AllAboutCareers quizzes the team behind the LNAT to sort the fact from the fiction…
Manchester University has joined the LNAT…
FACT: From September 2011, students applying to study undergraduate law at all of the following universities will now have to sit the LNAT as part of their application: Manchester University, Durham University, University of Birmingham, King’s College London, University of Bristol, University of Glasgow, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University College London and NUI Maynooth (mature students only). IE University offers a choice of admissions tests which includes the LNAT.
There is a pass mark for the LNAT…
FICTION: Universities will receive a score out of 42 for the multiple choice test section of the LNAT. There is no pass or fail mark and different universities will weight LNAT scores differently. The essays written during the test remain unmarked and are supplied to universities upon request so that they can refer to it when processing a university application. It can be used to help university admissions tutors make a decision with borderline cases.
The LNAT is a way of universities making money…
FICTION: The LNAT Consortium, which runs the LNAT, was set up by seven universities as a not-for-profit organisation to help them make better and fairer decisions on student applications. The fee of £50 (for EU-based students) is a contribution towards the cost of administering the test; the rest of the cost is paid by the university that is being applied to. A bursary system is available to waive the fee for students struggling to pay it. Details of this are available on the LNAT website.
If you don’t take photo identification to the test centre, you won’t be allowed to sit the LNAT…
FACT: You must be able to prove who you are and that you have a valid test slot at the test centre. You need to bring a valid passport, a valid photocard driving licence (full or provisional), or a current identity card with your photograph and signature. If you cannot provide one of these, it’s possible to bring an alternative form of identification; the details of which are available on the LNAT website. You must also bring with you a printout of your confirmation email from Pearson VUE.
Paying for additional coaching will help you ace the LNAT…
FICTION: The LNAT is designed to test verbal reasoning skills (i.e. comprehension, interpretation, analysis and deduction). Despite the claims of many companies selling ‘LNAT coaching’, the best way to prepare for the LNAT is simply to become familiar with the test format and to understand how to demonstrate your verbal reasoning skills.
Practice tests are available free of charge on the LNAT website to help students become familiar with the test format and the timeframe allowed to answer the questions. To exercise your verbal reasoning skills, simply read a quality newspaper and think critically about the issues being raised, the assumptions being made, the information that is relied on to draw conclusions, and how to frame a counterargument. Sample essay questions on the LNAT website can also be used to help exercise these skills.
You can re-sit the LNAT if you think you’ve done badly…
FICTION: You can only sit the LNAT test once in an academic year. If you try to take the test twice in the same academic year then the second result will be discounted.
If you decide to defer your application to university for a year after taking the test, your score is not carried over and you will have to sit the LNAT again.
Different universities have different deadlines for the LNAT…
FACT: The deadline to sit the LNAT can vary by as much as ten weeks or more and universities can even change their deadline. Check the LNAT website for changes and register, book and sit your LNAT well in advance of the deadline to avoid problems.
In certain circumstances (e.g. making a late application to an LNAT participating university), it is possible to sit the test after the initial deadline during a specified period.