Is the LSAT a predictor of law school success?
Asked by: Derick Bechtelar | Last update: September 20, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (29 votes)
To its credit, the LSAT is meant to predict how well a student will perform during their first year in law school. And perhaps more than any other available metric, the LSAT is best at doing this. In fact, according to its creators, the LSAT has a predictive validity of 60%.
Do law schools care about LSAT?
Law schools care about many things: your GPA, your LSAT, the story you tell, the obstacles you've overcome. But if there is one thing law school admissions committees care least about, it may be your major.
What is the best law school predictor?
``LSAT score is the single best predictor of academic success in law school available to admission professionals.''
Is a 172 LSAT good enough for Harvard?
172 LSAT is average for Harvard law. So, that's excellent already. Even with a 3.4 GPA, if he can get that LSAT up to, say, 175+ (which then begins the luck zone even for most top scorers), he's looking at probably admission into at least one of Harvard, Yale, or Stanford (the top 3).
Is the LSAT a good predictor of law school success on Reddit?
The correlation between LSAT scores and first-year law school grades (1L GPA) is approximately 0.60. That means it's a moderate correlation. The closer you get to 1, the better the correlation.
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How rare is a 170 LSAT?
170 score: Scoring a 170 on the LSAT is almost always considered a good score — that means you are in the 2-3% of test-takers.
Is there a correlation between LSAT and law school success?
THE LSAT IS PREDICTIVE, BUT NOT RELEVANT
To its credit, the LSAT is meant to predict how well a student will perform during their first year in law school. And perhaps more than any other available metric, the LSAT is best at doing this. In fact, according to its creators, the LSAT has a predictive validity of 60%.
How rare is a 175 LSAT?
For a top five law school, an LSAT score of 175 and above increases your chances of being admitted and being awarded a full scholarship by the school. Such a score also puts you in the 99th percentile of LSAT takers, making you a rare and highly coveted law school candidate.
What did Elle Woods get on her LSAT?
Elle Woods, a fictional character portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the movie Legally Blonde, is known for her remarkable LSAT score—179 out of 180. Portrayed as a stereotypical "valley girl," she embarks on a journey to Harvard Law School in the movie that has since become a cult favorite.
Is 3.7 a bad GPA for law school?
Among the 191 ranked law schools that submitted grade data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average median GPA of entering law school students in 2021 was 3.55. But at the 20 highest-ranked law schools, the average median GPA is much higher – 3.86.
Is LSAT or GPA more important?
In general terms, it can be said that law schools value LSAT scores more than they do undergraduate GPA, but whether or not this statement applies to a given institution and how by much depends on the school.
How hard is it to get a 175 on the LSAT?
The LSAT is scored on a bell curve, ranging from 120 to 180. On recent tests, the hump of the curve has centered around 153. Percentiles vary slightly between tests, but generally around 25% of test-takers score 160 or higher, 5% score 170 or higher, and 1% score 175 or higher. Only one in 1,000 test-takers scores 180.
Is the LSAT a good measure of intelligence?
The LSAT is not an IQ test. It does not measure intelligence the way IQ tests are designed to measure innate ability. A person who is very smart can receive a low LSAT score. A person who is very creative can receive a low LSAT score.
Are law schools getting rid of LSAT?
Yes, some law schools have chosen not to make LSAT scores a mandatory part of their admission criteria. Instead, they consider other factors like GPA, work experience, or alternative standardized tests.
Is the LSAT a good indicator?
LSAT test forms typically have reliability coefficients over 0.9. The mean reliability coefficients for the eight LSAT administrations in the 2021-2022 testing year were all above 0.90. This indicates that the LSAT is a highly reliable test.
Do law schools look at all LSAT scores or just the highest?
"The LSAC report for an applicant who has sat for the LSAT more than once will show every score or cancellation, as well as the average score. The ABA requires law schools to report score information based on an admitted student's highest score, and therefore, that is the score to which we give the most weight.
What did Obama make on the LSAT?
The easiest to predict, by far, is Barack Obama's score, mostly because we have some data. Based on admissions records, we can deduce — somewhat reliably — that Barry-O scored between the 94th and 98th percentile on his LSAT. Using today's grading system, that would place him somewhere around a 170.
How rare is a 180 LSAT?
How Hard Is It To Get A Perfect Score On The LSAT? According to LSAC, only 119 test-takers out of nearly 60,000 achieved this in 2022. So when you ask, “How many people get a 180 on the LSAT?” the answer highlights the rarity and difficulty of this achievement.
What was Elle Woods' GPA?
In the film, Legally Blonde, Woods is a sorority sister living at the Delta Nu House at the fictional California University Los Angeles (CULA) (USC in the novel, UCLA in the musical) where she studies in Fashion Merchandising and maintains a 4.0 GPA.
Will a 180 LSAT get you in anywhere?
LSAT takers can score anywhere from 120 to 180. With that big of a range, what kind of score should you aim for? Realistically, you should try to get a score of at least 150. That's the score that will get you into any accredited law school.
Is a 2.9 GPA too low for law school?
Law Schools With GPA Medians of 2.9 and Below
Well, admissions statistics say you can! There is quite a large range of acceptable GPAs across all of the nation's law schools and our quiz is here to help you find out which schools to apply to if you have a low GPA!
What is the average LSAT score for first time takers?
Data Summary. The average LSAT score for first-time takers was 151, according to scores tracked from 2006-2013. During this period, second-time test takers had the highest LSAT average score of about 152. The average national LSAT score for full-time, first-year JD enrollees for fall 2022 was about 159.
Does LSAT predict bar passage?
strong relationship between LSAT scores and the probability of first-time bar passage. This is consistent with the “credential” effect we have discussed; usually higher LSAT corresponds to a higher group rate of first-time bar passage.
Do law schools care how many times you took the LSAT?
Law schools do not average the scores for admission, but we always look at performance if you've taken the test more than once. Ideally, it would be best if every applicant could secure their ideal LSAT score on the first attempt, but that is often not the case.
Do law schools look at LSAT percentiles?
It's common to talk in terms of LSAT scores, but law schools also look at your score percentile. Small LSAT score gains can net big results.