Yes. A 170 is an excellent LSAT score and currently sits at the 94.48th percentile. It is competitive for many top law schools, though it is below the median at several T14 programs whose current medians sit in the low-to-mid 170s.
94.48th percentile on LSAC’s current 2023–2026 percentile table.
Yes, but not uniformly. At some T14 schools a 170 is around the lower end of the enrolled range; at others it is closer to the median. GPA and the rest of the application matter heavily.
Retake when recent practice tests consistently sit several points higher and a 172–175 would materially improve your target-school or scholarship position. Do not retake automatically just because 170 is below one dream school’s median.
A 170 can be a powerful merit-aid credential at schools whose medians are below 170. The same score can be ordinary at a school whose median is 173–174.
Yes. It is above about 94% of scores in LSAC’s current percentile table.
It can, but it is below their recent medians, so the overall file must be strong.
Only when practice evidence suggests a meaningful, strategically useful gain.
Percentile data come from LSAC’s current LSAT percentile table.
Written by Ali Unar, Founder, Lovare Institut. Updated September 20, 2026.
September 20, 2026
September 20, 2026