reports
   
   This section details your LSAT score(s), your LSAT score average, the dates you took the test, and your LSAT score percentile. Copies of your Writing Sample(s) are also included.
   
   
4. Letters of Recommendation
   
   The LSDAS provides forms for each individual letter of recommendation and also certifies the authenticity of each letter.
   
   The options for submitting letters of recommendation are quite extensive. Applicants can choose to have either a general letter of recommendation sent to all schools or have school- or topic-specific letters sent to individual schools.

What else is in included with the LSDAS?

• Access to the electronic application service for all ABA-approved law schools.
  
  For more information on electronic applications, please click here (electronic vs. paper link).

How to Register

Applicants can register for the LSDAS by visiting the Law School Admissions Counsel’s website or calling the LSAC at 215-968-1001.

Fees

• The registration fee for the LSDAS is $113.
• LSDAS reports are accessible for up to 5 years after registering. Also, each time an applicant registers for the LSAT, his or her LSDAS access is extended from the most recent LSAT registration point.
• In addition to the one time registration fee, each LSDAS report sent out to each individual law schools costs $12, which must be paid prior to being sent out.
• The LSDAS does offer fee waivers for the $113 registration fee and 4 LSDAS reports. For more information, either call LSAC or visit their website.

One Final Note

The amount of time for the LSDAS to process and make available each individual component of the report varies, and they have been known to take one to three months for some applicants. Therefore, it is very important for applicants to get their documents into the LSDAS as early as possible in order to avoid any delays in the application process.

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