The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
For aspiring J.D. students, scoring high on the LSAT may be challenging. But it’s also critical for getting into a reputable law school, U.S. News data show.
Among the 197 ranked law schools that provided these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the median LSAT score for full-time students entering in fall 2016 was an average of 155. The LSAT, administered worldwide four times each year by the Law School Admission Council, is scored on a scale from 120 to 180.
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However, among the 12 schools that top the list, including ties, the average figure was higher: 170.
The Ivy League Yale University in Connecticut, which ranks No. 1 in the U.S. News 2018 Best Law Schools rankings, had the highest median LSAT score — 173 — for full-time students starting in fall 2016.
In fact, 11 of the 12 law schools on the list rank in the top 10; the exception is No. 18, Washington University in St. Louis, with a median LSAT score of 168.
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Overall, the ranked law school with the lowest median LSAT score was the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, at 142.
Below is a list of the 12 schools with the highest median LSAT score for full-time students who started in fall 2016. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School (name) (state) | Median LSAT score for full-time students entering in fall 2016 | U.S. News law school rank |
| Yale University (CT) | 173 | 1 |
| Harvard University (MA) | 172 | 3 |
| Columbia University (NY) | 172 | 5 |
| Stanford University (CA) | 171 | 2 |
| University of Chicago | 170 | 4 |
| New York University | 169 | 6 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 169 | 7 |
| University of Virginia | 169 | 8 (tie) |
| Duke University (NC) | 169 | 10 (tie) |
| University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 168 | 8 (tie) |
| Northwestern University (Pritzker) (IL) | 168 | 10 (tie) |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 168 | 18 |
Don’t see your school in the top 12? Access the U.S. News Law School Compass to find LSAT data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed 197 schools for our 2016 survey of law programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Law Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The LSAT data above are correct as of March 21, 2017.
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12 Law Schools Where Students Have the Highest LSAT Scores originally appeared on usnews.com
