by John Rood

Like most entrance exams, the LSAT isn’t pass/fail but is graded on a curved scale. For the LSAT, that scale is between 120 and 180. But what is a good LSAT score?

The answer is simply: A good LSAT score is one that makes you competitive for the law schools to which you would like to apply. Unlike college where an A is good, a B is ok, and a C is kind of bad, your LSAT score looks very different to different law schools. For example, at the University of Arizona, 50% of the admitted students scored between 155 and 162. At Harvard Law School, those numbers are 170 and 175. Of course, that means that at each school 25% of the admitted class scored below those lower bounds on the LSAT, but most of the time those students will have had an above-average GPA.

You can find these numbers for every law shool in the country at: https://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/UGPALSAT/UGPALSAT.aspx

However, the answer gets a bit more complicated. Not only do you want to be admitted to a given law school but, if possible, you’d like to get a good financial aid offer too! Law school financial aid is nearly all merit-based and is, in general, awarded to students who apply to a given school with well above-average scores. For example, if you apply to the University of Arizona with a 170, you’ll be a very good candidate both for admission and for generous financial aid.

So, a good LSAT score is really this: the very best LSAT score you can manage to earn.

If you’re just getting started with the LSAT, you should check out our free LSAT course. This course focuses on giving students the basic framework and methodologies they will need to move on to the most important part of LSAT preparation — taking and reviewing past actual LSAT exams. Interested in learning more? Click here.

Struggling to raise your score or unhappy with the score you already received? Our one-on-one tutoring programs may be just waht you need. You can’t beat personalized attention, customized study plans, and expert tutors, who all scored in the 98th+ percentile on their own exams. Learn more here.

John Rood is the founder of Next Step Preparation. He began with one LSAT tutor (himself) and built Next Step into what it is today without ever losing the core value: educate everyday.