LSAT Scores

How is the LSAT scored?

The LSAT is scored at a scale of 120 to 180, with a mean score of about 150. However, if you’re trying to go into one of the top law schools, your ranking should be above 160. The test has about 101 questions, and each correct answer represents one point of your raw score. This raw score (0–101) is translated into a scaled score ranging from 120 to 180 using a specially formulated equation. For instance, a raw score of 99 out of 101 will convert to 180.

📊 LSAT Score Chart


Scaled Score

Raw Score

Lowest

Highest

120

99

100

121

*

*

122

98

98

123

97

97

124

*

*

125

96

96

126

95

95

127

*

*

128

94

94

129

93

93

130

92

92

131

91

91

132

90

90

133

89

89

134

87

88

135

86

86

136

85

85

137

83

84

138

81

82

139

80

80

140

78

79

141

76

77

142

75

75

143

73

74

144

71

72

145

69

70

146

67

68

147

65

66

148

63

64

149

61

62

150

59

60

151

57

58

152

55

56

153

54

54

154

52

53

155

50

51

156

48

49

157

46

47

158

44

45

159

42

43

160

40

41

161

39

39

162

37

38

163

35

36

164

33

34

165

32

32

166

30

31

167

29

29

168

27

28

169

26

26

170

25

25

171

24

24

172

22

23

173

21

21

174

20

20

175

19

19

176

18

18

177

17

17

178

*

*

179

16

16

180

0

15

⚖️ Law School LSAT Scores and GPA

Some law schools may weigh 70% of your LSAT score when evaluating admissions, compared to just 30% for your GPA.

Each school has a different system for test scores for GPA and LSAT. A university may, for instance, use (LSAT score-120)+ (GPA 20) as an index to evaluate you. Hence, if you have a 150 LSAT score and a 3.5 GPA score, the admissions scale would be the following:

  • (150 – 120) + (3.5 × 20) = 100

Your LSAT score being more relevant than your 4-year GPA, probably sounds ridiculous. Why would a standardized multi-choice test be necessary as admissions to the law school? To clarify this, consider the flaws of other admissions factors:

  • Based on the difficulties in comparing grades from different programs and schools, undergraduate GPA can be unreliable. There are enormous difficulties, even in individual classes within majors. Courses may not reflect the ability required for law schools. Nonetheless, law school recruitment officers don’t have that option and have to compare applicants from hundreds and hundreds or tens of thousands of students in different classes.
  • It is difficult to distinguish between hundreds of candidates, all of whom claim their students are “excellent.” School administrators are often encouraged to do whatever it takes to help their students to enter top-ranking schools.
  • Application essays are not necessarily academic or even personal. Most admissions consulting programs help students compose their essays. Furthermore, admission departments lack sufficient employees to read the essays. You may never read your application essay if your LSAT score and your GPA are far below average.

Given these factors, it is no wonder that admission officers at law schools tend to depend more on LSAT scores. High LSAT results are very unusual, but not high GPA, as it will have more value. The excellent news is LSAT is a great test, and if you master the LSAT, you can raise your score by 20 to 30 points.

💯 Law School LSAT Scores

Below is a table of LSAT scores for top 20 law schools:

Law Schools

Rank

Average LSAT scores by school

Average GPA

Admission Index

Yale Law School

New Haven, CT

1

173

3.93

212

Stanford Law School

Palo Alto, CA

2

171

3.89

210

Harvard Law School

Cambridge, MA

2

179

3.86

212

Columbia Law

New York, NY

4

171

3.7

208

U.Chicago Law

Chicago, IL

4

170

3.9

209

NYU Law School

New York, NY

6

169

3.78

207

Penn Law

Philadelphia, PA

7

169

3.89

207

UVA Law School

Charlottesville, VA

8

168

3.86

206

Michigan Law

Ann Arbor, MI

8

168

3.76

206

UC Berkeley Law

Berkeley, CA

8

166

3.78

205

Duke Law

Durham, NC

11

169

3.76

206

Northwestern Law

Chicago, IL

12

168

3.77

207

Cornell Law

Ithaca, NY

13

167

3.74

203

Georgetown Law

Washington, DC

14

167

3.76

204

U.Texas Law

Austin, TX

15

165

3.72

202

Vanderbilt Law

Nashville, TN

16

166

3.74

203

UCLA Law

Los Angeles, CA

17

166

3.74

203

‎Washington U. Law

St. Louis, MO

18

167

3.67

205

USC Law School

Los Angeles, CA

19

166

3.76

204

U. Iowa Law

Iowa City, IA

20

161

3.61

199

Boston University Law

Boston, MA

20

164

3.68

201

💭 LSAT Questions

How long are LSAT scores valid?

After the exam, the LSAC will keep a record of your LSAT scores for 5 years. If you take the test multiple times, LSAC will keep track of each score and give you an average rating and a list of each score you obtained.

How long does it take to get LSAT scores?

If you have an LSAC account, you will obtain your markup about 3 weeks after the exam. You can also receive your score via phone with TelScore at the cost of $100, approximately three weeks after the exam.

When do LSAT scores come out?

The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) transmits scores through e-mail about 4 weeks and about 5 weeks via mail after the test.

What is the best way to get a near-perfect score on the LSAT?

The secret to getting a near-perfect result is patience, optimism, and enthusiasm with adequate preparation and review.

Is 160 a good LSAT score for a 13-year-old with no prep?

For a typical LSAT student, 160 is a great score. For most of these ages, the average starting score was slightly less than 150.

What schools accept low LSAT scores?

Below are law schools that accept low LSAT scores.

  1. Southern University
  2. North Carolina Central University
  3. Thomas M. Cooley Law School
  4. Ave Maria School of Law
  5. Nova Southeastern University (Broad)
  6. University of Detroit Mercy

What is the highest score on LSAT ever?

The scaled score ranges between 120 and 180, so basically, the highest score on the LSAT is 180. Roughly about one in three thousand get this rating, so if you have 180, you have 99.97 percentiles.

What is the average LSAT scores for law schools?

About 150 is the average LSAT score. A score of 162 or higher is required to get into a top 14 law school, and a score of 154 or higher is required to get into a top 50 law school.

What happens if you have multiple LSAT scores?

Candidates with multiple LSAT scores will be evaluated based on all available data. However, throughout the admissions assessment process, the Law School will no longer rely exclusively on an applicant’s average score.

What University of Texas law school LSAT scores do I need?

To be a strong competitive applicant at the University of Texas Law, you’ll most likely need an LSAT score of 167 or above, as well as a 3.7+ undergraduate GPA.