Which Skill is more important in law school?

[Broncos15]

Hello,

While both skills are important in law school, which skill is more important : having a sharp memory or skills based aspects such as writing, research, etc

In my undergrad career, as a liberal arts major the vast majority of my exams were based on memorization...so it was possible a 3.8 and a 3.3 student could study the same amount of time and yet get different results simply because one student could remember small details better
( while memorization is certainly a part of intelligence, I do not think it is everything in intelligence)

While the LSAT is different and tests fluid knowledge so even if you had a photographic memory, you still have to apply skills such as making inferences....so because it is a different type of intelligence being tested sometimes you may see a "reverse splitter" 3.8/15X and on the opposite side because it is a skills based test not a memory test that is why sometimes but very rarely you may see a 2.75/175+ split

I was wondering to evaluate my own chances for success in law school because I think my test scores and GPA somewhat point out to this difference of intelligence being tested.....3.6LSAC GPA ( solid, but not spectacular in my opinion; with the caveat that grade deflation is common in my UG school even in liberal arts where anything above a 3.2 is pretty good) and practice LSAT's at 170 and an official GRE take in the 90% without prior study

Thanks!

[David Boyle]

Hello,

While both skills are important in law school, which skill is more important : having a sharp memory or skills based aspects such as writing, research, etc

In my undergrad career, as a liberal arts major the vast majority of my exams were based on memorization...so it was possible a 3.8 and a 3.3 student could study the same amount of time and yet get different results simply because one student could remember small details better
( while memorization is certainly a part of intelligence, I do not think it is everything in intelligence)

While the LSAT is different and tests fluid knowledge so even if you had a photographic memory, you still have to apply skills such as making inferences....so because it is a different type of intelligence being tested sometimes you may see a "reverse splitter" 3.8/15X and on the opposite side because it is a skills based test not a memory test that is why sometimes but very rarely you may see a 2.75/175+ split

I was wondering to evaluate my own chances for success in law school because I think my test scores and GPA somewhat point out to this difference of intelligence being tested.....3.6LSAC GPA ( solid, but not spectacular in my opinion; with the caveat that grade deflation is common in my UG school even in liberal arts where anything above a 3.2 is pretty good) and practice LSAT's at 170 and an official GRE take in the 90% without prior study

Thanks!

Hello Broncos15,

It's hard to say. Remembering when I was in law school, back in the dinosaur age: you could say writing is more important, since the legal profession is usually not about Judge Joe Blow giving you an oral examination on remembering stuff. Lawyers submit written briefs and make oral arguments, so just "regurgitating" info is not everything. Likewise, in law school itself, your written exams will largely be dealing with hypotheticals and writing essays about them, so writing skill is crucial. (Research, too, though I sort of lump that in with reading and memory, since research revolves around those things so much)
That being said, if you have a bad memory and can't remember things pertinent to your case (in law practice) or the scenario at hand (in law school exams), that'll be pretty bad too. Some law exams may be partially multiple-choice, so that pure memorization may be pretty handy after all. Even on written essay exams, you have limited time, so if you don't remember a lot of points in your head already, you'll have to spend precious time digging them out of the book. (A lot of law school written exams are open-book, but that doesn't mean they're easy, since your time is limited.) So memory is often crucial.

How does this relate to the LSAT itself, by the way? (If at all) It does serve as a reminder that all the sections are important. Reading Comprehension--important, since you'll be reading a lot of cases and case commentaries or other scholarly material in law school. Logical Reasoning--important, since in your written exams (and written/oral argumentation as a lawyer), you'll near-certainly be using fine points of reasoning. Logic Games--okay, unless you're a lawyer for Law Services, maybe you won't be doing logic games too much. However, in games, you may be using some of the logical skills, e.g., conditional reasoning, that you sharpened in preparing for Logical Reasoning. And last but not least--your written essay on the LSAT. People laugh it off, but it could be the feather weighing in your favor, if you and Jane Blow (sister of Judge Joe Blow mentioned above) have identical GPA's, LSAT's, etc., but she wrote a really bad essay and you wrote a really good one. You never know!

PowerScore largely focuses on the LSAT and not law school itself (with some exceptions), but there are some links between LSAT practice and what actually happens in law school, as I mentioned above. Best of luck in the admissions process and in law school (and as a lawyer),

Hope this helps,
David