<p>My H took the LSATs more than 25 years ago so his experience is like ancient history. :) A friend of my D is interested in applying to law schools and was wondering what score she should be hoping for, and also what types of scores will influence which types of schools. I'm not sure that law schools have certain cut offs but she's curious about how numbers would correlate with say, the top schools, then the next tier down. Any information which any of you could provide will be appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>As phrased, your question is really impossible to answer. Why? Well, what do you mean by first tier or "top schools" ? Those terms mean different things to different people. Additionally, your question seems to imply that there is some sudden breakpoint between the top tier and the next tier. There really isn't--however you define the tiers. So, while this is somewhat out of date--someone else may be able to give you a link to a more current one--I'd suggest that your daughter's friend look at this link and check out the schools of interest to her. (It focuses on the top 50.)</p>
<p>jonri, thanks for the link. I understand that the words 'top tier' have different meanings for different people. I'm not particularly fond of the term either in undergrad or law school discussions but the fact is that some schools are 'ranked' higher than others and I was just trying to get a feel for her as to what she should be aiming for in compiling her list. My H has been practicing for more than 25 years and I'm assuming that there have been changes in law school admissions (including LSAT scores) just as there have been in college admissions since we went through it back 'in the dark ages'. I did not intend for my post to imply a 'sudden breakpoint' and apologize for failing to make clear the general-ness of my request.</p>
<p>US News for graduate schools are phenomenally useful. They will give you the median 50% of LSAT ranges for schools. Specific schools often have LSAT/GPA grids - your D's GPA is pretty much set in stone by now. Find that on one side, and examine different LSAT scores and the corresponding chances of getting in. </p>
<p>Generally, for the top 25 law schools, she'll need about a 165 to be viable (unless she's from West Virginia and has a 4.0 from Yale, then a lower score may be fine). </p>
<p>Practice LSATs will help her most in compiling her list. With law schools, be aware that straight-up ranking isn't always the way to go - she may be a lot better off at a second-tier school in your region than a higher-ranked school elsewhere. The back section of US News will give you the percentages of law school grads who go to different regions of the country.</p>
<p>My son is currently applying to law school. Here are two websites I found that have a lot of info:</p>
<p><a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/docs/cgi-bin/home.asp%5B/url%5D">http://officialguide.lsac.org/docs/cgi-bin/home.asp</a>
This site provides a list of all ABA approved schools with 2 page descriptions of each and lots of stats, including the 25% and 75% LSAT scores. You can look at the whole list or search by region or other criteria.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/</a>
This site has a sortable table of statistics. You can sort by 25% or 75% LSAT scores, 25% or 75% gpa, bar pass rates, and several other criteria.</p>
<p>The data on both sites is a couple of years old though, and some schools have gotten a bit more selective.</p>
<p>aries and nwestmom, thank you for your help! I'll pass that information along to her. She's still in the process of compiling her list and she's done several practice tests already, with her lowest score a 172. She's a Princeton grad with a very good gpa so I'm fairly sure she'll be applying to top 25 schools. Thank you again!</p>