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LSAT Medians For Law Schools 2015

Evan JonesBy Updated:10 Comments5 Mins Read

Update: For the most current numbers, see this post: Newest LSAT and GPA Medians

For those anticipating their LSAT score soon, here is a handy chart of LSAT medians, 25th percentiles, and 75th percentiles by law school. These figures are those used to rank law schools for the USNEWS Best Law Schools Rankings, and represent the medians for students entering in the fall class of 2013 (class of 2016).

Because it’s likely that a comparable number of prospective students will be taking the LSAT this year, it’s very likely that medians will remain around where they are on this chart. These LSAT figures, can help assess your chances of admission to a school.

Assuming you have a GPA that is around median for the school, schools where your LSAT is at the median can be considered a “target” school. Those where your LSAT is closer to the 25th percentile LSAT are “reach” schools and those where you have an LSAT closer to the 75th or above can be considered “safety” schools.

Beyond giving you guide posts, there is nothing too magic about 25th percentile and 75th percentile LSAT figures. In the USNews methodology, LSAT medians count for 12.5% percent of the ranking. 25th and 75th percentile LSAT is not taken into account, so a student scoring at or slightly above the median may be similarly valuable from the school’s perspective as one that scored at the 75th percentile or even higher.

Schools do, however, want the highest LSAT scorers they can get. The LSAT does after all purport to measure how well a student is likley to do in law school. All things being equal, a higher LSAT should always boost your chances of admission and scholarship money.

Here is the chart. We’ve included the US News Rank so you can see if a school is more or less competitive to get into than their rank would indicate. Iowa, for example, is way easier to get into than their rank would indicate, whereas some, like Northeastern and Washington and Lee, are much harder.

Law School LSAT Medians, 25th, and 75th Percentiles

LSAT Median Rank Law School LSAT 25th% LSAT Median LSAT 75th% US News Ranking
1 Harvard 170 173 175 2
1 Yale 170 173 176 1
3 Columbia 169 171 173 4
3 Stanford 169 171 173 3
5 Chicago 166 170 172 4
5 NYU 168 170 172 6
7 Duke 165 169 170 10
7 Pennsylvania 165 169 171 7
7 Virginia 164 169 170 8
10 Georgetown 163 168 169 13
10 Michigan 165 168 170 10
10 Northwestern 161 168 171 12
13 Cornell 165 167 167 13
13 UC-Berkeley 166 167 169 9
13 UCLA 162 167 169 16
13 Vanderbilt 163 167 169 16
17 Texas 163 166 168 15
17 USC 163 166 167 20
17 Washington U. 160 166 167 18
20 Boston U. 161 165 166 27
20 Emory 157 165 166 19
20 G. Washington 159 165 167 20
23 Alabama 157 164 166 23
23 Boston College 160 164 165 36
23 UC-Irvine 162 164 166 –
23 Minnesota 156 164 167 20
23 U. Washington 161 164 165 24
23 Washington & Lee 160 164 165 43
23 William & Mary 161 164 165 24
30 Fordham 161 163 165 36
30 Georgia 158 163 164 29
30 Notre Dame 160 163 165 26
33 Arizona State 158 162 164 31
33 Colorado 158 162 164 43
33 Indiana 154 162 164 29
33 SMU 157 162 163 42
33 UC-Davis 159 162 164 46
33 Wake Forest 157 162 164 31
39 BYU 158 161 164 36
39 George Mason 157 161 163 46
39 Iowa 159 161 163 27
39 North Carolina 159 161 163 31
39 Northeastern 153 161 162 93
39 Richmond 157 161 163 51
39 Wisconsin 156 161 163 31
46 Arizona 155 160 163 40
46 Baylor 158 160 162 51
46 Cardozo 156 160 162 64
46 Florida 156 160 162 49
46 Houston 157 160 162 58
46 Illinois 157 160 163 40
46 Ohio State 157 160 162 31
46 Pepperdine 154 160 162 54
46 Temple 156 160 162 61
46 Tulane 156 160 162 46

In case you want to print it out, here is an image of the above chart:

View Printable Chart

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10 Comments

  1. Angela Liu on

    Hi Joshua,

    I have several personal questions which I would like to ask you. Could you please email me at the email addres provided to you here and let me know what is your email?
    Thanks a lot!

    Reply
  2. AW on

    Evan,

    I wasn’t sure which comment stream you would see this question in, so I thought I would email as well as posting post-webinar.

    I got a 169 on the September LSAT. I was scoring at about a 170/171 on average in the prep tests I did, and I desperately want to go to a T7 school. I have a 3.63 GPA from undergrad, a 3.73 GPA from a top-ranked master’s program in foreign relations, and 5 years of high-profile work experience that clearly leads toward law school. I can’t decide whether I should retake in December – thoughts?

    Reply
    • Evan Jones on

      While I think you might sneak into a T7 with those numbers, I might suggest signing up for the retake and continuing to prep, provided you have a decent store of untouched PTs remaining to assess yourself with. If you see your score going up, you can retake. If not, you can back out. Can you give me a better idea of what you did to prep up til now? I might be able to point you in the right direction better.

      Reply
      • AW on

        Hi Evan!

        Thanks for your thoughts – I really appreciate your response.

        I took a powerscore course last year (for the Dec 2013 test) and saw no improvement, so I put off taking the test multiple times. I then did a Blueprint online course this summer, which was great, and put in a lot of hours doing all the homework. I probably took about 10 full practice tests. Unfortunately, I also had a pretty severe case of bronchitis for the month leading up to the September exam.

        I mainly want to go to a T7 as I am extremely interested in international negotiation and international law, and there are some amazing programs at some of the T7 schools. Luckily, my work experience and letters of recommendation all feed strongly into that area, and I have demonstrated experience in international negotiations (highlighted in my personal statement). I guess I’m trying to weigh the benefits of hitting a 172 with the benefits of applying early, as my application is a bit non-traditional (that is, with a master’s and 5 years of full-time work experience).

        Best,

        A

        Reply
  3. Enni on

    Hey guys! Great site; thanks so much! I have three years of work experience with a very disadvantaged socioeconomic background and sub-par T15 GPA who have been scoring in the late 150s on practice tests.

    I want to ask if my chances of admission will be higher if I apply early in November using the 157 LSAT score OR take the Dec LSAT (hopefully with a 165 LSAT score) & have my application read after the holidays??

    What method is more likely I get an offer?

    Reply
  4. Tina vazquez on

    I am 56 years old and have decided to retake the LSAT. Hey don’t make that face, gotta give myself a second chance in my life , and have the guts and strength to handle it. However I do, I applaud my never give up attitude, and hope others can find the courage as I have, to once again believe in themselves. Fingers crossed.

    Reply
  5. DB on

    Dear Evan and Josh,

    Thank you so much for this valuable resource. When I decided to make the career switch from the arts to the legal field and began searching around the internet for advice about the LSAT your website was the first thing I really “studied” to plot a course for acing the exam and handling the forthcoming application process.

    I was hesitant initially to take the plunge because I had a sub-median UGPA for the T14. I’m very financially risk-averse in this career-switch from reading all of the anti-law school media in the last few years, so I would not consider attending a school without the odds of solid employment that the T14 schools offer.

    I learned from your site how much more important the LSAT was than GPA in LS admissions, and that working hard on the LSAT would allow me to overcome a sub-median GPA and maybe even get scholarships to a T14. Especially with the recent fall in application numbers. I followed the basic outline of your free study plans and prep strategies (adjusted to fit my unusual schedule), and followed the most crucial advice of taking a TON of timed practice exams. I didn’t have the bones at the time for a prep course, so having a cost-effective resource for organizing my time was invaluable. I was able to devote my full energy to prepping in an efficient manner while still keeping up with the demands of my other work.

    I ended up with a 176 on the June 2014 LSAT! I literally couldn’t believe it… kept hitting refresh to make sure I wasn’t crazy.

    I can’t thank you both enough for all of the free information, and for helping me avoid crappy resources like Kaplan and Princeton review (would have been my default had I not found your site, I’m sure). In fact, literally 3 days after I got my score back I got hired to teach the LSAT full-time for one of the top-paying prep companies. This was a complete game-changer for me. I love my new job teaching the LSAT!

    Thank you so much for this resource and I hope your business continues to thrive as it should! Definitely following those Amazon links for admissions/pre-law books!

    DB

    Reply
    • Joshua Craven on

      DB,

      I’m so happy that you shared your story with Evan and I. We were just chatting on the phone and read your message together.

      You are EXACTLY the sort of person that we were hoping to reach when we created this site. You’re life will never be the same now that you CRUSHED the LSAT.

      Please shoot us me an email as well at Joshua.Craven@lawschooli.com — shoot me your phone number in the email and I’d love to take a few mins to chat and say hi.

      Best,
      Joshua Craven

      Reply

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