New LSAT and GPA medians are out for the Class of 2023!
To help you pick reach, target, and safety schools, here are the most recent LSAT and GPA medians available, representing numbers for the law school class of 2023. Seeing the most recently admitted class numbers gives you the most accurate idea of where you’ll stand in the admissions game.
Generally, if both your numbers are above the median, consider that school a safety. Both below makes it a reach.
For comparison, I’ve provided the numbers for the previous few years so that you can see whether it’s gotten slightly more competitive or less so at a school from year to year.
Some trends to notice: In most of the very top schools, LSAT and GPA numbers have either stayed roughly the same as last year or gotten marginally more competitive (slightly higher medians). The number of applicants with high LSAT scores has been increasing lately, so at these top schools, we may see LSAT medians jump by a point or two max for the entering Class of 2023.
LSAT and GPA Medians – Class of 2023
Here are the numbers!
(note: US News only ranks law schools up to 150. For the table sorting functionality to work properly, we had to enter a numeric value, so any school ranked “151” in our tables below was unranked in the latest US News Law School Rankings.)
LSAT Medians
Class of 2016 through 2023
# | School | 2021 LSAT | 2020 LSAT | 2019 LSAT | 2018 LSAT | 2017 LSAT | 2016 LSAT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yale University (CT) | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 |
2 | Stanford University (CA) | 171 | 171 | 171 | 171 | 172 | 171 |
3 | Harvard University (MA) | 173 | 173 | 172 | 173 | 173 | 173 |
4 | University of Chicago | 171 | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 |
5 | Columbia University (NY) | 172 | 171 | 172 | 171 | 172 | 171 |
6 | New York University | 170 | 169 | 169 | 169 | 170 | 170 |
7 | University of Pennsylvania | 170 | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
8 | University of Michigan | 169 | 169 | 168 | 168 | 168 | 168 |
9 | UC Berkeley | 168 | 167 | 166 | 166 | 167 | 167 |
9 | University of Virginia | 169 | 169 | 169 | 168 | 169 | 169 |
11 | Duke University (NC) | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
11 | Northwestern University (IL) | 169 | 168 | 168 | 168 | 168 | 168 |
13 | Cornell University (NY) | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 |
14 | Georgetown (DC) | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 168 |
15 | U Texas-Austin | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 167 | 166 |
16 | UCLA | 168 | 167 | 167 | 166 | 167 | 167 |
17 | Vanderbilt U (TN) | 167 | 166 | 167 | 166 | 167 | 167 |
18 | Washington U (MO) | 168 | 168 | 168 | 167 | 166 | 166 |
19 | U Southern California | 166 | 165 | 165 | 166 | 166 | 166 |
20 | U Minnesota Twin Cities | 164 | 163 | 164 | 164 | 164 | 164 |
21 | UC Irvine | 163 | 163 | 163 | 162 | 164 | 164 |
22 | Boston University | 166 | 165 | 164 | 163 | 163 | 165 |
22 | Emory U (GA) | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 |
24 | George Washington U | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 |
24 | U Notre Dame (IN) | 165 | 164 | 164 | 164 | 163 | 163 |
26 | Washington & Lee U | 163 | 161 | 160 | 160 | 161 | 164 |
27 | U Alabama | 164 | 164 | 163 | 163 | 163 | 164 |
27 | Arizona State University | 163 | 162 | 161 | 161 | 162 | 162 |
27 | Boston College | 164 | 163 | 163 | 162 | 162 | 164 |
27 | University of Iowa | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 160 | 161 |
27 | University of Wisconsin Madison | 162 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 |
32 | University of Georgia | 163 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 163 | 163 |
32 | Indiana U Bloomington | 162 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 162 |
32 | Ohio State University (Moritz) | 161 | 160 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 160 |
32 | Wake Forest University | 162 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 162 |
32 | University of Washington | 163 | 163 | 163 | 164 | 164 | 164 |
37 | UC Davis | 162 | 163 | 163 | 163 | 162 | 162 |
37 | Fordham University | 164 | 163 | 163 | 163 | 163 | 163 |
37 | University of Illinois | 162 | 161 | 160 | 161 | 161 | 160 |
37 | William & Mary (VA) | 162 | 163 | 162 | 163 | 163 | 164 |
41 | University of Arizona (Rogers) | 161 | 161 | 161 | 160 | 161 | 160 |
41 | Brigham Young University (Clark) | 164 | 163 | 162 | 161 | 162 | 161 |
41 | University of Florida | 163 | 161 | 160 | 157 | 158 | 160 |
41 | George Mason University (VA) | 163 | 162 | 162 | 161 | 161 | 161 |
45 | University of North Carolina | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 |
46 | University of Colorado | 162 | 161 | 162 | 161 | 161 | 162 |
47 | Florida State University | 160 | 159 | 159 | 158 | 159 | 159 |
47 | Temple University (Beasley) | 161 | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 |
49 | University of Maryland (Carey) | 158 | 157 | 158 | 157 | 159 | 159 |
50 | Baylor University | 160 | 159 | 159 | 160 | 159 | 161 |
50 | University of Connecticut | 158 | 158 | 156 | 156 | 157 | 158 |
50 | University of Richmond (Williams) | 161 | 160 | 161 | 160 | 160 | 161 |
50 | Southern Methodist University | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 162 |
54 | Tulane University | 159 | 158 | 158 | 159 | 161 | 160 |
54 | University of Utah (Quinney) | 159 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 159 |
56 | Cardozo (Yeshiva) | 161 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 160 |
56 | University of Houston | 160 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 160 |
58 | UC Hastings | 158 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 158 | 159 |
59 | Penn. State Carlisle (Dickinson) | 160 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 158 | 158 |
59 | Seton Hall University | 158 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 157 |
59 | University of Nevada Las Vegas | 158 | 157 | 157 | 158 | 158 | 158 |
63 | University of Denver (Sturm) | 158 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 156 | 158 |
63 | University of Oklahoma | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 |
65 | Case Western Reserve University | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 |
65 | University of Cincinnati | 157 | 156 | 155 | 155 | 155 | 158 |
65 | Georgia State University | 158 | 157 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 159 |
65 | University of Kentucky | 155 | 156 | 154 | 155 | 155 | 157 |
65 | Loyola Marymount University (CA) | 160 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 | 159 |
65 | University of Miami | 158 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 |
65 | University of Missouri | 157 | 157 | 158 | 157 | 157 | 157 |
65 | University of Tennessee Knoxville | 158 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 157 |
65 | Villanova University | 158 | 158 | 157 | 156 | 157 | 157 |
74 | University of Kansas | 157 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 158 | 156 |
74 | Loyola University Chicago | 157 | 158 | 157 | 158 | 157 | 158 |
74 | Northeastern University | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 | 161 |
74 | Penn. State University Park | 159 | 158 | 158 | 158 | – | – |
74 | University of Pittsburgh | 157 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 157 | 158 |
74 | Rutgers | 155 | 155 | 155 | 155 | – | – |
80 | American University (Washington) | 158 | 156 | 156 | 155 | 156 | 157 |
80 | University of Nebraska Lincoln | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 155 |
80 | Texas A&M | 157 | 157 | 157 | 156 | 154 | 152 |
83 | Brooklyn Law School | 157 | 156 | 156 | 155 | 156 | 159 |
83 | St. John’s University | 159 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 157 | 156 |
85 | IIT – Chicago Kent | 157 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 157 | 155 |
85 | University of New Hampshire | 156 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 155 | 157 |
85 | University of Oregon | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 158 |
88 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 |
88 | Louisiana State University | 154 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 155 | 156 |
88 | Michigan State University | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 157 |
88 | University of New Mexico | 153 | 153 | 153 | 154 | 153 | 154 |
88 | St. Louis University | 155 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 155 | 155 |
88 | University of South Carolina | 155 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 155 |
88 | Syracuse University | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 155 |
95 | Lewis & Clark (OR) | 158 | 157 | 157 | 158 | 158 | 158 |
95 | Marquette University | 154 | 153 | 153 | 152 | 152 | 155 |
95 | University of San Diego | 159 | 158 | 158 | 159 | 159 | 159 |
98 | Indiana University Indianapolis | 153 | 153 | 153 | 152 | 152 | 154 |
98 | Stetson | 155 | 155 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 155 |
98 | Wayne State | 158 | 157 | 157 | 157 | 156 | 157 |
101 | Drexel University (Mack) | 156 | 155 | 154 | 155 | 154 | 155 |
101 | Florida International University | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 |
101 | University of Hawaii (Richardson) | 154 | 153 | 152 | 154 | 156 | 157 |
101 | University of Mississippi | 155 | 155 | 155 | 155 | 155 | 155 |
101 | University of Tulsa | 154 | 154 | 155 | 154 | 154 | 155 |
106 | Albany (NY) | 153 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 151 | 152 |
106 | University of Maine | 154 | 153 | 152 | 152 | 153 | 155 |
106 | SUNY Buffalo Law School | 153 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 |
106 | West Virginia University | 153 | 153 | 153 | 153 | 154 | – |
110 | Catholic Univ. of America (Columbus) | 153 | 153 | 154 | 153 | 155 | – |
110 | Hofstra | 153 | 152 | 151 | 153 | 152 | 154 |
110 | New York Law School | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 151 |
113 | Cleveland State | 153 | 153 | 153 | 153 | 153 | 153 |
113 | Gonzaga (WA) | 154 | 153 | 153 | 153 | 153 | 154 |
113 | University of Louisville (Brandeis) | 153 | 152 | 153 | 154 | 153 | 158 |
113 | Santa Clara University | 155 | 154 | 154 | 155 | 157 | 157 |
113 | St. Thomas (MN) | 154 | 154 | 153 | 154 | 154 | 155 |
113 | Texas Tech | 155 | 155 | 153 | 154 | 154 | 155 |
119 | University of Baltimore | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
119 | Duquesne (PA) | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
119 | University of Idaho | 153 | 153 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 152 |
119 | University of Missouri Kansas City | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
119 | University of Montana | 155 | 154 | 154 | 153 | 154 | 154 |
119 | Washburn University | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 153 |
125 | CUNY | 154 | 153 | 151 | 152 | 154 | 154 |
125 | Creighton | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
125 | Pace University | 151 | 151 | 151 | 150 | 151 | 151 |
128 | DePaul | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 153 | 154 |
128 | Howard University | 151 | 151 | 150 | 150 | 151 | 151 |
128 | Mercer | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
128 | Seattle U | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | 156 |
128 | South Dakota | 150 | 147 | 148 | 147 | 148 | 147 |
133 | Drake (IA) | 153 | 152 | 153 | 151 | 152 | 153 |
133 | Quinnipiac | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 153 | 154 |
133 | Vermont Law School | 151 | 151 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 151 |
133 | University of Wyoming | 152 | 151 | 153 | 151 | 153 | 151 |
137 | Memphis | 152 | 152 | 151 | 152 | 153 | 153 |
137 | Toledo | 152 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 151 | 152 |
139 | Belmont University | 155 | 155 | 155 | 154 | 155 | 155 |
139 | Chapman University | 157 | 156 | 155 | 156 | 156 | 158 |
141 | Arkansas – Little Rock | 151 | 151 | 151 | 150 | 150 | 154 |
141 | Dayton | 149 | 149 | 149 | 148 | 148 | 148 |
143 | Widener (Commonwealth PA) | 147 | 147 | 148 | 148 | 148 | 148 |
144 | Akron | 153 | 151 | 152 | 152 | 153 | 153 |
144 | Northern Illinois University | 149 | 150 | 148 | 148 | 150 | 150 |
144 | Suffolk University | 153 | 150 | 150 | 150 | 146 | 149 |
151 | Appalachian | 144 | 143 | 143 | 146 | 144 | 145 |
151 | Atlanta’s John Marshall | 149 | 146 | 148 | 147 | 148 | 149 |
151 | Ave Maria | 148 | 147 | 147 | 148 | 143 | 146 |
151 | Barry University | 148 | 148 | 148 | 146 | 146 | 147 |
151 | California Western | 150 | 150 | 149 | 150 | 150 | 151 |
151 | Campbell University | 152 | 152 | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
151 | Capital University | 149 | 149 | 148 | 149 | 148 | 148 |
151 | Charleston School of Law | 147 | 145 | 145 | 146 | 148 | 150 |
151 | Concordia | 148 | 147 | 149 | 150 | 152 | 152 |
151 | Detroit Mercy | 152 | 151 | 151 | 151 | 152 | 151 |
151 | University of D.C. | 147 | 148 | 147 | 148 | 148 | 149 |
151 | Elon University | 150 | 148 | 148 | 147 | 148 | 150 |
151 | Faulkner | 149 | 147 | 145 | 145 | 145 | 146 |
151 | Florida A&M | 146 | 146 | 145 | 146 | 146 | 146 |
151 | Florida Coastal | 150 | 148 | 144 | 144 | 143 | 144 |
151 | Golden Gate | 150 | 148 | 149 | 148 | 149 | 150 |
151 | Inter-American Puerto Rico | 139 | 139 | 137 | 138 | 138 | 138 |
151 | John Marshall (IL) | 149 | 148 | 148 | 147 | 149 | 149 |
151 | Liberty | 152 | 151 | 152 | 153 | 151 | 151 |
151 | Lincoln Memorial | 149 | 148 | 148 | 150 | 151 | 149 |
151 | Loyola University New Orleans | 152 | 148 | 148 | 151 | 153 | 151 |
151 | University of the Pacific (McGeorge) | 153 | 151 | 152 | 151 | 151 | 154 |
151 | Mississippi College | 148 | 148 | 146 | 146 | 147 | 149 |
151 | Hamline University | 151 | 150 | 150 | 152 | 151 | 153 |
151 | New England | 150 | 149 | 150 | 147 | 150 | 149 |
151 | North Carolina Central | 146 | 145 | 144 | 145 | 144 | 145 |
151 | University of North Dakota | 148 | 148 | 149 | 148 | 150 | 148 |
151 | Northern Kentucky | 150 | 149 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 152 |
151 | Nova Southeastern | 150 | 149 | 149 | 149 | 148 | 149 |
151 | Ohio Northern | 151 | 151 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 150 |
151 | Oklahoma City | 149 | 147 | 147 | 148 | 148 | 149 |
151 | Pontifical Catholic | 134 | 134 | 134 | 133 | 134 | 135 |
151 | University of Puerto Rico | 142 | 144 | 143 | 144 | 144 | 145 |
151 | Regent University | 154 | 154 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 153 |
151 | Roger Williams | 148 | 147 | 148 | 148 | 148 | 149 |
151 | Samford (Cumberland) | 151 | 151 | 152 | 151 | 151 | 150 |
151 | San Francisco | 152 | 152 | 151 | 152 | 153 | 153 |
151 | South Texas | 151 | 149 | 151 | 150 | 151 | 151 |
151 | Southern Illinois Univ. Carbondale | 150 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 147 | 150 |
151 | Southern University | 144 | 144 | 143 | 143 | 144 | 145 |
151 | Southwestern | 153 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 151 | 152 |
151 | St. Mary’s University | 151 | 150 | 149 | 151 | 150 | 151 |
151 | St. Thomas (FL) | 148 | 148 | 147 | 147 | 148 | 147 |
151 | Texas Southern | 144 | 143 | 145 | 143 | 145 | 144 |
151 | Thomas Jefferson | 147 | 144 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 |
151 | Touro College | 148 | 147 | 148 | 147 | 146 | 148 |
151 | La Verne | 149 | 149 | 147 | 147 | 147 | 147 |
151 | UMass Dartmouth | 148 | 148 | 148 | 148 | 147 | 148 |
151 | UNT Dallas | 150 | 149 | – | – | – | – |
151 | Cooley (Western Michigan) | 142 | 142 | 141 | 141 | 145 | 145 |
151 | Western New England | 148 | 148 | 148 | 147 | 146 | 149 |
151 | Western State College of Law | 148 | 147 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 |
151 | Widener (DE) | 148 | 148 | 148 | 149 | 149 | 150 |
151 | Willamette University | 152 | 152 | 151 | 153 | 151 | 151 |
151 | Pepperdine University | 160 | 160 | 159 | 159 | 160 | 160 |
GPA Medians
Class of 2016 through 2021
# | School | 2021 GPA | 2020 GPA | 2019 GPA | 2018 GPA | 2017 GPA | 2016 GPA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yale University (CT) | 3.92 | 3.91 | 3.89 | 3.93 | 3.91 | 3.90 |
2 | Stanford University (CA) | 3.93 | 3.90 | 3.87 | 3.89 | 3.90 | 3.87 |
3 | Harvard University (MA) | 3.90 | 3.86 | 3.86 | 3.86 | 3.87 | 3.88 |
4 | University of Chicago | 3.89 | 3.90 | 3.90 | 3.90 | 3.90 | 3.90 |
5 | Columbia University (NY) | 3.75 | 3.70 | 3.70 | 3.70 | 3.71 | 3.70 |
6 | New York University | 3.79 | 3.83 | 3.81 | 3.78 | 3.75 | 3.72 |
7 | University of Pennsylvania | 3.89 | 3.89 | 3.90 | 3.89 | 3.89 | 3.89 |
8 | University of Michigan | 3.77 | 3.80 | 3.78 | 3.76 | 3.74 | 3.71 |
9 | UC Berkeley | 3.80 | 3.79 | 3.79 | 3.78 | 3.79 | 3.78 |
9 | University of Virginia | 3.89 | 3.87 | 3.86 | 3.86 | 3.85 | 3.87 |
11 | Duke University (NC) | 3.78 | 3.75 | 3.76 | 3.76 | 3.77 | 3.77 |
11 | Northwestern University (IL) | 3.84 | 3.83 | 3.81 | 3.77 | 3.75 | 3.75 |
13 | Cornell University (NY) | 3.82 | 3.77 | 3.73 | 3.74 | 3.68 | 3.66 |
14 | Georgetown (DC) | 3.80 | 3.79 | 3.77 | 3.76 | 3.75 | 3.74 |
15 | U Texas-Austin | 3.74 | 3.71 | 3.70 | 3.73 | 3.68 | 3.68 |
16 | UCLA | 3.72 | 3.76 | 3.74 | 3.74 | 3.79 | 3.79 |
17 | Vanderbilt U (TN) | 3.80 | 3.75 | 3.70 | 3.74 | 3.70 | 3.74 |
18 | Washington U (MO) | 3.81 | 3.74 | 3.67 | 3.67 | 3.62 | 3.69 |
19 | U Southern California | 3.78 | 3.76 | 3.76 | 3.76 | 3.76 | 3.70 |
20 | U Minnesota Twin Cities | 3.76 | 3.75 | 3.76 | 3.79 | 3.77 | 3.79 |
21 | UC Irvine | 3.57 | 3.57 | 3.54 | 3.56 | 3.53 | 3.52 |
22 | Boston University | 3.74 | 3.73 | 3.68 | 3.67 | 3.66 | 3.67 |
22 | Emory U (GA) | 3.79 | 3.81 | 3.78 | 3.77 | 3.75 | 3.75 |
24 | George Washington U | 3.71 | 3.71 | 3.71 | 3.71 | 3.71 | 3.71 |
24 | U Notre Dame (IN) | 3.71 | 3.73 | 3.71 | 3.66 | 3.64 | 3.60 |
26 | Washington & Lee U | 3.51 | 3.56 | 3.47 | 3.41 | 3.37 | 3.51 |
27 | U Alabama | 3.88 | 3.84 | 3.82 | 3.76 | 3.77 | 3.86 |
27 | Arizona State University | 3.76 | 3.75 | 3.64 | 3.63 | 3.61 | 3.54 |
27 | Boston College | 3.62 | 3.61 | 3.50 | 3.56 | 3.52 | 3.61 |
27 | University of Iowa | 3.61 | 3.62 | 3.61 | 3.61 | 3.64 | 3.59 |
27 | University of Wisconsin Madison | 3.58 | 3.62 | 3.58 | 3.54 | 3.62 | 3.58 |
32 | University of Georgia | 3.67 | 3.71 | 3.73 | 3.71 | 3.70 | 3.69 |
32 | Indiana U Bloomington | 3.72 | 3.75 | 3.71 | 3.76 | 3.72 | 3.80 |
32 | Ohio State University (Moritz) | 3.75 | 3.68 | 3.61 | 3.61 | 3.60 | 3.65 |
32 | Wake Forest University | 3.58 | 3.65 | 3.58 | 3.60 | 3.58 | 3.57 |
32 | University of Washington | 3.69 | 3.67 | 3.68 | 3.65 | 3.67 | 3.64 |
37 | UC Davis | 3.63 | 3.59 | 3.52 | 3.51 | 3.60 | 3.55 |
37 | Fordham University | 3.60 | 3.59 | 3.53 | 3.53 | 3.54 | 3.52 |
37 | University of Illinois | 3.65 | 3.61 | 3.59 | 3.51 | 3.43 | 3.56 |
37 | William & Mary (VA) | 3.76 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.69 | 3.79 | 3.73 |
41 | University of Arizona (Rogers) | 3.70 | 3.63 | 3.57 | 3.51 | 3.57 | 3.57 |
41 | Brigham Young University (Clark) | 3.80 | 3.80 | 3.80 | 3.77 | 3.77 | 3.77 |
41 | University of Florida | 3.72 | 3.69 | 3.60 | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.55 |
41 | George Mason University (VA) | 3.77 | 3.70 | 3.66 | 3.59 | 3.60 | 3.55 |
45 | University of North Carolina | 3.59 | 3.56 | 3.51 | 3.49 | 3.48 | 3.50 |
46 | University of Colorado | 3.71 | 3.65 | 3.69 | 3.60 | 3.62 | 3.58 |
47 | Florida State University | 3.63 | 3.61 | 3.52 | 3.52 | 3.43 | 3.51 |
47 | Temple University (Beasley) | 3.56 | 3.49 | 3.49 | 3.50 | 3.49 | 3.40 |
49 | University of Maryland (Carey) | 3.56 | 3.51 | 3.47 | 3.46 | 3.50 | 3.53 |
50 | Baylor University | 3.59 | 3.53 | 3.55 | 3.53 | 3.54 | 3.55 |
50 | University of Connecticut | 3.45 | 3.45 | 3.31 | 3.34 | 3.44 | 3.46 |
50 | University of Richmond (Williams) | 3.59 | 3.57 | 3.55 | 3.51 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
50 | Southern Methodist University | 3.68 | 3.68 | 3.67 | 3.63 | 3.58 | 3.63 |
54 | Tulane University | 3.46 | 3.48 | 3.46 | 3.42 | 3.41 | 3.39 |
54 | University of Utah (Quinney) | 3.56 | 3.59 | 3.50 | 3.57 | 3.58 | 3.51 |
56 | Cardozo (Yeshiva) | 3.51 | 3.51 | 3.44 | 3.42 | 3.47 | 3.45 |
56 | University of Houston | 3.61 | 3.55 | 3.53 | 3.54 | 3.47 | 3.42 |
58 | UC Hastings | 3.44 | 3.42 | 3.45 | 3.50 | 3.44 | 3.52 |
59 | Penn. State Carlisle (Dickinson) | 3.43 | 3.29 | 3.48 | 3.46 | 3.58 | 3.58 |
59 | Seton Hall University | 3.51 | 3.41 | 3.40 | 3.42 | 3.48 | 3.52 |
59 | University of Nevada Las Vegas | 3.66 | 3.54 | 3.52 | 3.32 | 3.41 | 3.45 |
63 | University of Denver (Sturm) | 3.47 | 3.46 | 3.39 | 3.43 | 3.40 | 3.43 |
63 | University of Oklahoma | 3.60 | 3.56 | 3.52 | 3.56 | 3.52 | 3.48 |
65 | Case Western Reserve University | 3.46 | 3.46 | 3.48 | 3.44 | 3.44 | 3.38 |
65 | University of Cincinnati | 3.62 | 3.60 | 3.47 | 3.59 | 3.45 | 3.50 |
65 | Georgia State University | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.41 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.38 |
65 | University of Kentucky | 3.46 | 3.46 | 3.49 | 3.42 | 3.49 | 3.49 |
65 | Loyola Marymount University (CA) | 3.58 | 3.53 | 3.52 | 3.51 | 3.47 | 3.47 |
65 | University of Miami | 3.43 | 3.36 | 3.36 | 3.36 | 3.42 | 3.38 |
65 | University of Missouri | 3.49 | 3.44 | 3.48 | 3.41 | 3.46 | 3.45 |
65 | University of Tennessee Knoxville | 3.62 | 3.52 | 3.59 | 3.64 | 3.64 | 3.54 |
65 | Villanova University | 3.57 | 3.58 | 3.54 | 3.57 | 3.55 | 3.56 |
74 | University of Kansas | 3.57 | 3.53 | 3.44 | 3.42 | 3.47 | 3.42 |
74 | Loyola University Chicago | 3.43 | 3.39 | 3.30 | 3.34 | 3.30 | 3.40 |
74 | Northeastern University | 3.60 | 3.60 | 3.55 | 3.55 | 3.53 | 3.53 |
74 | Penn. State University Park | 3.58 | 3.54 | 3.47 | 3.58 | – | – |
74 | University of Pittsburgh | 3.39 | 3.42 | 3.42 | 3.36 | 3.46 | 3.42 |
74 | Rutgers Law (Combined) | 3.38 | 3.37 | 3.40 | 3.28 | – | – |
80 | American University (Washington) | 3.45 | 3.41 | 3.41 | 3.29 | 3.37 | 3.40 |
80 | University of Nebraska Lincoln | 3.66 | 3.72 | 3.69 | 3.65 | 3.67 | 3.61 |
80 | Texas A&M | 3.51 | 3.44 | 3.41 | 3.38 | 3.21 | 3.14 |
83 | Brooklyn Law School | 3.39 | 3.35 | 3.31 | 3.36 | 3.31 | 3.40 |
83 | St. John’s University | 3.61 | 3.58 | 3.54 | 3.54 | 3.45 | 3.39 |
85 | IIT – Chicago Kent | 3.45 | 3.40 | 3.39 | 3.36 | 3.43 | 3.31 |
85 | University of New Hampshire | 3.46 | 3.39 | 3.44 | 3.46 | 3.44 | 3.39 |
85 | University of Oregon | 3.38 | 3.41 | 3.40 | 3.48 | 3.33 | 3.36 |
88 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville | 3.46 | 3.53 | 3.47 | 3.37 | 3.43 | 3.50 |
88 | Louisiana State University | 3.46 | 3.44 | 3.38 | 3.48 | 3.23 | 3.43 |
88 | Michigan State University | 3.51 | 3.56 | 3.51 | 3.46 | 3.54 | 3.52 |
88 | University of New Mexico | 3.40 | 3.45 | 3.47 | 3.47 | 3.43 | 3.42 |
88 | St. Louis University | 3.45 | 3.38 | 3.40 | 3.44 | 3.46 | 3.41 |
88 | University of South Carolina | 3.41 | 3.38 | 3.47 | 3.30 | 3.23 | 3.27 |
88 | Syracuse University | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.35 | 3.33 | 3.37 | 3.29 |
95 | Lewis & Clark (OR) | 3.39 | 3.40 | 3.34 | 3.32 | 3.34 | 3.46 |
95 | Marquette University | 3.42 | 3.37 | 3.35 | 3.19 | 3.33 | 3.29 |
95 | University of San Diego | 3.55 | 3.51 | 3.51 | 3.52 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
98 | Indiana University Indianapolis | 3.49 | 3.45 | 3.41 | 3.34 | 3.32 | 3.45 |
98 | Stetson | 3.37 | 3.33 | 3.35 | 3.27 | 3.25 | 3.40 |
98 | Wayne State | 3.50 | 3.44 | 3.44 | 3.42 | 3.29 | 3.43 |
101 | Drexel University (Mack) | 3.43 | 3.37 | 3.30 | 3.31 | 3.28 | 3.35 |
101 | Florida International University | 3.63 | 3.61 | 3.64 | 3.63 | 3.58 | 3.58 |
101 | University of Hawaii (Richardson) | 3.34 | 3.20 | 3.27 | 3.27 | 3.39 | 3.32 |
101 | University of Mississippi | 3.46 | 3.49 | 3.45 | 3.41 | 3.47 | 3.46 |
101 | University of Tulsa | 3.48 | 3.35 | 3.40 | 3.31 | 3.45 | 3.43 |
106 | Albany (NY) | 3.32 | 3.36 | 3.34 | 3.23 | 3.22 | 3.37 |
106 | University of Maine | 3.47 | 3.42 | 3.24 | 3.37 | 3.38 | 3.36 |
106 | SUNY Buffalo Law School | 3.41 | 3.53 | 3.42 | 3.44 | 3.43 | 3.48 |
106 | West Virginia University | 3.38 | 3.32 | 3.33 | 3.35 | 3.43 | – |
110 | Catholic Univ. of America (Columbus) | 3.42 | 3.31 | 3.26 | 3.28 | 3.16 | – |
110 | Hofstra | 3.42 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.39 | 3.35 | 3.14 |
110 | New York Law School | 3.39 | 3.37 | 3.31 | 3.24 | 3.20 | 3.17 |
113 | Cleveland State | 3.47 | 3.35 | 3.29 | 3.40 | 3.27 | 3.32 |
113 | Gonzaga (WA) | 3.32 | 3.30 | 3.24 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 3.26 |
113 | University of Louisville (Brandeis) | 3.37 | 3.36 | 3.29 | 3.39 | 3.41 | 3.43 |
113 | Santa Clara University | 3.32 | 3.29 | 3.17 | 3.23 | 3.30 | 3.21 |
113 | St. Thomas (MN) | 3.53 | 3.43 | 3.35 | 3.48 | 3.41 | 3.38 |
113 | Texas Tech | 3.44 | 3.43 | 3.28 | 3.39 | 3.45 | 3.47 |
119 | University of Baltimore | 3.26 | 3.18 | 3.17 | 3.29 | 3.26 | 3.23 |
119 | Duquesne (PA) | 3.38 | 3.49 | 3.38 | 3.45 | 3.44 | 3.42 |
119 | University of Idaho | 3.25 | 3.29 | 3.23 | 3.18 | 3.15 | 3.25 |
119 | University of Missouri Kansas City | 3.41 | 3.42 | 3.39 | 3.27 | 3.21 | 3.25 |
119 | University of Montana | 3.37 | 3.34 | 3.31 | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.32 |
119 | Washburn University | 3.35 | 3.32 | 3.28 | 3.28 | 3.28 | 3.30 |
125 | CUNY | 3.32 | 3.26 | 3.23 | 3.32 | 3.33 | 3.37 |
125 | Creighton | 3.29 | 3.31 | 3.26 | 3.25 | 3.31 | 3.23 |
125 | Pace University | 3.29 | 3.28 | 3.30 | 3.22 | 3.28 | 3.21 |
128 | DePaul | 3.21 | 3.30 | 3.14 | 3.34 | 3.32 | 3.50 |
128 | Howard University | 3.24 | 3.24 | 3.22 | 3.28 | 3.18 | 3.13 |
128 | Mercer | 3.31 | 3.32 | 3.25 | 3.32 | 3.29 | 3.38 |
128 | Seattle U | 3.31 | 3.34 | 3.35 | 3.24 | 3.29 | 3.37 |
128 | South Dakota | 3.27 | 3.48 | 3.37 | 3.36 | 3.10 | 3.15 |
133 | Drake (IA) | 3.46 | 3.39 | 3.33 | 3.27 | 3.25 | 3.23 |
133 | Quinnipiac | 3.48 | 3.40 | 3.40 | 3.42 | 3.35 | 3.33 |
133 | Vermont Law School | 3.25 | 3.20 | 3.16 | 3.21 | 3.19 | 3.22 |
133 | University of Wyoming | 3.39 | 3.28 | 3.43 | 3.22 | 3.36 | 3.35 |
137 | Memphis | 3.41 | 3.30 | 3.24 | 3.20 | 3.27 | 3.25 |
137 | Toledo | 3.44 | 3.41 | 3.39 | 3.27 | 3.33 | 3.33 |
139 | Belmont University | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.42 | 3.41 | 3.43 | 3.42 |
139 | Chapman University | 3.42 | 3.36 | 3.24 | 3.33 | 3.41 | 3.27 |
141 | Arkansas – Little Rock | 3.31 | 3.30 | 3.31 | 3.25 | 3.24 | – |
141 | Dayton | 3.29 | 3.29 | 3.14 | 3.04 | 3.15 | 3.11 |
143 | Widener (Commonwealth PA) | 3.17 | 3.19 | 3.13 | 3.16 | 3.05 | 3.10 |
144 | Akron | 3.29 | 3.28 | 3.33 | 3.25 | 3.41 | 3.38 |
144 | Northern Illinois University | 3.09 | 3.12 | 3.03 | 3.05 | 3.09 | 3.10 |
144 | Suffolk University | 3.36 | 3.30 | 3.27 | 3.23 | 3.20 | 3.27 |
151 | Appalachian | 3.05 | 2.86 | 2.79 | 3.17 | 2.90 | – |
151 | Atlanta’s John Marshall | 3.13 | 3.06 | 3.05 | 3.04 | 2.91 | 2.98 |
151 | Ave Maria | 3.05 | 3.16 | 3.08 | 3.00 | 3.06 | 3.15 |
151 | Barry University | 3.04 | 2.97 | 3.00 | 2.96 | 2.99 | 2.89 |
151 | California Western | 3.17 | 3.22 | 3.18 | 3.15 | 3.14 | 3.13 |
151 | Campbell University | 3.30 | 3.29 | 3.31 | 3.24 | 3.17 | 3.26 |
151 | Capital University | 3.24 | 3.21 | 3.17 | 3.17 | 3.15 | 3.14 |
151 | Charleston School of Law | 3.15 | 3.03 | 3.01 | 2.89 | 2.99 | 3.17 |
151 | Concordia | 3.05 | 2.90 | 2.93 | 3.20 | 3.12 | 3.07 |
151 | Detroit Mercy | 3.27 | 3.16 | 3.20 | 3.11 | 3.13 | 3.13 |
151 | University of D.C. | 2.92 | 2.95 | 2.99 | 2.98 | 2.99 | 3.07 |
151 | Elon University | 3.26 | 3.23 | 3.24 | 3.13 | 3.03 | 3.01 |
151 | Faulkner | 3.13 | 2.98 | 2.92 | 2.96 | 2.98 | 3.14 |
151 | Florida A&M | 3.09 | 3.09 | 3.04 | 3.00 | 3.03 | 3.02 |
151 | Florida Coastal | 3.14 | 2.83 | 2.87 | 2.88 | 2.93 | 2.97 |
151 | Golden Gate | 3.02 | 3.10 | 2.98 | 2.94 | 2.98 | 3.11 |
151 | Inter-American Puerto Rico | 3.22 | 3.32 | 3.30 | 3.21 | 3.22 | 3.17 |
151 | John Marshall (IL) | 3.19 | 3.10 | 3.05 | 3.08 | 3.05 | 3.12 |
151 | Liberty | 3.36 | 3.41 | 3.43 | 3.45 | 3.24 | 3.22 |
151 | Lincoln Memorial | 3.07 | 3.08 | 3.12 | 3.06 | 3.04 | 3.04 |
151 | Loyola University New Orleans | 3.18 | 3.13 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.15 |
151 | University of the Pacific (McGeorge) | 3.35 | 3.19 | 3.20 | 3.15 | 3.14 | 3.24 |
151 | Mississippi College | 3.05 | 3.14 | 3.08 | 2.98 | 3.11 | 3.30 |
151 | Hamline University | 3.26 | 3.21 | 3.20 | 3.25 | 3.27 | 3.32 |
151 | New England | 3.16 | 3.30 | 3.20 | 3.14 | 3.14 | 3.04 |
151 | North Carolina Central | 3.28 | 3.22 | 3.31 | 3.24 | 3.24 | 3.17 |
151 | University of North Dakota | 3.13 | 3.36 | 3.21 | 3.20 | 3.28 | 3.26 |
151 | Northern Kentucky | 3.25 | 3.29 | 3.19 | 3.19 | 3.09 | 3.20 |
151 | Nova Southeastern | 3.14 | 3.16 | 3.10 | 3.11 | 3.14 | 3.07 |
151 | Ohio Northern | 3.52 | 3.28 | 3.30 | 3.22 | 3.28 | 3.22 |
151 | Oklahoma City | 3.20 | 3.16 | 3.05 | 3.13 | 3.19 | 3.18 |
151 | Pontifical Catholic | 3.44 | 3.41 | 3.28 | 3.33 | – | – |
151 | University of Puerto Rico | 3.55 | 3.53 | 3.52 | 3.55 | 3.59 | 3.51 |
151 | Regent University | 3.55 | 3.33 | 3.36 | 3.29 | 3.23 | 3.37 |
151 | Roger Williams | 3.28 | 3.15 | 3.13 | 3.13 | 3.15 | 3.20 |
151 | Samford (Cumberland) | 3.31 | 3.36 | 3.31 | 3.23 | 3.20 | 3.25 |
151 | San Francisco | 3.19 | 3.27 | 3.10 | 3.13 | 3.19 | 3.27 |
151 | South Texas | 3.13 | 3.10 | 3.10 | 3.10 | 3.12 | 3.15 |
151 | Southern Illinois Univ. Carbondale | 3.10 | 3.07 | 2.91 | 2.96 | 3.09 | 3.10 |
151 | Southern University | 2.88 | 2.91 | 2.86 | 2.79 | 2.82 | 2.82 |
151 | Southwestern | 3.23 | 3.24 | 3.18 | 3.17 | 3.20 | 3.17 |
151 | St. Mary’s University | 3.18 | 3.12 | 3.07 | 3.03 | 3.02 | 2.96 |
151 | St. Thomas (FL) | 3.10 | 3.07 | 3.06 | 3.06 | 3.04 | 3.06 |
151 | Texas Southern | 3.03 | 3.02 | 3.06 | 3.11 | 3.02 | 3.08 |
151 | Thomas Jefferson | 2.74 | 2.84 | 2.89 | 2.74 | 2.84 | 2.86 |
151 | Touro College | 3.00 | 3.01 | 3.00 | 3.03 | 3.04 | 3.02 |
151 | La Verne | 3.01 | 2.99 | 2.95 | 2.90 | 2.88 | 2.83 |
151 | UMass Dartmouth | 3.16 | 3.11 | 3.12 | 2.97 | 2.97 | 3.03 |
151 | UNT Dallas | 3.08 | 2.93 | – | – | – | – |
151 | Cooley (Western Michigan) | 3.02 | 2.94 | 2.90 | 2.85 | 2.90 | 2.96 |
151 | Western New England | 3.20 | 3.20 | 3.13 | 3.10 | 3.13 | 3.20 |
151 | Western State College of Law | 3.01 | 3.07 | 3.03 | 3.07 | 3.09 | 3.12 |
151 | Widener (DE) | 3.20 | 3.12 | 3.08 | 3.09 | 3.08 | 3.16 |
151 | Willamette University | 3.13 | 3.18 | 3.18 | 3.15 | 3.23 | 3.08 |
151 | Pepperdine University | 3.63 | 3.62 | 3.60 | 3.60 | 3.59 | 3.59 |
Class of 2016 through 2021
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47 Comments
Just what you’d expect from top of the league law schools. Don’t let these numbers stop you from getting into your dream school! Remember, the median is the average, which means that you can still get into these schools without necessarily meeting the numbers shown here. Study smart, not hard, organize a good prep schedule and take care of yourself to make sure you do well in the LSAT. It might be a tough mountain to climb, but it is certainly possible. Good luck!
I have earned a bachelors (3.3 gpa) and a masters (3.76) gpa, and now I’m looking into law school. Will admissions care more about my BA or MA, and is there a way to focus my application on my masters gpa?
Thanks!
How accurate is this?
Any thoughts on whether Berkeley will be harder or easier to get into because it dropped 4 places in the 2017 rankings? Wondering if this has any effect at all in helping/hurting chances at admission….
Thanks!
-M
I can’t see this list even though I am a member and logged in. Anyone else experiencing this glitch? Any alternative way to receive this list of median GPAs and LSAT scores?
Why isn’t Vt. Law School on the list?
When you say these are the stats for class of 2017, does that mean they’ve already admitted students for the coming Fall? Aren’t admissions still ongoing?
Class of 2017 graduates this year….
If I surpass the median LSAT scores.. but my undergrad GPA does not meet even the 25th percentile.. Do I even have a chance of going to my dream school at Ohio State?? I’m hoping to score a 165+…
People, why do you want to go to law school? I’ve been a lawyer nearly 19 years. I wish just about every day that I had never gone to law school. I’m working myself to death. The work is so stressful. You’re never done. There is always so much that needs to be done. I haven’t been on a vacation in years. The money is nowhere near as good as I thought it would be. There are so many easier ways to make a living. I have child support to pay, bills to pay. I can’t just quit but I would in a heartbeat if something better came along. God I hate it. I have a jury trial next week and my young co-counsel just took a non law job. I envy the guy, don’t blame him at all.
If you haven’t worked for lawyers, consider doing that if you can find any who can afford to pay anyone right now. I work for someone else and didn’t get paid on Friday. It isn’t the first time that’s happened. I get a salary plus a percentage of what I bring in paid in bonuses, theoretically. None of the lawyers in any of our offices have gotten their bonuses in I think ten months. We’re lucky to get our salary checks. Why don’t we quit? There are no jobs and we have to have something to pay our bills.
Things are probably worse in my area than many. We have offices in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Our area has not recovered from the recession and low oil and gas prices are killing us. I just checked the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and the median income for attorneys in my metro area has dropped to just a hair over $50,000. The mean is only $62,850. The mean or average is skewed upwards by a small handful who still do pretty well, but has dropped by tens of thousands over the last few years so nobody is doing that well. Half the attorneys here are making $50k a year or less, and the number of attorneys is of course dropping with people moving away and many just finding something else to do. There are so many out of work attorneys, and that is everywhere. Here old law firms have broken up and highly experienced attorneys are out there competing for entry level law jobs just to have something to pay their bills. I’m always hearing about some attorney filing bankruptcy. My Registered Nurse wife with an associates degree is presently making more money than me, not that she doesn’t work hard for it but I did spend five more years in school, get a 172 on my LSAT, made good grades, have worked my rear end off. I thought I’d be making hundreds of thousands a year by this point in my career. But I’m working for an employer who owes me thousands and thousands of dollars who will probably file bankruptcy soon and name me as a creditor. I don’t know if I will have a job tomorrow.
Things are only going to get worse. Every year tens of thousands more will become lawyers and there aren’t nearly enough jobs for them. Lawyers will make less and less money fighting over what little scraps there are out there to make. Big companies will send more and more of their work overseas and some guy in Mumbai will review their contracts and do all their drafting. Judges will increasingly appoint public defenders in criminal cases to keep the cases moving so there are precious few left for private attorneys and public defenders everywhere will have New Orleans sized pd caseloads. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer anyway so the common man is less likely to be be able to afford lawyers. Lawyers are a dime a dozen so if they want work they have to be willing to work for less and less even when those paying the bills have money.
I hate to sound all negative, but this story popped up on my Facebook feed and I started seeing all these comments and I have to wonder if any of you have any idea what you are trying to get yourselves into. Most of you will never make any money in this profession. You will struggle to survive. You will barely see your families because you have to work so much. Your spouses will resent you for working so much but making so little. Your lives will be so hard. Don’t do it unless it’s just a strong dream you cannot deny yourself and you don’t care if you make any money or not.
Would you please state your area of practice along with the school you graduated from? Thank you.
you’re obviously a shit lawyer then pal
I am with Aram Masoumi, what are you currently practicing and what school? Thanks! (= Sorry for your situation
Hello,
I once saw an article about how interning at a law firm as an undergraduate student was not a good idea. Would interning at a law firm as an undergrad help me or hurt my law school application?
Thanks in advance!
Do you have the full list?
I have an ugpa of 2.97, unfortunately I couldn’t recover completely from a stressful freshman semester due to a family member passing away. I’ve been consistently getting B’s or better since that semester (my major GPA is 3.4). I don’t have any great internships as of yet, but I am working on getting one. I scored 174 on my LSAT. Do I have a realistic chance of getting into a top 5, 10, 15, or 20 law school?
I had a friend who had a 2.65 gpa coupled with a 171 on the LSAT and got into UT-Austin (Usually a top 15 school).
If you don’t get in where you want, you could go to a lower ranked school, get in the top 10%, and transfer to a higher ranked school after 1L.
Maybe include something in your personal statement about what happened that year.
Good luck!!
Take a year or so off and build up your resume. That LSAT and developed resume, coupled with a noticeable upward trend in grades will surely enable you to get into several of the bottom half of the t-14, if not better.
I got into 6 of the T-14 with a 3.2 undergrad undergrad GPA, 168 LSAT, and solid LoR’s via internship/working experiences.
I have a 3.5 Criminal Justice undergrad GPA w/ legal certifications, and am currently working in a law office as a legal assistant.
I took the LSAT practice cold and got a 150. I plan to take the real one in June and apply to schools in September. (UT & UVA are my 1st and 2nd choices)
I’m pretty confident that I can boost my score with studying, I’ve bought some powerscore books to help, which they have.
What do you think is the most a person can “up” their score, with the cold score in mind?
Thanks !
Probably not too much unless you really get down how to map ou the logic problems and learn good notation. I had a 155 cold. I checked out a LSAT prep book from the library, studied for 2 weeks, watched youtube videos on how to solve logic puzzles, went back and got a 155 again. For me (as with most) it’s the speed thing. If given more time, I could nail it, but that’s the point. Law school exams give you about 2 min per question and they usually have anywhere between a paragraph and a page of facts to sort through. Hopefully your story works out better than mine. Best of luck to you. With your numbers you could get into a lower-ranked school, work hard and get into the top 10%, then transfer to a better school.
To be fair, 2 weeks is hardly enough time to gauge any progress and you should count yourself lucky that your score didn’t drop – the general trend is that in the second PT, the score drops before it starts climbing up again from PT 4 – 5 onwards- I prepped for a year and a half and raised my score 15 points to a 167 (and that too when I left one portion of the test completely unanswered as I ran out of time)
And with prep a 10 – 15 point score increase is common… that changes the range of schools to which you can apply… in my first attempt I had a 163 and was in at BU, BC and UCI, but with a 167 I made it to the T14s.
I’ve heard prep courses can raise your score up to 10pts, but that’s never been the story for people I know who have taken one cold, then followed-up after taking a prep course. Congratulations on your results and getting to T-14! That’s awesome your saw your goal through. I only prepped for 2 weeks because I was wavering on whether I really wanted to do it or not. I contemplated teaching, or history grad program. I did end up finishing top 10℅ during 1L (at a low ranked school) and transferred to a tier 1.
Wonder how that guy ended up doing.
I studied with a friend, using two prep books he had purchased. The area that made the biggest difference for me was learning how to create diagrams for puzzles. I went from crappy guessing to nailing them, and also got much faster at working through them. We studied (and later, took practice tests) for probably 2-4 hours a week for a few months. Went from 163 cold score to 170 on the test (although I got a 172 years earlier as an undergrad – parenting has made me dumber).
I think a 10 point improvement starting from a 150 cold score is completely realistic if you put in the time, and it’s worth definitely worth it.
@OnLawSchool I’m interested in UNC Chapel Hill for law My GPA is 3.85. I am out of state. What LSAT score do I need to get in? Is it easier to get in in state oout of state? They said they give more offers out of state because they yield less due to higher OOS tuition but I can’t find a number for how many are offered OOS. Should I try to become a resident to increase odds of getting in? Thanks!
Probably in the mid-upper 160s. Schools place the highest value on the LSAT when evaluating an applicant. Also depends on your undergrad school. A 3.85 from Texas Tech is easier to get than a 3.85 from Georgetown. Interesting about out-of-state applicants. I know schools are always looking to up their prestige, and people traveling from other states always looks good. The money thing too…In the end, I think they are mostly looking for the numbers (lsat gpa).
Turner is wrong, schools don’t care about where you went to undergrad or what your major is. All schools care about is your final LSAC GPA, since that is what they have to report to US News for the yearly rankings. Stop giving bad advice, man.
I completely disagree with you Dennis. They give deference to undergrads from higher ranked schools. I’ve spoken with former admissions panelists about this from my school.
Hello!
I just finished reading your 5 harsh truths and I want to thank you for writing it!
I must admit that I am guilty of not prepping hard enough despite taking 2 kaplan courses, I know… I feel terribly disappointed with myself but its no use getting worked up about the past.
Im about to take the December LSAT and I know I won’t score anything higher than a 150.
With that said, I am planning on finishing up my applications by January and not submitting them because I am planning on retaking it. I leave on a 4 month backpacking trip to south america in February and hopefully by the time I come back in June I will be able to make myself study the appropiate and intensive amount of time. This time I won’t use Kaplan, but I will self prep using the powerscore books. If anything what I learned from taking 2 prep Kaplan courses was that all I need are numerous practice questions and their explanations. Id like to know what you think of this plan!
Thanks so much
Stephanie
I will be applying for law school having already obtained a masters degree. Will the admissions consider my undergraduate GPA only? Will having a high graduate GPA outweigh a low undergraduate GPA?
Rebecca I too have the same question. I have a high Graduate GPA as well as Certifications in the legal area.
Rebecca, Ann, we are in the same boat. My UGPA is not strong. But with my masters I graduated Summa Cum Laude. I hear we are not awarded for our strong post graduate work. However each law school has the right to take as much as they like into consideration.
This rule of keeping the doors of law school locked because of a low to moderate UGPA is simply ridiculous. Even God forgives bad decisions and behaviors!!!
I wonder if most law schools with declining applications, and graduates, would reconsider accepting one with a good LSAT but not so good UGPA? Most have so much to prove, failure is not an option.
Don’t know about you but I surely am not the little girl I was in college!!!
Let me know if you two get accepted, I’ll do the same!
No, unfortunately, schools only go by your undergraduate GPA, or rather the LSAC uGPA you are assigned.
To Josh and Evan,
I have a 3.62 LSAC GPA and a recent Sept. LSAT score of 161. I am taking the test again in December (about 5 weeks from now). Assuming I get either the same score or anywhere from 1-2 points higher (i like to put harsher predictions on myself) what do you think my chances are are Boston College, Fordham, and Notre Dame?
***If this counts for anything, my applications will most likely be done and sent in by the first week of january.
Thank for all your help!
Just scored a 151 on October LSAT (it was a fun birthday surprise from my mom- what fun, right?) with no studying whatsoever.
Just found out she signed me up for December LSAT as well.
Missed only 2 on reading comp, missed an equal number spread across the rest of the test. What would you suggest to be the thing to study to get the biggest score boost within the next month?
Study how to solve the logic problems efficiently.
3.7 GPA (with a few A+s, which I believe LSAC factors in) and I still have 2 more undergraduate semesters that will factor into my GPA in time for law school applications (so I’m hopeful that I can get it up to a 3.75). I will be taking the LSAT in February. Do I have a chance at NYU or Columbia with a good LSAT score, even though my GPA is a little below the median? If so, what score should I aim for?
Also I’m sure this has been asked before, but law schools give no consideration whatsoever to your undergraduate major when looking at your GPA, correct? (As someone who has taken lots of math, this is somewhat frustrating..)
Schools care more about the LSAT than GPA. Also, equal GPAs from different schools carry different weight. They consider that. A GPA from Texas Tech is valued less that an equal GPA from Georgetown. You will need a very high LSAT score to get into those schools. Probably upper 160s-lower 170s. And yes, they do care about your major. A 3.75 in psychology is much easier than a 3.75 in engineering. They typically value stem degrees or business degrees (anything technical) more because they get saturated with History, PoliSci, English, etc.
They don’t actually. Turner, you’ve been giving awful advice. GPA’s are all roughly valued the same, since schools only care about the GPA median they report to US News.
Hi Evan and Josh,
If I join the mastermind forum, will I be able to access it until the February LSAT? That’s when I plan to retake it.
Jeffery,
Absolutely! A lifetime membership means just that: once you’re in, you’re in for life! We’ve got your back from the day you join & where here for you as long as you need us.
30 y/o going back to school after 5 years.
3.2 GPA (brought up from a 0.7! in my freshman year) and a 151 LSAT (no studying)
Hoping for Cumberland School of Law (at Samford U) since it’s the closest ABA school
Kitty I am returning to school after 15 years. My UGA is as yours. Have you applied and received notification from a law school?
I wish you all the best!
I have a question for you guys. I’m on the fence about retaking after getting a 166 for the second test in a row after averaging 173/174 on Preptests 36-72 ( they were proctored 5 section preptests with an analog watch and scantron). A part of me wants to retake, but at the same time, I’m kind of worried that I might be a choke artist when it comes to the real test. Is it worth a shot at a retake? Do I have a reasonable shot at Cornell, Georgetown, and UT with my LSAT 1 point below median and my GPA slightly above?
Hey Evan and Josh,
I am a junior at WashU and I just got my LSAT score back. I’ll have a 3.8 GPA and with this score, a 169 LSAT, when I apply to law school. I would like to go to a top ten law school. Is it worth it to retake the LSAT? I of course have a lot of time and my practice test average was higher than 169 (it was a 172 with the occasional 178’s).
I am interested in attending the University of Tennessee’s law school as an in-state student. I am confident that I will get in, but I want your thoughts on the amount of scholarship money you think I will receive.
My GPA is a 3.5 and I got a 161 on the LSAT.
Thanks!
What would y’all say are the chances for a guy with a 3.92 and 172 (non URM) trying to get into YHS this cycle?