Will it hurt my chances to get into law school if I leave the writing sample blank on the LSAT?

Answer 1

After participating in several Q&A sessions with Deans of Admissions from various top law schools, I can confidently say that the LSAT writing sample is something that could hurt your chances of getting admitted if you do not put forth a sincere effort. Writing the most amazing argument on the writing sample is unlikely to help your application outperform your numbers and résumé, but if you don't try to answer the prompt you are giving the admissions officer a reason to waitlist or reject you.

Answer 2

You should do your best to complete the writing sample. According to the Law School Admission Council's website, the writing sample is "unscored," however, "the writing sample lets you demonstrate your argumentative writing skills" and "Law schools are looking at the reasoning, clarity, organization, language usage, and writing mechanics you display in your sample."