LSAT 118 – Section 4 – Question 15

LSAT 118 - Section 4 - Question 15

December 2004

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT118 S4 Q15
+LR
Except +Exc
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
74%
166
B
5%
161
C
2%
160
D
18%
160
E
1%
156
140
152
164
 +Medium 147.106 +SubsectionMedium

The cost of a semester’s tuition at a certain university is based on the number of courses in which a student enrolls that semester. Although the cost per course at that university has not risen in four years, many of its students who could afford the tuition when they first enrolled now claim they can no longer afford it.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do many students who could afford tuition when they first enrolled now claim that they can’t afford tuition anymore, even though the cost of tuition is based on the number of courses enrolled in and the cost per course hasn’t increased in the last four years?

Objective
This is an EXCEPT question. The four wrong answers will tell us something that might have changed for students that would make it more difficult to pay for tuition today compared to when they first started at the school.

A
Faculty salaries at the university have risen slightly over the past four years.
We’re told tuition is based on the number of courses enrolled in, and the cost per course has not gone up. We have no reason to think faculty salaries influence the way tuition is calculated.
B
The number of courses per semester for which full-time students are required to enroll is higher this year than any time in the past.
This could explain why tuition has gone up for some students, even though the cost per course is the same. More courses enrolled in means higher tuition.
C
The cost of living in the vicinity of the university has risen over the last two years.
This is a change that could explain why some students find it harder to afford tuition today. If cost of living has gone up recently, that means students spend more on things besides tuition, which could make tuition harder to afford.
D
The university awards new students a large number of scholarships that are renewed each year for the students who maintain high grade averages.
Some students might have had scholarships when they first started, but lost those scholarships later. This could explain why some students find it more difficult to afford tuition today.
E
The university has turned many of its part-time office jobs, for which students had generally been hired, into full-time, nonstudent positions.
Some students might have had university job in the past, which helped them afford tuition. If those students lost those jobs, that might explain why some students find it harder to afford tuition today.

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LSAT PrepTest 118 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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