Top 12 Law Schools with the Highest LSAT Scores

March 24, 2017

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Summary: U.S. News Short List has released a ranking of the schools with the highest LSAT score averages.

Until more schools follow Harvard’s lead to use the GRE for admissions, the LSAT test reigns supreme. It’s a grueling exam for all aspiring law students, but the ones who score big have the opportunity to get into the best law schools and thus get the best jobs. So what schools host the highest LSAT achievers?

U.S. News has released the top twelve law schools with the highest average LSAT score. The test, which is administered by the Law School Admission Council, is scored from 120 to 180, and amongst the 197 law schools that U.S. News ranked in 2016, the national student average on the test was 155.

In contrast to the national average, the top 12 listed below had an average LSAT of 170.

Yale University — 173
Harvard University — 172
Columbia University — 172
Stanford University — 171
University of Chicago — 170
New York University — 169
University of Pennsylvania — 169
University of Virginia — 169
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor — 168
Northwestern University — 168
Washington University in St. Louis — 168

Yale University in Connecticut has the highest median LSAT score of 173 for its full-time students who entered in the fall of 2016. The school, which has notable alumni like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Clarence Thomas, and Sonia Sotomayor, costs $58,050 a year for tuition and fees and is also ranked number one on U.S. News’ 2018 Best Law Schools list.

In second place, Harvard University made headlines earlier this month when it announced that it would begin to allow applicants to use the GRE score for admission. The reason for this is that the prestigious law school wants to diversify its student body, but they will continue to accept the LSAT. Last year, the incoming class had an average LSAT score of 172.

Columbia Law is located in New York, and last year’s incoming class had an average LSAT score of 172. The elite school costs about $62,700 a year in fees and tuition, and it was listed by the Princeton Review as the 4th best law school to attend to get a job.

The only west coast school on this list, Stanford, had an average LSAT score of 171 for its fall 2016 class. Following close behind, Midwestern powerhouse, the University of Chicago, had an average LSAT score of 170. U.S. News ranks Stanford as the second best law school in the country and Chicago as the fourth.

New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia all had an average LSAT score of 169 for its fall 2016 class. The three schools attract these highly coveted students because of their location and prestige, and Princeton Review said that they were amongst the top schools to attend to land highly desirable Big Law jobs.

The next group on the list are all located in the Midwest. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Northwestern University, and Washington University in St. Louis all had an average LSAT score of 168 for its fall 2016 class.