Dear URMs (from the LSAC) Forum

[legalized]

Frequently Asked Questions
About Racial and Ethnic Status
Don’t be afraid to dream about going to school—whether it be college or law school. You have as much right to be there as anyone else.

Why am I considered a minority applicant?
Law schools consider your ethnic or racial status to be whatever you indicate on your LSAT registration forms. This factor alone is not a guarantee of admission, but it helps admission committees form a more complete picture of who you are. They are interested in how your individual history has affected your life, including whatever disadvantages you may have overcome.

Is the LSAT biased against minorities?
The passages and questions on the LSAT go through a rigorous screening and pretesting process to make sure that the individual test items are not biased. The primary reason that minority test takers perform less well on the LSAT is lack of preparation. In addition, research indicates that minority group members, particularly African Americans, are more vulnerable to test anxiety than other test takers. The best way to avoid test anxiety is to prepare thoroughly for the LSAT by familiarizing yourself with the types of questions on the test and by taking disclosed (previously administered) tests. Take the entire test—not just a few sections at a time—under actual timed conditions.

more at http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... on-faq.asp

Those wondering what's considered a URM for law school purposes...I would guess it's the minorities they track, as shown here:

http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... enroll.asp

[savesthedayajb]

Frequently Asked Questions
About Racial and Ethnic Status
Don’t be afraid to dream about going to school—whether it be college or law school. You have as much right to be there as anyone else.

Why am I considered a minority applicant?
Law schools consider your ethnic or racial status to be whatever you indicate on your LSAT registration forms. This factor alone is not a guarantee of admission, but it helps admission committees form a more complete picture of who you are. They are interested in how your individual history has affected your life, including whatever disadvantages you may have overcome.

Is the LSAT biased against minorities?
The passages and questions on the LSAT go through a rigorous screening and pretesting process to make sure that the individual test items are not biased. The primary reason that minority test takers perform less well on the LSAT is lack of preparation. In addition, research indicates that minority group members, particularly African Americans, are more vulnerable to test anxiety than other test takers. The best way to avoid test anxiety is to prepare thoroughly for the LSAT by familiarizing yourself with the types of questions on the test and by taking disclosed (previously administered) tests. Take the entire test—not just a few sections at a time—under actual timed conditions.

more at http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... on-faq.asp

Those wondering what's considered a URM for law school purposes...I would guess it's the minorities they track, as shown here:

http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... enroll.asp

Wow.

[lawman2010]

I like to put bananas in my peanut butter sandwiches. I think it really adds to the flavor.

[KibblesAndVick]

I like to put bananas in my peanut butter sandwiches. I think it really adds to the flavor.

Subtle anti-Fluff trolling

[legalized]

Frequently Asked Questions
About Racial and Ethnic Status
Don’t be afraid to dream about going to school—whether it be college or law school. You have as much right to be there as anyone else.

Why am I considered a minority applicant?
Law schools consider your ethnic or racial status to be whatever you indicate on your LSAT registration forms. This factor alone is not a guarantee of admission, but it helps admission committees form a more complete picture of who you are. They are interested in how your individual history has affected your life, including whatever disadvantages you may have overcome.

Is the LSAT biased against minorities?
The passages and questions on the LSAT go through a rigorous screening and pretesting process to make sure that the individual test items are not biased. The primary reason that minority test takers perform less well on the LSAT is lack of preparation. In addition, research indicates that minority group members, particularly African Americans, are more vulnerable to test anxiety than other test takers. The best way to avoid test anxiety is to prepare thoroughly for the LSAT by familiarizing yourself with the types of questions on the test and by taking disclosed (previously administered) tests. Take the entire test—not just a few sections at a time—under actual timed conditions.

more at http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... on-faq.asp

Those wondering what's considered a URM for law school purposes...I would guess it's the minorities they track, as shown here:

http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minori ... enroll.asp

Wow.

Why wow?

[imisscollege]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

[merichard87]

Is this supposed to be something new? The only thing that sticks out about that post is the line about lack of preparation but I choose to believe they meant an unequal educational background as compared to their white counterparts. That is all.

[RonArtest]

I'll bet Stephanie Grace would beg to differ.

[RonArtest]

Sorry. I could not resist.

[romothesavior]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

There are plenty of reasons for unpreparedness that aren't a result of laziness: lack of access to resources, familial or environmental strain, major time commitments, a failure to realize the importance of the LSAT, etc.

[MrSoOoFLy]

I'll bet Stephanie Grace would beg to differ.

180

[Kohinoor]

When a man has emerged from slavery, and by the aid of beneficent legislation has shaken off the inseparable concomitants of that state, there must be some stage in the progress of his elevation when he takes the rank of a mere citizen, and ceases to be the special favorite of the laws, and when his rights as a citizen, or a man, are to be protected in the ordinary modes by which other men's rights are protected.

lol 1883.

[imisscollege]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

There are plenty of reasons for unpreparedness that aren't a result of laziness: lack of access to resources, familial or environmental strain, major time commitments, a failure to realize the importance of the LSAT, etc.

good point although as a counterargument one could say, "how tough is it really to get a used logic games bible?" but that's neither here nor there. so you don't find this offensive? i think i do.

[vanwinkle]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

This is one theory I've actually been wondering about, but I think there are less offensive reasons for it than you're implying. Blacks in particular are a race that was the target of long-term discrimination in education (segregation, poorly funded public schools, total bans from attending many colleges and universities), and if you look back far enough, you realize that as slaves they were actively discouraged to even read or write. They've deprived of the necessary educational skills necessary to succeed, and given that we only even started trying to end desegregation a couple generations ago, it's not surprising that many blacks are still not well-educated on what it takes to succeed.

They just aren't as likely to know things like the importance of preparing for tests; hell, the attitude of the parents and grandparents of many is that it's pointless to because they won't get admitted anyway. Those are fair beliefs for their parents and grandparents to have, too, because many of them faced discrimination when they sought employment.

There's a huge educational gap in this country that hasn't yet been closed. It's not just in terms of what we teach kids in schools, but a broader problem, about what minorities actually know and believe about the opportunities they have now. It's kind of like handing them a chess board for years, telling them that they have an equal opportunity to play now, and pitting them against folks who've been playing for years. Of course they're not going to do as well, they haven't been taught how the game works.

[Kohinoor]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

There are plenty of reasons for unpreparedness that aren't a result of laziness: lack of access to resources, familial or environmental strain, major time commitments, a failure to realize the importance of the LSAT, etc.

good point although as a counterargument one could say, "how tough is it really to get a used logic games bible?" but that's neither here nor there. so you don't find this offensive? i think i do.

I find it offensive. Several months ago, I mailed LSAC a letter citing that very quote and telling them that they should fall back since they do not, in fact, know me.

[MrSoOoFLy]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

There are plenty of reasons for unpreparedness that aren't a result of laziness: lack of access to resources, familial or environmental strain, major time commitments, a failure to realize the importance of the LSAT, etc.

good point although as a counterargument one could say, "how tough is it really to get a used logic games bible?" but that's neither here nor there. so you don't find this offensive? i think i do.

I find it offensive. Several months ago, I mailed LSAC a letter citing that very quote and telling them that they should fall back since they do not, in fact, know me.

i lol'ed

[RonArtest]

So LSAC says that they're not inherently dumber/worse at taking tests; they're just lazier and more prone to poor performance? is that....better?

There are plenty of reasons for unpreparedness that aren't a result of laziness: lack of access to resources, familial or environmental strain, major time commitments, a failure to realize the importance of the LSAT, etc.

good point although as a counterargument one could say, "how tough is it really to get a used logic games bible?" but that's neither here nor there. so you don't find this offensive? i think i do.

I find it offensive. Several months ago, I mailed LSAC a letter citing that very quote and telling them that they should fall back since they do not, in fact, know me.

It was recently changed. It used to say that URMs also score lower because they have a propensity to be "gang$tas." Not that you play into that stereo type or anything.

If someone really wrote a letter like that, I'd love to see the face of the person that opened it.