What LSAT score do you need for law school in 2024-2025?
The national LSAT median is approximately 152, which corresponds to the 52nd percentile. For admission to top-14 (T14) law schools, competitive applicants typically have LSAT scores of 170+ for Yale, Harvard, and Stanford; 168-172 for the other T14 schools; 165-170 for the next tier (T25-T50); and 155-165 for strong regional law schools. However, LSAT score interacts heavily with GPA, and exceptional strength in one can partially offset weakness in the other.
Understanding what LSAT scores mean in law school admissions requires more than knowing raw numbers. You need to understand how the score scale works, what percentiles mean, how schools weight LSAT vs. GPA, what score reporting policies exist, and when retaking makes strategic sense.
This guide provides the actual median and 75th percentile LSAT data for major law school tiers, explains how the LSAC GPA and LSAT grid functions, and gives you a clear framework for evaluating your own score and whether to retake.
Understanding the LSAT Score Scale
The LSAT scale runs from 120 to 180. Raw scores (number of questions correct) are converted to scaled scores through a process called equating, which accounts for minor variation in difficulty between test administrations. A scaled score of 150 on one administration reflects exactly the same performance level as a 150 on any other administration.
Key scale benchmarks:
| Scaled Score | Approximate Percentile | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 120-139 | Below 1st percentile - 3rd percentile | Well below average |
| 140-144 | 3rd - 20th percentile | Below average |
| 145-149 | 20th - 40th percentile | Slightly below average |
| 150-154 | 40th - 60th percentile | Average range (national median ~152) |
| 155-159 | 60th - 75th percentile | Above average |
| 160-164 | 75th - 88th percentile | Strong |
| 165-169 | 88th - 95th percentile | Very strong |
| 170-174 | 95th - 99th percentile | Excellent |
| 175-180 | 99th - 99.9th percentile | Elite |
The national median of approximately 152 means roughly half of all LSAT test-takers score below 152. The population of LSAT test-takers is not representative of the general population — these are college graduates or current students who have decided to pursue law school. The actual U.S. population median would be considerably lower. This context matters because a score of 150 may feel "average" in absolute terms but represents strong performance relative to the population as a whole.
LSAT Score Reporting Policy: What Schools See
Since 2019, the LSAC has reported all LSAT scores from the past five years to every school you apply to. Law schools can see every score, the dates you tested, and whether you were absent or withdrew.
Most law schools take the highest score. The LSAC median data that schools report to US News is based on the highest score for each applicant. However, some schools have policies that consider the average of multiple scores, and some schools flag applicants with significantly different scores (suggesting inconsistent performance).
Practical implications:
- A bad score is permanently visible for five years, not erasable
- Taking the LSAT underprepared is strategically costly beyond just failing once — it can raise questions for admissions committees
- You should generally not take the LSAT unless your practice test performance in genuine timed conditions is within 2-3 points of your target score
- Multiple scores with consistent improvement tell a positive story; a score much higher than your previous scores may prompt schools to wonder about the inconsistency
T14 Law School LSAT Score Data (2023-2024 Entering Class)
The "T14" refers to the 14 law schools that have consistently ranked at the top of US News rankings and whose admission is highly competitive. LSAT medians listed here are the 50th percentile (median) LSAT for enrolled students, with the 75th percentile in parentheses. GPA medians included because they interact directly with LSAT in admissions decisions.
| Law School | LSAT Median | LSAT 75th %ile | GPA Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yale Law School | 174 | 176 | 3.93 |
| Harvard Law School | 174 | 176 | 3.95 |
| Stanford Law School | 173 | 175 | 3.90 |
| Columbia Law School | 174 | 176 | 3.91 |
| University of Chicago | 174 | 176 | 3.91 |
| New York University | 173 | 175 | 3.87 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 172 | 175 | 3.90 |
| University of Michigan | 170 | 174 | 3.89 |
| University of Virginia | 169 | 172 | 3.87 |
| Duke University | 170 | 173 | 3.83 |
| Northwestern University | 169 | 173 | 3.85 |
| Cornell University | 169 | 173 | 3.82 |
| Georgetown University | 168 | 172 | 3.78 |
| University of Texas | 169 | 173 | 3.79 |
Data sourced from LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools and individual school 509 disclosures, 2023-2024 cycle.
What the 75th percentile means strategically: If your LSAT is at or above the 75th percentile for a school, you are a statistically strong LSAT applicant for that school. If your score is between the 25th and 50th percentile for a school, you need significant compensating strength (either GPA, compelling personal statement, diversity factors, or strong work experience) to be competitive.
Score Requirements by Law School Tier (2023-2024)
| School Tier | Examples | LSAT Range for Competitive Applicants |
|---|---|---|
| T3 (Yale, Harvard, Stanford) | Elite national | 172-180 |
| T14 | Columbia, Chicago, NYU, Michigan | 169-176 |
| T25 | UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Boston U | 165-172 |
| T50 | George Washington, Tulane, Illinois | 160-168 |
| Strong Regional | Denver, Loyola, Chapman | 155-165 |
| Regional / Open Access | Various state schools | 148-160 |
These ranges represent the area where your score makes you roughly competitive — not guarantees of admission. A 170 applicant with a 3.3 GPA may still struggle at T3 schools where a 3.9+ GPA is nearly universal.
How GPA and LSAT Interact: The LSAC Grid
The Law School Admission Council publishes an official probability grid showing historical outcomes by GPA/LSAT combination. The grid is based on aggregate applicant data and shows what percentage of applicants with a given GPA and LSAT combination were admitted to at least one ABA-approved law school.
Key grid insights from the most recent LSAC data:
- GPA 3.0-3.24 / LSAT 175-180: 97.9% admitted to at least one school
- GPA 3.5-3.74 / LSAT 165-169: 99.1% admitted to at least one school
- GPA 2.5-2.74 / LSAT 170-174: 89.7% admitted to at least one school
- GPA 3.5-3.74 / LSAT 150-154: 86.4% admitted to at least one school
- GPA 2.5-2.74 / LSAT 155-159: 70.4% admitted to at least one school
- GPA below 2.25 / LSAT below 145: 44.3% admitted to at least one school
These probabilities refer to admission somewhere, not to selective schools. For T14 admission, the GPA/LSAT threshold is dramatically higher.
"The LSAC grid tells applicants how they'll do in the market overall. What it doesn't tell them is that the market is deeply bifurcated — a 160/3.8 GPA applicant will get into dozens of good law schools but essentially zero T14 schools. The applicant experience and the grid number can look consistent from the outside but tell very different stories for specific goals." — Ann Levine, law school admissions consultant and author of "The Law School Admission Game"
When a High LSAT Compensates for a Lower GPA
The degree to which LSAT can compensate for GPA depends on the specific school and the degree of the GPA weakness. Some general principles:
GPA of 3.0-3.4 with LSAT 170+: Many T25-T50 schools will look favorably at this profile. Some T14 schools (particularly Georgetown and Cornell, which have slightly lower median GPAs among the T14) may consider these applicants seriously. A compelling explanation for the GPA (medical issue, family hardship, upward trend in junior/senior years) is highly valuable.
GPA of 2.5-3.0 with any LSAT: This profile faces significant challenges at competitive schools. A very high LSAT (172+) can create admission opportunities, but most T25+ schools will have substantial reservations. The applicant needs compelling context.
GPA below 2.5 with LSAT 170+: Rare. Schools have seen enough high-LSAT/low-GPA applicants to be skeptical. The GPA represents academic performance over four years; one standardized test day does not consistently offset that signal. However, genuine exceptional circumstances (serious health event, first-generation student with competing obligations) combined with very high LSAT do result in some admissions at the T50 level.
Addenda: A GPA addendum explains unusual circumstances in your academic record. Law schools review addenda; they are not routinely discounted. A factual, non-excuse-making explanation of why GPA does not fully represent academic capability does influence admissions decisions.
Whether to Retake the LSAT
The retake decision is one of the most consequential choices in the law school application process. Key factors:
Retake if:
- Your practice test average under timed conditions is 3+ points above your actual score
- You had an unusual testing circumstance (illness, disruption, anxiety that is solvable)
- Your current score is below the 25th percentile for your target schools
- You have time to genuinely improve (not just retake the same week)
- You haven't hit your performance ceiling in practice tests
Do not retake if:
- Your practice test average under genuine timed conditions equals your actual score
- You've already taken the LSAT 3 times with minimal improvement
- You would be delaying application for a full year with minimal time for improvement
- Your score already exceeds the 75th percentile for your target schools
Data on retakers: LSAC's research shows that most retakers improve. Among those who retook after a score in the 140-149 range, the average improvement was approximately 3-4 points. Among those who retook after a 160-169 range score, the average improvement was 2-3 points. However, approximately 20-25% of retakers score lower on their second attempt.
The most important variable for retake success is whether you have identified why you scored where you did and have a concrete plan to address it. Retaking without a changed approach almost never produces meaningfully different results.
"The students who improve most on LSAT retakes are those who do a thorough diagnostic of their first attempt — not just which questions they missed, but which reasoning errors they're systematically making. Students who retake on the basis of 'I'll study more' without identifying specific weaknesses rarely improve by more than 2-3 points." — Steve Schwartz, LSAT Blog
Score Bands and What They Mean for Your Application Strategy
Understanding your score band helps you create a realistic school list:
165+ (88th percentile and above): This score opens the door to T25 schools and makes you a credible applicant at most T14 schools with a strong GPA. Scholarship opportunities are substantial at T25-T50 schools.
158-164 (74th-87th percentile): Strong applications to T50-T100 schools; very long-shot at T14. Significant merit scholarship opportunities at regional schools. This range allows you to build a strong legal career through strong academic performance and intentional career management.
152-157 (52nd-73rd percentile): Average to above-average. Opens access to a wide range of ABA-accredited schools. Full merit scholarships are available at some regional schools for applicants in the upper part of this range.
Below 152 (below 52nd percentile): Access to regional and open-access schools. Important to research bar passage rates and employment outcomes carefully before committing to schools in this range. Consider whether additional preparation time and a retake is the right decision.
LSAT Scores and Scholarship Opportunities
One dimension of LSAT scores that applicants often underestimate is their scholarship implications. Law school is expensive — tuition at private law schools averages approximately $55,000-$65,000 per year, and attending without scholarship funding creates substantial debt burdens that limit career flexibility, particularly if you intend to pursue lower-paying public interest or government work.
Law schools award merit scholarships primarily based on how your LSAT (and GPA) compares to the school's existing enrolled class. If your LSAT is significantly above a school's median, you become an attractive applicant who improves the school's ranking metrics, and the school has strong incentive to offer you scholarship funding to convince you to enroll.
The scholarship leverage strategy: Rather than applying exclusively to reach schools where your stats are below the median, a strong applicant includes target and safety schools where their stats are above the median. At these schools, scholarship offers are more likely and more generous. A student with a 168 LSAT who receives a full scholarship at a T25 school may be in a better long-term position than the same student paying full price at a T14 school, depending on career goals.
The American Bar Foundation's After the JD study found that law graduates who attended schools outside the T14 but received substantial scholarships had similar career outcomes to T14 graduates when they pursued careers in private practice, public interest, or government — especially those who graduated in the top 20% of their class. The T14 advantage is strongest for big-law and federal clerkship entry, both of which are attainable from most T14 programs regardless of scholarship status.
Law School Transparency scholarship data: The nonprofit Law School Transparency (LST) publishes scholarship data for all ABA-accredited schools, including what percentage of students receive scholarship funding and the average grant size. Using LST data alongside US News rankings and employment outcomes data creates a more complete picture for school selection than rankings alone.
Understanding Bar Passage Rates and Employment Outcomes
For any law school you are seriously considering, two data points beyond LSAT and GPA deserve careful attention:
Bar passage rate: The ABA requires all law schools to report first-time bar passage rates by jurisdiction. Schools with bar passage rates below 75% should trigger serious scrutiny. A law degree from a school with a low bar passage rate carries meaningful risk — if you cannot pass the bar, the degree's value is severely limited. The ABA has increased pressure on schools with chronically low bar passage rates, but several schools continue to operate with rates that warrant examination.
Employment outcomes at 10 months post-graduation: LSAC and Law School Transparency report the percentage of graduates employed in full-time, long-term, bar passage required positions 10 months after graduation. This metric directly measures what the degree is doing for students. A school with a high employment rate in bar-required positions indicates that graduates are practicing law. A school with high employment rates in "JD Preferred" or "Other" categories may be placing graduates in non-legal careers, which raises questions about the degree's return on investment.
For students with LSAT scores in the 152-162 range who are weighing multiple schools, these employment outcome metrics often differentiate schools more meaningfully than their rankings.
"When students ask me which law school they should attend, my first questions are about their career goals and their scholarship offers — not about the school's ranking. A student who wants to practice family law in their hometown doesn't need to go to a T14 school and accumulate $200,000 in debt to achieve that goal. The LSAT score that gets you into the school where those goals are achievable is the right target score." — Kyle McEntee, Executive Director, Law School Transparency
References
Law School Admission Council. (2024). Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools 2024-2025. LSAC.
Law School Admission Council. (2024). LSAT Score Percentile Ranks 2023-2024. LSAC.org.
Law School Admission Council. (2024). The LSAC Volume Summary: Applicants, Applications, and Offers of Admission. LSAC.org.
American Bar Association. (2024). ABA Standard 509 Required Disclosures (individual school data). ABAsite.org.
Levine, A. (2023). The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert (3rd ed.). Abraham Publishing.
Spivey Consulting Group. (2024). Law School Admissions Data and Analysis. SpiveyConsulting.com.
Law School Admission Council. (2023). Applicant Admitted to at Least One School by GPA and LSAT Score. LSAC.org (GPA/LSAT grid data).
US News and World Report. (2024). Best Law Schools 2024: Admissions Data. USNews.com.