LSAT vs. GRE: which is harder IYO? Forum

[razorzor]

Which is harder IYO? I haven't taken either yet but I've tried practice questions for both. LSAT seems relatively more dependent on fluid intelligence than the GRE (and minimally dependent on crystallized intelligence with the exception of basic vocabulary), whereas the GRE seems relatively more dependent on crystallized intelligence than the LSAT (but still fairly dependent on fluid intelligence). Overall, the vocabulary on the GRE (in the reading sections) is definitely harder than the vocabulary on the LSAT, IMO. The math on the GRE seems really basic though; it's like that easy SAT shit all over again. I am debating over which one to take. Responses are welcome.

P.S. Please state whether or not you have actually tried practice questions for both. If not, your opinion is of much less value.

[youpiiz]

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[razorzor]

gggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Ok. Reasons would be nice.

[18488]

I took them both, and got very similar percentile scores in each, but for the LSAT, I took a class, did practice tests, stressed for weeks, etc. For the GRE, I put in precisely 0 minutes of prep, went to a party the night before, and almost forgot to show up to the test.

[pany1985]

The GRE has lots of scary numbers

The LSAT has only nice easy words

[youpiiz]

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[pjarron]

Any exam that primarily measures how many vocabulary words you remember and pre-algebra formulas is definitely easier than the LSAT. Plus the reading comp on the GRE was easier than the LSAT. I know people who scored in the low 150’s on the LSAT but scored in the 700’s on both sections of the GRE.

[razorzor]

Any exam that primarily measures how many vocabulary words you remember and pre-algebra formulas is definitely easier than the LSAT. Plus the reading comp on the GRE was easier than the LSAT. I know people who scored in the low 150’s on the LSAT but scored in the 700’s on both sections of the GRE.

Any exam that primarily measures how many vocabulary words you remember out of the whole fucking dictionary is definitely harder than the LSAT. Plus the reading comp on the GRE was harder than the LSAT. I know people who scored low 500s on both sections of the GRE but 170+s on the LSAT.

[bluejayk]

Reading comp on LSAT is objectively harder than GRE. If you're really, really scared of math, you might say LSAT is easier, but there are only a limited number of formulas you need to know to solve any GRE math problem.

Similar to an earlier poster, I got about the same percentile scores on both LSAT and GRE. For the GRE, I studied for about 5-7 hours and never took a complete practice test. LSAT I've done easily 30 times that much prep.

[radical4peace]

I think for most people the LSAT is harder because LR and LG are not like anything most of us have seen before. The GRE is like the SAT all grown up, so nothing too hard. I found the reading comp on the LSAT to be more difficult as well.

I'm not very good at math and got a 1300 on the GRE -- around 90th percentile verbal and 50th percentile math. That was with basically no studying and just a half-assed attempt to review some vocab and math tricks before test day.

On the other hand, I studied both on my own and with a tutor (total of about 15 hours) for the LSAT. Diagnostic was around a 155 because LR was kinda weird and LG totally freaked me out. I had to learn how to do these types of questions. After studying, I got a 162. LR became easy and well, LG still freaked me out.

Bottom line: Most people will work harder to get the same percentile score on the LSAT compared to the GRE.

[mabelgs]

I think it'll vary from person to person. I'm taking both this summer, so I'm sure I'll have a better idea after that. However, just based on my first diagnostic LSAT and the one diagnostic GRE I took, the LSAT's a lot easier for me. Reading comprehension and logic come pretty naturally to me. The GRE though...I haven't taken math since high school. My score on that prep test was...yikes.

[Scythron]

I think for most people the LSAT is harder because LR and LG are not like anything most of us have seen before. The GRE is like the SAT all grown up, so nothing too hard. I found the reading comp on the LSAT to be more difficult as well.

I'm not very good at math and got a 1300 on the GRE -- around 90th percentile verbal and 50th percentile math. That was with basically no studying and just a half-assed attempt to review some vocab and math tricks before test day.

On the other hand, I studied both on my own and with a tutor (total of about 15 hours) for the LSAT. Diagnostic was around a 155 because LR was kinda weird and LG totally freaked me out. I had to learn how to do these types of questions. After studying, I got a 162. LR became easy and well, LG still freaked me out.

Bottom line: Most people will work harder to get the same percentile score on the LSAT compared to the GRE.

Attributing the qualities of an individual to a group. Thanks for letting me practice my flaw in reasoning.

[mabelgs]

I think for most people the LSAT is harder because LR and LG are not like anything most of us have seen before. The GRE is like the SAT all grown up, so nothing too hard. I found the reading comp on the LSAT to be more difficult as well.

I'm not very good at math and got a 1300 on the GRE -- around 90th percentile verbal and 50th percentile math. That was with basically no studying and just a half-assed attempt to review some vocab and math tricks before test day.

On the other hand, I studied both on my own and with a tutor (total of about 15 hours) for the LSAT. Diagnostic was around a 155 because LR was kinda weird and LG totally freaked me out. I had to learn how to do these types of questions. After studying, I got a 162. LR became easy and well, LG still freaked me out.

Bottom line: Most people will work harder to get the same percentile score on the LSAT compared to the GRE.

Attributing the qualities of an individual to a group. Thanks for letting me practice my flaw in reasoning.

[Pearalegal]

GRE. Basically just because of the memorization aspect.

I feel the LSAT is something you can learn, where the GRE you have to have a good set of words and forumlas down. I'm also terrified of math.

...only 10th grade math knowledge my ass...

[kjunfood]

I know people who take the LSAT. I know people who take the GRE.

GRE is easier (assuming you're getting relatively high percentiles on either test...which test you can 'suck' less at is a different story [one which I do not know the ending to])

[Pearalegal]

I know people who take the LSAT. I know people who take the GRE.

GRE is easier (assuming you're getting relatively high percentiles on either test...which test you can 'suck' less at is a different story [one which I do not know the ending to])

Edited because there is no reason for me to be an ass.

Regardless, I feel like this logic isn't exactly flushed out.

[radical4peace]

I think for most people the LSAT is harder because LR and LG are not like anything most of us have seen before. The GRE is like the SAT all grown up, so nothing too hard. I found the reading comp on the LSAT to be more difficult as well.

I'm not very good at math and got a 1300 on the GRE -- around 90th percentile verbal and 50th percentile math. That was with basically no studying and just a half-assed attempt to review some vocab and math tricks before test day.

On the other hand, I studied both on my own and with a tutor (total of about 15 hours) for the LSAT. Diagnostic was around a 155 because LR was kinda weird and LG totally freaked me out. I had to learn how to do these types of questions. After studying, I got a 162. LR became easy and well, LG still freaked me out.

Bottom line: Most people will work harder to get the same percentile score on the LSAT compared to the GRE.

Attributing the qualities of an individual to a group. Thanks for letting me practice my flaw in reasoning.

:shakes head: You know what I mean. I think most people who take both tests would find the LSAT requires more studying and work. Just my two cents.

[kjunfood]

I know people who take the LSAT. I know people who take the GRE.

GRE is easier (assuming you're getting relatively high percentiles on either test...which test you can 'suck' less at is a different story [one which I do not know the ending to])

Edited because there is no reason for me to be an ass.

Regardless, I feel like this logic isn't exactly flushed out.

Yeah I know what you mean. But this question reminds me of the "are lower tiered undergrads easier than top 50 undergrads?" question. You can get technical, you can get defensive, you can go w/ your gut -- but regardless, there will always be a good number of people who are not happy (and do not agree) w/ the results.

So let me rephrase, in MY opinion and the opinion of the many friends I have who have taken the LSAT, GRE, or both, the GRE is easier.

[kjunfood]

I know people who take the LSAT. I know people who take the GRE.

GRE is easier (assuming you're getting relatively high percentiles on either test...which test you can 'suck' less at is a different story [one which I do not know the ending to])

Edited because there is no reason for me to be an ass.

Regardless, I feel like this logic isn't exactly flushed out.

Yeah I know what you mean about the logic -- just thought this was an opinion thread (based on the title) and not one where an argument had to be airtight. But this question reminds me of the "are lower tiered undergrads easier than top 50 undergrads?" question. You can get technical, you can get defensive, you can go w/ your gut -- but regardless, there will always be a good number of people who are not happy (and do not agree) w/ the results.

So let me rephrase, in MY opinion and the opinion of the many friends I have who have taken the LSAT, GRE, or both, the GRE is easier.

[joobacca]

i used GRE to prepare for the SAT. it was basically a harder version of the SAT, which is much (IMO) easier than the LSAT.

[mightydinosaur]

I had to take for the LSAT and the GRE to apply for joint JD/MA programs. The LSAT is definitely harder.

The GRE is a very simple test. The hardest part of the verbal section is memorizing the vocab, which many people may find distasteful, but which is not particularly difficult. The rest is reading comprehension similar to the SAT. The math, as folks have mentioned, is not complicated stuff. I learned all of in 8th or 9th grade, and I was not precocious in math or anything like that. I had forgotten a lot of it after a couple of years out of college, but I was able to remember it all after about an hour with a GRE prep book. I have heard that the thing that matters most on the writing section is length--the longer the better. I'm sure it's also good to be coherent and show a little thought about it, but if you've taken college-level writing you should be fine. In total, I spent about five hours prepping for the GRE and I was very happy with my score.

As for the LSAT, it's a more complex test that measures things that aren't usually on standardized tests. It's certainly learnable, but it's not as simple as just memorizing some words or reminding yourself of simple math. Some of the logical concepts on the LSAT do not come easily to many people, and it seems to me like people struggle with time more on the LSAT than they do on the GRE. I know that when I first started practicing at logic games, I was answering less than half of the section, and I am generally quite quick at tests. I did well on the LSAT, but that's because I spent many hours studying over several months to get there.

If you want non-anecdotal proof of which test is harder, look at how many people get top scores. On the GRE, a 740 and up on verbal is the 99th percentile, but for math a perfect score is only better than 94% of test takers--6% of all people who take the math section get an 800. On the LSAT, anything above 172 is generally in the 99th percentile and a perfect score is above the 99.9th percentile--less than one person in 1000 gets a 180. A 172 on the LSAT is as many steps away from a perfect score as a 720 on either section of the GRE. So a higher percentage of test takers get tops scores on either section of the GRE than on the LSAT.

Edit: the numbers I have for the GRE don't discuss total combined scores between math and verbal, so all I can say is that the LSAT is harder than either one on its own. It may be that there's not a lot of overlap between top scores on verbal and math, which might mean that there are less high combined scores than you might think. If anybody has numbers, let's see them, but unless I see proof otherwise, I'd guess that less people get 180s on the LSAT than get 1600s on the GRE.

[paratactical]

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[stab master arson]

I wish I could have substituted my GRE percentiles for my LSAT percentile. I barely studied for the GRE (I read through the cheapest book I could find at Barnes and Noble) and scored above the 90th in verbal and above the 80th in math. I studied my ass off for the LSAT for a total of three months, took it twice, and never scored above the 60th percentile.

[madisonian]

The subject specific GRE's for the hard sciences is far more difficult than the LSAT. You need to pretty much know a degrees worth of that subject.

[WeArePennState]

Math scares me. It killed my score on the SAT. So thank you, LSAC for making me look much smarter than the College Board or whatever it is called.

I can only assume that if I took the GRE, I would own the verbal section and be made to cry like a little girl by the math section. That's just how my brain operates I guess.