The Law Schools With The Highest LSAT Scores (2019)

Plus, the law schools with the lowest LSAT scores.

The LSAT’s dominance may be fading thanks to the rise of the GRE — right now, almost 40 law schools have started accepting the alternative test for admissions, including several T14s — but for the time being, scoring well on the exam is still critical to one’s likelihood of being accepted to top-tier law schools.

According to the Short List blog of U.S. News & World Report, the median LSAT score for full-time students entering in fall 2018 was an average of 156 at the 192 law schools that are ranked by the magazine. Eleven of the schools at the tippy top of the list, however, had an average median LSAT score of “nearly 171.”

Which schools made the list? Take a look:

SCHOOL (NAME) (STATE)

MEDIAN LSAT SCORE FOR FULL-TIME STUDENTS ENTERING IN FALL 2018

U.S. NEWS LAW SCHOOL RANK

Harvard University (MA) 173 3
Yale University (CT) 173 1
Columbia University (NY) 172 5
Stanford University (CA) 171 2
University of Chicago 171 4
New York University 170 6
University of Pennsylvania 170 7
Duke University 169 10 (tie)
Northwestern University (Pritzker) (IL) 169 10 (tie)
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor 169 9
University of Virginia 169 8

It’s not exactly shocking that the best law schools in the country have the best LSAT scores, but what is shocking are the law schools with the lowest LSAT scores.

For your daily dose of schadenfreude, the ranked law schools with the lowest median LSAT scores for full-time students entering in fall 2018 were Appalachian, Southern, and Texas Southern, which each clocked in with a 144. If Cooley Law hadn’t been unranked in this year’s edition of the U.S. News rankings, it likely would have taken the award for the law school with the lowest median LSAT score for full-time students entering in fall 2018, with a 142 (and a 25th percentile LSAT score of 139). Ouch.

How did your law school measure up against these schools?

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11 Law Schools With High Student LSAT Scores [The Short List / U.S. News]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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