Of course, dont choose what to major in solely based on these findings. The bar passage rates reflect those among firsttime test takers for the winter and summer 2017 administrations of the bar examinations. Minnesotas class of 2017 arrived with a 164 median lsat and a 3. Our data also enables extensive academic research on the lsat. Lsat scores can range from a low of 120 to a perfect score of 180. The exam consists of four scored sections one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical reasoning sections and one unscored, experimental section. One of the most significant barriers has shown to be the law school admissions test. In contrast, students majoring in accounting, law, social work, and spanish generally earned low lsat scores but high gpas. Jul 06, 2017 the scores from the june 2017 lsat have just been released, and the scoring scale is hot off the presses. Philosophy majors attain among the highest lsat law school entrance exam scores among all other undergraduate majors, according to daily nous data from the law school admission council shows philosophy tied with economics as the highestscoring majors, with students in each of those two disciplines achieving an average lsat score of 159. Business majors scored an average 149, while criminal justice majors a particularly low average of 146, according to the law school admission council, which administers the lsat. Mine has gone up from a 157 to 173178 range after a course taken twice, 2.
Please note that individuals who earned more than one lsat score during this time period are represented more than once in the distribution. Philosophy majors attain among the highest lsat scores. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal reasoning proficiency. Lsat scores range from 120180, with 120 being the lowest possible score and a 180 lsat score being the highest. Oct 14, 2016 the lsat exam has approximately 94106 questions, with each correct answer counting for one point of your raw score. Its unclear whether majoring in a particular subject leads one to score better on the lsat, or whether those who are already likely to do well on the lsat choose certain majors. The lsat system of scoring is predetermined and does not reflect test takers percentile. Its now time to seriously direct your focus to those law school applications. Business and criminal justice majors had lower lsat scores and gpas overall. Trends have also revealed that underrepresented minorities statistically have much lower scores on the lsat. Lsat scores at highrisk schools getting worse, according.
On average, getting a raw score of 87 out of 101 or above converts into an lsat score of 170 or above. Jul 22, 2017 lsat scores by major according to this chart by robert anderson of beachbum toilet pepperdine, lawschool applicants who majored in mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, classics, or linguistics on average score above 160 on the lsat, whereas those in such illustrious fields as criminology, criminal justice, family relations and child. School detail information lsac official guide to aba. Weve already done a breakdown of the logical reasoning sections from this test. Mar 31, 2020 an lsat score in the upper 160s or in the 170s qualifies as excellent, according to experts on the lsat. In general, scores in the high 160s and 170s are usually considered very competitive, she says. To get into a top 14 law school, you need to score above 162, and to get into a top 50 law school, you need 154 or. The average lsat score is between 150 and 151, but most students accepted to top law schools receive a score well over 160. College majors that produce the highest and lowest lsats and. The lowest score, which is practically impossible to get because you would have to flop every question, is 120.
Gpas, and lsat scores, and found that the only other majors aside from the stem majors mentioned above that broke the 160 average on the lsat were classics. By comparing your lsat score and gpa with those of the admitted applicants whose data is reflected on this grid, you can get a general sense of your competitiveness at this school. As a result, its not uncommon to become stressed out during lsat preparation. Research library the law school admissions council lsac. The lsat is the leading indicator of firstyear academic success, and an applicants score is one of the major factors schools consider during the admissions process, chapman said. Since 2010, the number of applicants who scored 160 or higher has dropped 35 percent. The first school on the lsac listthe university of florida followed by uclahad the most lsat tests taken about 650 by its students during 2017. The scores from the june 2017 lsat have just been released, and the scoring scale is hot off the presses. So, lets take a look at when you can expect to get your scores back. The lsat is scored on a scale of 120 to 180 points. At each of these schools, the median lsat score among incoming students exceeded 168, u.
Undergraduate gpas are along the left axis and lsat scores are along. Mar 27, 2018 according to the short list blog of u. For this reason, understanding the differences between the lsat scores is crucial. Member law schools can access exclusive data to better inform the admission process. I always thought physics majors were the highest scoring. Despite the fact that the various annually published ratings of. An lsat score in the upper 160s or in the 170s qualifies as excellent, according to experts on the lsat. When you calculate your lsat raw score, youre simply counting the number of questions you got right. These are the mean lsat scores for some ug institutions in 2008 according to the lsdas. Lsat scores and gpas for top law schools september 7, 2019 in lsat by erinnelson. Each lsat will typically have 100 to 103 questions, with each question being worth 1 point all are multiplechoice. Mar 09, 2016 average lsat scores by major in 2018 for an updated look at this analysis, here are the lsat scores and gpas by major for 20172018 law school applicants based on numbers reported by the lsac.
Average lsat scores by major major average score number of students economics 158. If all of your hard work paid off, congratulations. The lsat is a standardized test in that lsac adjusts raw scores to fit an expected norm to overcome the likelihood that some administrations may be more difficult than others. They were also admitted to law school at a higher percent than any other major 75 percent, according to an analysis of data provided by muller. Differences in lsat scores by major probably have more to do with selection into majors of people who started out with higher or lower standardized test scores than anything the college major did to change lsat scores. State bar indicates the statewide bar passage rate for the jurisdiction in which the greatest number of the law schools graduates took the bar exam for the reported period. Tap a school to see their 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile gpa and lsat scores for marticulating students for that year. References to the lowest, median, and highest gpa and lsat scores, including all data under the headings gpa low, gpa median.
Lsat test taking tips and strategies education corner. The bar passage rates reflect those among firsttime test takers for the winter and summer. For the jd, mswjd and mbajd, december of the year of application is the last score considered. Lsat scores and gpas arranged by undergraduate major. Law schools see fewer applicants with high lsat scores. Well have some sectionspecific discussions in the days ahead, but in the meantime i wanted to take a moment to analyze the scoring scale and what it tells us about the logical difficulty of this exam. To achieve those same results in june, you only needed 46, 55, and 65 questions correct, respectively. Law schools are seeing fewer applicants with law school admission test scores of 160 and above. Gpas, and lsat scores, and found that the only other majors aside from the stem majors mentioned above.
Oct 25, 2017 the lsat is the leading indicator of firstyear academic success, and an applicants score is one of the major factors schools consider during the admissions process, chapman said. The theory is that poor test takers tend to choose these majors in abundance and this same group would score low on the lsat even if they. While many factors should impact your decision of which law schools to apply to, theres no denying that reputation often exerts a major influence on applicants views of various law programs. Economics undergraduate majors consistently rank in the top lsat scores because of the logical reasoning and analytical skills gained during their program of study. On the lsat, philosophy majors rank significantly better than any other humanities degree, with an average score slightly lower than economics for the second highest of any field with more than 2,000 students taking the exam for the 2017 2018 year.
Even philosophy majors do better than polisci students on the lsat. Compare your lsat scores to the score ranges for admitted students at law schools on your list. Lsat scores by major according to this chart by robert anderson of beachbum toilet pepperdine, lawschool applicants who majored in mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, classics, or linguistics on average score above 160 on the lsat, whereas those in such illustrious fields as criminology, criminal justice, family relations and child. Lsat scores at highrisk schools getting worse, according to analysis by law school reform group. Oct 11, 2018 anyone who successfully completes the lsat receives a score between 120 and 180.
Lsat scores archives lsat gmat, gre, lsat test prep. To get a score in the 160s you should aim for getting 7085 of the questions correct. Anyone who successfully completes the lsat receives a score between 120 and 180. The lsat is the highest weighing component on whether an applicant will be accepted or denied from law school. I was browsing through a law school admissions forum and thought this list was interesting. The scores from the september 2017 lsat have been released and we have the scoring scale in hand. Raw scores are equated such that the lsat is graded on a scale from 120180. On the lsat, philosophy majors rank significantly better than any other humanities degree, with an average score slightly lower than economics for the second highest of any field with more than 2,000 students taking the exam for the 20172018 year. The following grid includes applicants who were admitted for all terms in academic year 2017. For an updated look at this analysis, here are the lsat scores and gpas by major for 20172018 law school applicants based on numbers. Canadian law school profiles mcgill, ubc, uoft, uvic, york. Law school admission test scores lsat scores written more than five years prior to the academic year of application will not be considered. The schools at the bottom of the list had the fewest lsat sittings 54 among the 240 undergraduate schools with the most lsat tests taken by its students.
Scores of 145, 150, and 155 required minimum raw numbers of 49, 58, and 67, respectively. On average, getting a raw score of 87 out of 101 or. Classics, philosophy majors do best when it comes to. Apr 09, 2014 the worst major for lsat scores was criminal justice. The general trends identified by muller remain the same with one notable differencemath majors lsat scores and gpas are now the highest among all. Classics, philosophy majors do best when it comes to getting. Philosophy majors scored sixth best in terms of lsat and gpa scores. Ranking undergraduate schools by average lsat score. Note that a score in this range places you, on average, in the 98 th percentile, meaning that only 2% of all those who take the lsat score a 170 or above. While scores earned under nonstandard testing conditions had been excluded from lsat score. It was followed by social work, business management and business administration, prelaw and law.
The average lsat score of the top 50 law schools is about 160, but if youre looking to get into any one of the law schools, your score should be 150. If physics is no longer on a ranking of who has the highest lsat scores, if the filter size has changed then the number of physics majors taking the lsat has shrunk from 577 down to some number below 150 but likely close to 150 in just 67 years. Knowing your lsat score release date is crucial to selecting the right lsat test date. Students with these college majors had the highest lsat scores. I would expect physics to remain within 23 points of their 2007 average. If youre starting at a 8, i think you can get into the 160s, maybe not 170s, but 160s is feasible. A table of score distributions and percentiles for the 20142017 testing years is available for your use. Law schools consider many other factors beyond the lsat score and. Data from the law school admission council shows philosophy tied with economics as the highestscoring majors, with students in each of those two disciplines.
The raw lsat score is based on the number of questions answered correctly. Lsac processes a wealth of valuable data from test takers, applicants, and law schools. We compile a variety of reports on applicant trends and characteristics. Average lsat scores by major in 2018 for an updated look at this analysis, here are the lsat scores and gpas by major for 2017 2018 law school applicants based on numbers reported by the lsac. For an updated look at this analysis, here are the lsat scores and gpas by major for 20172018 law school applicants based on numbers reported by the lsac. Lsat scores and gpas for top law schools kaplan test prep. Research library the law school admission council lsac. You want to be sure youll have your scores in hand in time to send them to your dream school and your safety schools. Is the lsat systemic of racial differences in education attainment. The law school admission test lsat is a halfday standardized test administered seven times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. The official curve out of 101 questions was 12 for a 170, 19 for a 165, 28 for a 160, and 46 for a 150. A table of score distributions and percentiles for the 2014 2017 testing years is available for your use. A good lsat score depends on the law schools you are considering.
The law school admission council lsac administers the lsat for prospective law school candidates. Lsat score release dates the law school admissions council lsac sends scores out via email about four weeks after. Philosophy student performance on the law school admissions. Oct 17, 2017 the scores from the september 2017 lsat have been released and we have the scoring scale in hand. Political science majors dont look so hot as a category. Well have some sectionspecific discussions in the days ahead, but in the meantime i wanted to take a moment to analyze the scoring scale and what it.
The worst major for lsat scores was criminal justice. I m assuming there is some correlation between lsat scores and the quality of the student body at the college. The lsat can be a very challenging and daunting test. Normalized scores are distributed on a scale with a low of 120 to a high of 180. As usual, lsac released the october lsat scores a couple of days before schedule and testtakers are currently receiving the news via email. I know its super early in the posttest cycleand for some with accommodations or in certain places in florida the test hasnt even occurred yetbut ive been getting questions about the score release date this morning so i wanted to share my thoughts. Apr, 2020 this method, with different conversions formulas for each lsat, is designed to minimize the variance in scores across the four lsat administered each year, and across lsats over different years. Economics undergraduate majors consistently rank in the top lsat. When you compare it to the june 2017 test you see notable differences. This is often compounded by the fact that law schools heavily rely upon lsat scores to make admission decisions. Completion data to assess the law school pipeline feb. This method, with different conversions formulas for each lsat, is designed to minimize the variance in scores across the four lsat administered each year, and across lsats over different years. The lsat score range is 120180, and the median score is approximately 152. In general, scores in the high 160s and 170s are usually considered very.