LSAT DAY!

Good luck Ashlee!

As I type this message, you are taking the LSAT. Months of preparation culminate in 4 hours of questions. Starting at 8:30, and taking into account all the introduction, rules, instructions, and break, you hope it will be done by 1:30, but they say it could go until after 2.

I general, I think the concept of standardized tests is fascinating, and the LSAT is no exception. For starters, you get your thumb prints taken when you arrive at the test site. Here are some of the other rules: no cell phone, no digital watch, no ink pen, no hats, no scratch paper, no calculator, no mechanical pencil. You went in with a ziplock bag holding your supplies, and most of them must stay in the bag except during the one 10 minute break. Only one person can leave to use the bathroom at a time, and that person may be escorted.

More importantly, it's hard. You can miss about a quarter of the questions, and still place in the top 20 percent. About a third of the people who take it answer most of the questions incorrectly. The scores range from 120 to 180, and 172 is about the 99th percentile, with 160 being the 90th percentile. (At Yale, almost certainly the best law school in the country, the median score is 173. At Univ of Wyoming, the median is 153.) Family and friends, you can see sample questions here. Oh, one more thing. If you take it more than once, they report the average of your scores, not the best.

You are ready. You are prepared. Ashlee, you practiced almost every day since school started. You've done model test after model test, and read through three books with strategies and techniques. Of course, you were nervous, but you studied hard, and got yourself prepared. I have confidence in you Ashlee, and I so proud of the progress you've made since you first started. I'm sure you are doing well. I know you'll get a great score. Tonight, we'll go do something fun; we'll celebrate.

I love you Ashlee.