What Is a Good LSAT Score? Percentiles and Law School Medians (120-180)

What Is a Good LSAT Score?

A good LSAT score depends on your target school, but on the 120 to 180 scale, 160 and above generally opens strong options, 165-plus reaches the top 25, and 170-plus is competitive for the T14. The national median sits around 152. Anything above roughly 155 clears the halfway mark and admits you somewhere accredited.

Those thresholds are shorthand, not cutoffs. Admissions officers read your score alongside your GPA, and a good score for one applicant is a reach for another aiming higher up the rankings. The sections below map every scaled score to its official percentile, break down what each law school tier needs, and list the current T14 medians so you can set a target that fits your school list.

• •170 or higher: competitive for the T14, roughly the top 5 percent of testers.
• •160 to 169: strong for the top 25 to top 50, above the 72nd percentile.
• •155 to 159: likely admit at an accredited school, just above the median.
• •Below 150: under the typical admit range for most ABA-accredited schools.

What Do LSAT Scores and Percentiles Actually Mean?

The LSAT is reported as a single scaled score from 120 to 180, with no sub-scores that schools see separately. LSAC converts your raw number of correct answers into that scaled score through a process called equating, so a 165 earned on one test form signals the same ability as a 165 on a harder or easier form. There is no penalty for wrong answers, which means you should answer every question.

Percentiles translate the score into where you stand against everyone else. LSAC publishes the official percentile for each score based on a rolling three-year window of test-takers, so the exact figures drift slightly year to year. The median test-taker lands around 152 to 153, and the commonly cited national average sits near 151 to 152. The table below shows the official percentile - the share of testers scoring below you - at key points on the scale.

What Is a Good LSAT Score for Each Law School Tier?

There is no universal cutoff for a good LSAT score - it is entirely relative to where you want to study. Admissions officers read your score alongside your GPA, so the honest answer is a range tied to a tier of schools. A score that is a reach for one applicant is a safety for another aiming lower down the rankings.

As a rough map: 175 to 180 gives you elite scholarship leverage and sits in the top 1 to 2 percent of testers. 170 to 174 is competitive for the T14. 165 to 169 puts the top 25 in play and attracts strong scholarship money at schools ranked below that. 160 to 164 covers solid regional programs, and 155 to 159 makes you a likely admit at an accredited school somewhere. Below 150 falls short of most typical admit ranges. The table pairs each goal with its score band and approximate percentile.

What LSAT Score Do You Need for a T14 Law School?

The T14 - the fourteen schools that have never left the top of the rankings - now cluster tightly at the very top of the scale. Their median LSAT scores run from about 170 at Berkeley to 174 at Yale, Harvard, and Chicago, based on the ABA 509 disclosures compiled by 7Sage. That means a median T14 admit scores in roughly the 95th to 99th percentile nationally.

Two cautions matter here. First, these medians have climbed roughly two to three points over the last five years in what applicants call the median arms race - Yale, for instance, moved from about 171 toward 174 - so always check the most recent admissions cycle. Second, sources such as US News, 7Sage, and LSD.law can disagree by a point or two, so treat any single number as approximate and verify the specific school's latest 509 report before you rely on it. The 25th to 75th ranges below show that scoring below a school's median is not disqualifying when the rest of your file is strong.

Why Is Every Point Above 165 Worth So Much?

The LSAT scale is deliberately steep at the top. The entire gap from 170 to 180 covers only about the top 5 percent of testers, so a handful of scaled points separates a strong applicant from an elite one. Below the middle of the scale, several points move you only a few percentile places; above 165, each single point can shift your percentile and your admissions odds far more.

That compression is why point-chasing near the top pays off. Moving from 167 to 170 crosses from the low 90s into the 95th percentile and changes which medians you sit above at the T14. Because many schools weight the LSAT heavily against a fixed median target, one extra point can be the difference between paying sticker price and winning a scholarship. It also explains why a retake to gain two or three points is often worth the effort for high scorers, even when their first score already looks strong.

• •170 to 180 spans only the top 5 percent of all testers.
• •A single point above 165 shifts your percentile more than several points near 150.
• •Schools weight the LSAT against a fixed median, so one point can swing a scholarship.

Has the LSAT Changed, and Is Logic Games Gone?

Yes. As of August 2024, the LSAT no longer includes the Analytical Reasoning section that most people knew as Logic Games. LSAC states the current test is fully digital and consists of Reading Comprehension, two scored Logical Reasoning sections, and one unscored variable section used to pretest future questions. Any prep book that still drills Logic Games is out of date, so confirm the current section layout on lsac.org before you build a study plan.

What did not change is the 120 to 180 scale and the equating that keeps scores comparable across forms and years. The removal of Logic Games reshaped how you prepare, but not what a good score means: a 165 is still a 165. Remote and digital proctoring, normalized after 2020, also remains part of how the test is delivered on LSAC's tablet-based platform, so your prep should mirror the on-screen conditions you will actually face.

Can You Retake the LSAT to Raise Your Score?

Yes, and the retake rules work in your favor. LSAC lets you sit the test up to three times in a single testing year, five times within a five-year period, and seven times over your lifetime. Scores stay valid for five years. Crucially, most law schools consider your highest score rather than the average, so a strong retake can lift your admissions profile without the earlier attempt dragging it down.

That policy lowers the real difficulty of hitting a target, because you get more than one attempt to reach it. If your first sitting lands a few points below your goal, a focused retake is often the highest-value move you can make - especially above 165, where each point carries extra weight. Plan the timing around application deadlines, since schools admit on a rolling basis and a later high score may arrive after early spots are filled.

How Can You Hit Your Target LSAT Score?

Start by fixing a target that matches your school list, not a vague sense of a good LSAT score. Pull the most recent median and 25th to 75th range for each program you want, then aim to land at or above the median of your top realistic choice. Build your prep around current materials - Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning only - and sit full, timed practice tests under real conditions to track your percentile as it moves.

Diagnose before you resit. If a practice test or a real sitting comes in low, find the section dragging you down rather than repeating the same study plan, and use the retake policy to your advantage since schools take your highest score. Above 165, a two or three point gain is often worth a second attempt, because that is where each point buys the most percentile.

When a deadline is real and the gap is genuine, Exam Assist supports LSAT candidates on pay-after-pass terms - you pay only after you reach your target result, not upfront. Reach out with your target schools and current practice range, and we will lay out your options confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with LSAC or any law school.