The oft-difficult process for students preparing for law school just got a little bit easier.

Last June, the American Bar Association altered the process by which it gathers information from accredited law schools last June for the profiles it creates for potential students, switching from the traditional method of using an applicant’s average Law School Admissions Test score to using the highest individual score.

Although the change was simply for the ABA, law schools have followed suit in their admissions policies, according to Director of the Pre-Law Program for Kaplan Test Prep and Admission Steven Maritti.

“”When we heard this, we speculated this may have a ripple effect into [the] law school admissions process,”” Maritti said. “”We conducted a survey of all 194 law schools nationwide and asked them if they would be changing their admissions policy. … What we found when we talked to 170 schools nationwide was that it was having the effect we expected.””

Seventy-four percent of the surveyed schools had decided to use the highest score in their admissions processes or were planning on switching in the near future.

“”It represented a huge switch,”” Maritti said. “”Students are in a better place to take it multiple times and [it] gives students a second chance.””

According to Hulett Askew, an ABA consultant on legal education, the change was intended in part to simplify the admissions process for schools. 

  “”The ABA’s decision in 2006 to change its request to law schools with respect to how they report LSAT scores to us starting this year and going forward was very limited,”” Askew stated in an e-mail. “”It simply removes some of the pressure schools have been apparently feeling so that admissions committees may evaluate multiple test scores as [the Law School Admission Council] has always advised should be done, on a case by case basis.”” 

The change is a major benefit for students according to Sixth College sophomore and UCSD Pre-Law Society President Hovik Nalbandyan.

“”I think it’s pretty good; people tend to mess up their first time around,”” Nalbandyan said. “”This is a relief of tension for students applying to law school.””

However, almost 40 percent of the schools polled reported that they would take the number of times the LSAT was taken into consideration.

This is an opportunity that shouldn’t be abused, Maritti said. Students should prepare for the exam and plan to take it only once — and not use the first opportunity as practice.

Coupled with the admission change, the ABA has also slightly adjusted the test, with alterations to the reading comprehension and writing sections that affects seven out of approximately 100 questions that make up the test. These new questions will first appear in the June test.

This is the biggest change to the test in the past 15 years, and combined with the shift in admissions policy, the LSAT is quickly changing.

“”I think the changes are being made to improve the process and that’s why these two different changes happened around the same time,”” Maritti said.

Some students, however, do not see the changes as significant enough to sit through another eight-hour test.

“”I refuse to retake it,”” John Muir College alumna Grace Wang said. “”I don’t care if I didn’t do that hot. I’m not going to subject myself to any more test prep to raise my score 10 points.””