What is the Best LSAT score? Is the best LSAT score difficult to get? How can I earn the best LSAT score?
The best LSAT score is very difficult to achieve. Only about 1 in 1000 LSAT takers earn the best LSAT score, a 180. An LSAT score of 180 generally requires that you miss only 1 or 2 questions… by comparison, the average LSAT taker misses close to half of the total questions (the LSAT typically contains from 100 to 103 questions).
A 180 LSAT score will make you a highly competitive candidate at any of the top law schools in the country, including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, or my school, University of Chicago. Luckily, scores further down the ladder can also get you into these schools (there aren’t enough 180 scorers in a year to fill a whole classroom, let alone an entire law school).
If you happen to be aiming to get the best LSAT score possible, then you would be well advised to start prepping at least 3-4 months in advance of the exam… and you better be brilliant. Though the LSAT is not an IQ test per se, it requires some serious mental horsepower to reach its upper limit.
The LSAT is designed to be a very difficult test even for very smart test takers. However, despite the difficulty, the LSAT is a very learnable and you can improve through practice and study. In fact, studying is almost certainly necessary to achieve your full potential on the test. I doubt anyone in the history of the LSAT has walked in without knowing the test at all and gotten a 180.
Everyone is capable of making big improvements from their initial ‘cold’ LSAT score, the score that they would get taking the test unprepared, but it’s takes effort. Expect to prep long and hard for the best results.
For those considering the LSAT and law school, this is what I did to get a 177 (a 99.8th% percentile score) on the exam. Follow my model and you can max out your own score.
You are also going to need a good study schedule– here is our recommended LSAT Prep Study Schedule.
Lawschooli.com is around as a free resource to you while you prep for the LSAT. Make sure to check out all our free LSAT advice and follow us on twitter @onlawschool. We are also happy to answer any question you have about law school or the admissions process. Just ask in the comments!
We wish you luck shooting for your best LSAT score!
2 Comments
Hi guys!
First of all, thank you for this incredible resource you’ve created! I’ve spent countless hours perusing numerous blogs and forums. (I’m taking the LSAT for this first time this December.) This site is, by far, the best.
My question is about the application process. Brief background: I graduated in May 2013 with the intention of taking one gap year. Recently, though, I’m considering taking an additional year to explore various volunteer opportunities and such. In this case, I will be applying next fall. As mentioned, I’m taking the LSAT this December, so that will be well out of the way. For the letters of recommendation, I want to go ahead and request those while I’m still fresh on the professors’ minds. My question is should I have the professors send the letters to LSAC immediately after they’ve written them or request the professors keep them on their personal file for later? I’m unclear on how long LSAC will keep the letters without sending them out.
Also, should I go ahead and have my transcripts sent to LSAC?
I apologize for the long comment. I’m just a bit anxious about the whole process.
Thank you in advance!
I want to say that LSAC keeps anything you send on file for quite a while. At least 3 years maybe more. I would look it up but I’m in China and the internet is crazy slow. Search around their site. Though it’s not the best search you should find it if you try a few different queries.
Thanks a lot for the encouraging words! We try hard to be relevant so it’s great to hear good feedback!
Evan