How hard is the LSAT?
The LSAT is hard because it tests reasoning under time pressure, not facts you can memorize. You get 35 minutes per section, which leaves a bit under a minute and a half per question, and the wrong answers are written to look right. The median score is about 154 on a 120 to 180 scale, and only about 5 percent score 170 or higher. It is learnable with steady practice.
The test has four 35-minute multiple-choice sections: two Logical Reasoning, one Reading Comprehension and one unscored variable section, with a 10-minute break after the second. Since August 2026 most people take this part at a test center. The essay, LSAT Argumentative Writing, is separate and unscored, but law schools receive it and your score is only released once it is on file.
What makes it hard is the kind of skill. Logical Reasoning asks you to find the assumption or the flaw in a short argument, or the answer that strengthens or weakens it. Reading Comprehension gives dense passages on law, science or the humanities. Both reward exact reading, and the trap answers punish skimming. The good news: there is no penalty for wrong answers, there is no math, and the question types repeat, so practice carries over from test to test.
| Score | Share of scores below it |
|---|---|
| 150 | 36.6% |
| 155 | 54.0% |
| 160 | 71.1% |
| 165 | 85.2% |
| 170 | 94.5% |
| 175 | 98.7% |
- 1Take a timed official practice test on LawHub to see where you start.
- 2Learn one Logical Reasoning question type at a time without a timer.
- 3For Reading Comprehension, sum up each paragraph in a few words before you look at the questions.
- 4Keep a miss log that says why each wrong answer was wrong.
- 5Add timing once your untimed accuracy is high, then take a full test every week or two.
- 6Pick a test date with room for a retake. LSAC allows five attempts in the current reportable score period and seven in a lifetime.