LSAT Preparation Scrutinized

Harvard Law School hopefuls must now tell the admissions committee whether they took a prep course for the Law School Admissions Test.

A new question on this year's application form reads, "List dates and descriptions of any LSAT preparation classes taken or to be taken," said Molly T. Geraghty '64, director of admissions and assistant dean of Harvard Law School.

Applicants' responses will not affect their chances for admission. Geraghty said.

The committee decided to add the question as "a matter of curiosity," she said. "We'd speculated and wondered about how many people take cram courses for quite a while, and we just wanted to know."

About half of this year's 6000 applicants answered yes, Geraghty said.

Although the Law School admissions office has not performed a statistical analysis of the responses, the results seem to indicate a complete lack of trends, Geraghty said. There was no correlation between the quantity of people taking a cram course and "sex, age, race, geographical groups, even who requested and who didn't request financial aid," she said.

In addition, having taken a prep course didn't seem to affect students' LSAT scores or chances of admission, Geraghty said.

Admission officers at other law schools did not predict similar changes in their own applications.

"It's an interesting idea, but we're not inclined to go ahead ourselves," said Richard I. Badger, assistant dean of the University of Chicago Law School.

"There's always the chance that someone may be intimidated by the question, and think that we'll take points off depending on the answer. I don't think I would want to run the risk of that happening," said Joyce P. Curll '65, assistant dean for admissions at New York University Law School.

A Harvard Law School applicant said that the question "did worry me a little. I was wondering how it would affect the decision made on me," said Benjamin Reder '86.

"I think [whether or not a class was taken] should figure in," said Reder, who took a Stanley Kaplan preparation class. "I really do think [the course] helps. You can raise your grades using it, but some people can't afford it. It should be considered," he said.

Geraghty disagreed that the course affects LSAT scores. "There's no evidence whatsoever that a cram course does any good," said Geraghty. "It's simply a very expensive confidence booster.

"The course wouldn't make much difference to applicants who are still in school and still have their test-taking ability," said. Yale Law School Director of Admissions Jean K. Webb.

"These people prey on the anxiety of law school applicants," Badger said of cram course educators.

Another Harvard Law School applicant said she doubted whether taking a prep course helped her scores. "I think that I could have learned the same on my own," said Linda J. Runyan '86.

The New England regional head of the Stanley Kaplan Education Center, Susan B. Kaplan, said she does not think the new question will affect the demand for prep courses. The Kaplan course costs $400 and runs for eight weeks, with one four-to-five-hour class per week.