"Just get a 170+ LSAT score": not realistic for most people

Graduate School Law School
1

I am constantly seeing the following advice for getting into law schools:

“Just get a 170+ LSAT score”

This advice is given out as though anyone can do it.

I looked up a chart of LSAT percentiles, and 170 is above the 97th percentile: of 100 people who take the LSAT, only 3 will have LSAT scores of 170 or higher.

Thus the advice to “just get a 170+ LSAT” isn’t realistic for most people; that kind of score just isn’t going to happen for most people, and so people are given advice as though, “of course, you have a 2.9 at your community college but just get a 170+ LSAT score and Cornell and Georgetown will throw money at you, you’ll be welcomed at Penn and Columbia everything will be fine on your path to Cravath”, as if it were as easy as snapping your fingers.

For most people, even a 165 LSAT is very good.

What am I missing here?

2

You are correct, HA. It takes ‘smarts’ (however defined) to be able to rock the LSAT. Someone with an average IQ, or even a slightly above average IQ, could prep/study with private tutors for months, but would never be able to score 17x.

However, most who score >2100/33 on the SAT/ACT do have the innate ability to score a 17x with (a lot of?) prep. But still, many do not. For example, undergrads from Harvard College, which has some of the SAT/ACT scores around, only score an average of ~166 on the LSAT. IMO, they could score a lot higher if they prepped. But many do not.

3

Most people won’t score high enough on the LSAT. Most people shouldn’t go to law school. The two match up nicely.

4

97th percentile doesn’t seem that bad. Just visit the tiresome, interminable threads arguing whether the projected NMSF cutoff for the PSAT will be the 99.5 percentile for CA.

5

I think people may be saying it so flippantly, but the fact that it’s not easy is kind of the point.

If you already have a 2.9 GPA, the odds of you getting into law school are very slim already. You need to do something outstanding to have a shot, and just about the only thing you could do is get a very high LSAT score. (And honestly, I would think someone with a 2.9 would need a perfect 180 and some other magical stuff to get admitted to any law school worth attending.)

It does raise a good point, though - if one can’t score a 165-170+ on the LSAT, perhaps one should consider not going to law school.