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Every ABA-approved law school publishes a median LSAT in its Standard 509 report, and those medians span roughly the 140s to the 170s 120 to 180. The national test-taker average sits in the low 150s the low-to-mid 150s (LSAC publishes no single headline average; the median sits near 152). Aim above each target school's median.
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
Every ABA-approved law school reports its entering-class LSAT medians in an annual Standard 509 Information Report, the authoritative source for average scores. These reports list the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile LSAT for each school see the linked source (see the linked source). The 50th percentile, or median, is the number most applicants treat as the school's average.
The spread in median LSAT scores across law schools is large. From the most accessible schools in the 140s to the T14 in the high 160s and 170s, the range covers much of the 120 to 180 scale 120 to 180. For reference, the national test-taker average sits in the low 150s the low-to-mid 150s (LSAC publishes no single headline average; the median sits near 152).
Let each school's average LSAT sort your list into reach, target, and likely categories. Where your score exceeds a school's 75th percentile, treat it as likely and a scholarship prospect; near the median it is a target; below the 25th percentile it is a reach see the linked source (see the linked source). Build a balanced list across those tiers.
A good LSAT score meets or beats the median at the schools you want to attend. Anything above the low-150s national average is competitive for a broad set of programs, while the most selective schools want high 160s to 170s each school's median LSAT (see its 509 report). Good is defined school by school.
The average LSAT score is in the low 150s on the 120 to 180 scale the low-to-mid 150s (LSAC does not publish a single headline average; the median falls near 152 on the percentile tables). Individual school averages differ sharply from this national figure, so use it only as a broad benchmark before comparing your score to specific school medians.
The LSAT is scored by tallying correct answers into a raw score, then mapping that raw score onto the 120 to 180 scale through a per-form equating curve. There is no penalty for wrong answers. Schools report their average scores on this same scale in their annual ABA Standard 509 reports.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026