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SAT
Understanding the Cost of LSAT Prep and Law School Applications
Applying to law school is expensive, and these costs may increase with the number of schools to which you apply. To make wise investments in your prep resources, it's important to understand what your options are, and whether there are lower-cost resources that may work just as well or even better for you than those at a much higher price point. Additionally, anticipating the costs of applications themselves, as well as your options for savings, will help you budget for when the time comes to submit.
Studying for the LSAT: Recommended Spending
Services
Bare Minimum
Using a selection of these strategies should work if you’re highly self-motivated.
Middle-of-the-Road
Using these strategies should work if your prep budget isn’t too tight.
Splurge
Using these strategies should work if you benefit from structure and are willing to splurge on your studying.
PrepTests
Use the 4 free tests provided through LSAC LawHub. You can take these full official tests online.
Cost: Free
Rating: Not Recommended
Buy 75+ tests directly from the LSAC with LawHub Advantage. The LSAC, the non-profit that administers the LSAT, has a monopoly over the sale of these tests. They charge a mark-up to prep services, to incentivize you to buy directly from them.
Cost: $115 for one year of access
Rating: Strongly Recommended
Buy practice tests through a prep service. Some tutoring / prep services bundle other services with access to test questions or full tests. Again, the mark-up over the LSAC price is significant, due to the licensing fees the LSAC charges the prep company. (You can also buy practice tests in print versions on Amazon, at a higher per-test cost.)
Cost: Depends on the prep service and bundle type
Rating: Not Recommended
Books
Use free resources to get an overview of the test and understand section-specific strategy. This will take time and diligence. AccessLSAT resources will be available to overview the sections and point you to resources that, used together, could fill in for / serve you better than a book, depending on your learning style.
Cost: Free
Rating: Recommended
Buy a mid-priced prep book, maybe a used one, from a previous year. You may find that the text provides a useful overview of the test sections and a helpful introduction to LSAT logic. If you don’t plan to carefully go through all the drills, this may be a good option, since the previous user may have filled in some drills.
Cost: $30-$40
Rating: Recommended
Buy a new book published this year. You will have a clean copy to mark up yourself. Options that include paper LSAT Official Prep Tests will cost more. Note that the LSAT is given in a hybrid format, so paper prep doesn’t simulate test day.
Cost: $40-$60
Rating: Not Recommended
Courses
Use free courses. AccessLSAT materials will be available compiling the most comprehensive free courses for all test sections. For example, you could use LSAC’s free prep course, hosted by Khan Academy.
Cost: Free
Rating: Strongly Recommended
Purchase prep companies’ services, and receive some course materials for free. For example, LSATMax offers free courses and webinars, but you have to buy at least two tutoring hours to access them.
Cost: Depends on the service. (For LSATMax, you would have to buy 2 hours at $200 per hour in order to also access videos.)
Rating: Recommended
Buy a course. Many course offerings exist, ranging from somewhat to very expensive. They may be self-paced (cheapest), live, or bundled with tutoring. AccessLSAT materials will be available overviewing and rating various courses.
Cost: Large range, depending on company and course type. For example, while 7Sage’s self-paced offering costs $69/month, Kaplan’s online bootcamp costs $3,900.
Rating: Not Recommended
Tutoring
Hire a friend. If you know someone that scored at or above your target score, see if they’re interested in tutoring you.
Cost: You’ll decide, but likely less than the going rate for a prep company
Rating: Recommended
Buy a few hours of tutoring from an established company. Companies often have a minimum hours you have to buy, if you’re buying per hour. Note that some companies might offer free tutoring to eligible students.
Cost: Between $100-$200 per hour
Rating: Recommended
Buy a bundle of tutoring hours. The benefits are that you’ll save a bit per hour.
Cost: Between $1,000-$3,000 total
Rating: Not Recommended
The Cost of Law School Applications
The below table enumerates the types of fees associated with your law school applications
Service
Standard Payment
Amendments
Potential Additional Purchases or Waivers
Budget Calculation
Calculating your anticipated spend
Taking the LSAT
It costs $215 to take the LSAT. You’ll pay this every time you take it.
Most people take the LSAT only once, but many people take it multiple times, and you can take it up to three times a year.
Score Preview: This costs $45 if you purchase before test day, $75 if you purchase it after. While you can always cancel your LSAT score before you see it, this feature allows you to see your LSAT score before you decide to cancel it. Schools will still see that you had a canceled test.
Need-Based LSAT Fee Waivers: Two-tiered benefit system to benefit individuals of different levels of financial need. You can apply for a fee waiver through your LSAC JD account.
$215 x Number of Tests Taken
CAS Report
CAS Reports cost $45 for every school you send the report to. All schools require a report as part of their application.
You might receive an application fee waiver, based on academic merit or demonstrated interest in the program. If you don’t receive a waiver, you can email schools to request one.
$45 x Number of Schools Applied To
Application Fees
Schools charge an application processing fee, usually between $75-$85. (On average, people apply to 6 law schools.)
About $80 x Number of Schools Applied To
CAS Subscription
A CAS subscription costs $195.
$195
Total Cost for the Average Applicant
$215+$195+($45*6)+($80*6) = $1,160
Note that this doesn’t account for average waiver receipt.