What is a good LSAT score?

Definitions of 'good' depend on your target schools. For T14 schools, a 'good' LSAT is 170+ (97th percentile). For T15-50 schools, 165-169 (89-96th percentile). For T50-100, 160-164. For unranked schools, 150-155. The national median LSAT for matriculants at ABA-accredited law schools is approximately 158 (72nd percentile of takers).

What percentile is a 170 LSAT?

A 170 LSAT is the 97th percentile — meaning you scored higher than 97% of all LSAT takers in recent administrations. 170 is considered the threshold for T14 admission and falls at the 25th percentile of the lowest T14 schools (Cornell, Michigan, Berkeley, Georgetown). Above 170, you're in T14-competitive territory.

What percentile is a 175 LSAT?

A 175 LSAT is the 99.5th percentile — top 0.5% of all takers. 175 is the median LSAT score at Yale, Stanford, and Harvard, and well above the 75th percentile at every other T14 school. A 175 with a 3.7+ GPA is a strong HYS application.

What's the average LSAT score?

The mean (average) LSAT score across all takers is approximately 152, but this includes everyone who tests including non-applicants. The median LSAT for actual matriculants at ABA-accredited law schools is approximately 158 — meaning half of all 1Ls scored above and half below. Both numbers shift slightly each year based on the testing pool and curve.

Is the LSAT scored on a curve?

Yes. The LSAT raw score (correct answers out of ~100 questions) is converted to a scaled score (120-180) using a curve calibrated to the difficulty of that particular administration. The percentile rank is derived from how all takers in a 3-year rolling window scored. Because of the curve, missing 11 questions might produce a 170 on one administration and 169 on another — and the percentile rank for each scaled score is updated annually.

How is the LSAT percentile calculated?

LSAC publishes percentile rankings each year based on the previous 3 years of test administrations. A score's percentile reflects the percentage of takers in that 3-year window who scored at or below that score. So if you score a 170 and the published percentile is 97.0, that means 97% of recent takers scored 170 or below. Percentiles shift slightly year to year as the testing pool changes — typically by less than 1 percentile point.

Pre-Law Guides

LSAT Score Percentiles 2026 — Full Score-to-Percentile Table

Complete LSAT percentile rankings for the 120-180 scale, with real admissions implications for each score band. What a 170, 175, or 165 actually gets you.

Last updated: January 2026. Percentiles based on LSAC's most recent 3-year rolling average.

Full LSAT Score-to-Percentile Table

Every LSAT scaled score with its corresponding percentile rank and admissions implications.

Score	Percentile	Tier	What it gets you
180	100%	Elite	Perfect score. Yale/Stanford/Harvard candidate.
179	100%	Elite	T6 candidate at any GPA.
178	100%	Elite	Above the 75th percentile of every law school.
177	100%	Elite	T14 across the board.
176	100%	Elite	T14 above-median territory.
175	100%	Elite	Above HYS median (Yale 174, Harvard 174, Stanford 173). Strong scholarship territory at any T14.
174	99%	Elite	T6 median. Strong T14 admit.
173	99%	Strong	Above median at most of the T14.
172	99%	Strong	Median at NYU; below median at Columbia/Penn (173). Texas median (172).
171	98%	Strong	Median at lower T14 schools.
170	97%	Strong	T14 25th percentile. Strong scholarship at T15-25.
169	96%	Strong	Above-median at T15-25. Scholarship territory.
168	94%	Strong	Below T20 median (most are 170+). Median at GW; competitive at Notre Dame, BU.
167	92%	Strong	Median at Fordham, BC; below the strongest regional schools (UCLA 171, Texas 172).
166	90%	Solid	Median at strong regional schools.
165	89%	Solid	Above-average in any cycle. Many scholarship offers.
164	87%	Solid	Median at solid regional schools.
163	85%	Solid	Above-median at most regional schools.
162	82%	Solid	Above-average. Strong regional school admit.
161	80%	Solid	Reasonable T50 admit territory.
160	78%	Solid	Median at many regional schools.
159	75%	Median	75th percentile of all LSAT takers.
158	72%	Median	National median for matriculants.
157	67%	Median	Median at lower-ranked schools.
156	64%	Median	Below the median of T100 schools.
155	60%	Median	Median at schools ranked 100-150.
154	56%	Median	Reasonable lower-tier admit.
153	52%	Median	50th percentile of all takers.
152	47%	Below median	Median at unranked / T150+ schools.
151	43%	Below median	Limits options to lower-tier schools.
150	40%	Below median	Below most ABA-accredited school medians.
145	25%	Below median	25th percentile of takers. Few ABA admits.
140	13%	Below median	Below most ABA school 25th percentiles.
135	4.0%	Below median	Effectively below the ABA admission floor.
130	1.0%	Below median	Bottom 1% of takers.
125	0.3%	Below median	Bottom 0.3%.
120	0.0%	Below median	Lowest possible score.

What's a Good LSAT Score?

The honest answer: good is relative to your target schools.

For T14 admission: 170+ (97th percentile or above). The bottom of the T14 has 25th percentile LSAT scores around 168-170; you need to be at or above that floor to be competitive.
For T15-30 admission: 165-169 (89-96th percentile). Above 167 is scholarship territory at most schools in this tier.
For T31-50 admission: 160-164 (78-87th percentile). 162+ at most schools in this tier puts you in scholarship range.
For T50-100 admission: 155-160 (60-78th percentile). 158+ is competitive at most schools in this tier.
For ABA admission generally: 150 (40th percentile) is roughly the floor for the lowest-ranked ABA-accredited schools. Below 150, your options narrow considerably.

For specific predictions across all 198 ABA schools, use our Law School Admissions Calculator — enter your LSAT and GPA to see exactly which schools you fall into Safety / Likely / Target / Reach categories at.

How LSAT Percentiles Are Calculated

LSAC publishes updated percentile rankings each year based on a 3-year rolling window of test administrations. A score's percentile reflects the share of test takers in that window who scored at or below that score. So when LSAC publishes that 170 = 97th percentile, that means 97% of recent takers scored 170 or lower — your 170 puts you above all of them.

Percentiles shift modestly year to year as the test-taker pool changes. The shifts are typically less than 1 percentile point and don't materially change admissions positioning. The scaled score itself (the 120-180 number) is what schools report in ABA 509 disclosures — percentiles are derivative.

Important: the curve. Each LSAT administration uses a calibrated curve that adjusts the raw-to-scaled conversion based on that administration's difficulty. Two administrations with the same raw score (number of questions correct) can produce different scaled scores. This is why prep tests aren't perfect predictors — your prep test 168 may convert to a 167 or 169 on test day depending on how that administration is scaled.

Should You Retake the LSAT?

Yes, retake if any of the following are true:

Your score is more than 5 points below your target schools' medians
You prepared less than 3 months for the test you took
You did fewer than 15 timed practice tests in your last cycle of prep
Your practice test scores were consistently 3+ points above your test-day score (you may be a high-floor improver)

Most ABA schools count only your highest LSAT score in their 509 reports, so retaking is a low-downside bet — the new score replaces the old one for ranking purposes. The exception is application-time disclosure: every score in your LSAC profile is visible to admissions officers, so addenda explaining a low first attempt are sometimes useful.

Diminishing returns kick in around 170-175. If you're already at 174-175, the marginal benefit of a 178+ is small for most school targets — and the time cost of another cycle of prep can mean missed application deadlines.

Use Your LSAT in Your School Search

Law School Admissions Calculator — enter your LSAT and GPA to see admit chances at all 198 ABA schools.
T14 Law Schools Guide — the LSAT/GPA medians and acceptance rates for the top 14.
Law School Profiles — research every ABA school: percentile data, employment markets, distinctive features.
Law School Cost Calculator — model 3-year cost based on your scholarship odds at each school.