LSAT Score Percentiles

August 11, 2025

Understanding LSAT score percentiles is an important part of the law school application process. You're likely immersed in a sea of test day strategies and techniques claiming to increase your exam performance and overall score. Naturally, this is crucial when looking at percentiles, where you truly get a feel for the competition. While you don't want to get bogged down unnecessarily with worrying about others performing better than you, percentiles are a key building block in the application process. They can inform your score's relationship to your chosen law schools, so it's vital to be aware of how they work. 

In this article, we will delve into LSAT scoring fundamentals, then detail general and school-specific percentiles, and reflect briefly on 2024 LSAT median scores and their implications. More than likely you've done some percentile investigating of your own; hopefully, the information in this article builds on that and encourages you to go a step further. 

LSAT Scoring Fundamentals

In order to understand percentiles and specific law school requirements, it's important to first understand the LSAT's structure. The multiple-choice part of the test is outlined below. Note that the Variable section can be either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension. That means a test taker's exam can have either three Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension, or two of each. The LSAT also has another part called Argumentative Writing, which is an unscored writing sample administered separately.

The number of questions you answer correctly is your raw score. All questions count the same and no points are deducted for wrong answers. This number is converted to a scaled score of 120-180 with 1-pont increments, which is the official score you receive.

LSAT Percentiles

On to the subject at hand. Your LSAT score's percentile, which will appear on your score report, is the percentage of test takers who scored lower than you over the previous three years. For instance, an 80^th percentile score means you did better than 80 percent of test takers. Percentiles are important, as law schools will typically work with them when publishing data about their acceptance rate. Finding out how your LSAT score aligns with other students is important when weighing your chances of admission. Do you have your score handy? Hopefully you do so you can figure out which percentile you match to better understand the admissions process.

General Percentiles

Each law school has their own LSAT percentiles for the most recent first-year class. For example, if your LSAT score is in the 75^th percentile for a certain school, that means you performed better than 75% of that school's latest first-year class. If you scored in the school's 25^th percentile, you only did better than 25% of the class. Schools are typically transparent with published data for their 25^th and 75^th percentiles. Keep in mind these numbers aren't meant to scare you, but simply shed light on how acceptance rates relate to LSAT scores. (Note—if the schools you're interested aren't listed, visit their websites, where most of this data is publicly available.)

Law School 25^th & 75^th Percentiles

LSAT Score Medians

Law schools' median LSAT scores tend to go hand-in-hand with percentiles, so including 2024 median LSAT scores for the handful of elite schools below should also give you further insight into your competition. Like percentiles, LSAT median scores are transparently published on most schools' websites.

LSAT Medians for Top Law Schools

The Takeaway

Focusing on your own course of study is paramount for LSAT success—something any law school student who has been through this process will tell you. Keeping these percentiles in the back of your mind when approaching a rigorous LSAT prep curriculum should motivate you, not discourage you, from applying to the school of your dreams. Remember that you're not just an LSAT score, but a unique, multi-faceted individual vying for admission to an elite law school. Enhance your overall application while working towards increasing your LSAT score. Doing so can work together to give you the confidence you need to succeed on your law school interview as well.