Why Do Law Schools Provide Information About the Median LSATs and Undergraduate GPAs (UGPA) of Their Incoming Classes?
ABA-approved law schools are required to provide certain “consumer information,” intended to provide applicants with standard information that may help them decide whether to apply for admission and, if admitted, whether to enroll. The information is not intended to convey the chances of admission for any particular individual.
For this reason, every law school publishes the 25th, 50th (median), and 75th percentiles for their matriculants’ (that is, the students who enrolled in that year’s first-year class) highest LSAT score and UGPA. These values can give you some guidance about each law school and can help you make an informed decision about applying, but only if you understand what those data points are telling you.
What Does a Law School’s LSAT Median and UGPA Median Tell You?
Some people think that a law school’s LSAT median and UGPA median are what applicants must have to be admitted into that law school, leading some to think they shouldn’t apply to a certain school because their LSAT score or UGPA is below the law school’s medians. In other words, they think having an LSAT score or UGPA lower than the law school’s medians automatically means they wouldn’t get accepted. Nothing could be further from the truth!
First, it’s important to understand what the median is. A median, or 50th percentile, is a mid-point. So, for example, if the median UGPA for a school’s incoming class is 3.42, that means that half the matriculants had UGPAs of 3.42 and higher, and half the matriculants had UGPAs of 3.42 and lower. Similarly, if the median highest LSAT score for a law school’s incoming class is 151, half the matriculants’ highest LSAT scores were at 151 and above, and half were at 151 and below.
It’s important to remember that the median is only one data point. It is also helpful to be aware of and understand the 25th and 75th percentiles. 25% of first-year students are below the 25th percentile, and 25% of first-year students are above the 75th percentile. 25% may seem small by itself, but think of it in terms of an incoming class. If the incoming class is 200 people, that would mean 50 people were below the 25th percentile. That’s A LOT of people! So don’t automatically decide not to apply if your highest LSAT or UGPA are below the 25th percentile. Another way to look at it is to realize that the 25th and 75th percentiles only tell you the middle 50% of LSAT scores and UGPAs for those enrolled at a particular law school. 50% of those enrolled at a particular law school fell outside of that range.
Two excellent resource as you research law schools are Law School Transparency on LawHub and LSAC’s Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD programs. Here’s an example of something you might see. First let’s consider UGPA. Suppose a law school’s incoming class had a UGPA 25th percentile of 3.12, median/50th percentile of 3.42, and 75th percentile of 3.63. That means for this law school, 25% of matriculants had UGPAs below 3.12, 50% had UGPAs between 3.12 and 3.63, and 25% had UGPAs above 3.63. Now, let’s consider highest LSAT scores. (And remember here that for applicants with more than one LSAT score, schools only report the highest score achieved by each student.) This law school’s incoming class had a highest LSAT 25th percentile of 149, a median/50th percentile of 151, and a 75th percentile of 155. That means for this law school, 25% of matriculants had highest LSAT scores below 149, 50% had highest LSAT scores between 149 and 155, and 25% had highest LSAT scores above 155.
What Should I Do With This Information?
Having an LSAT score or UGPA below the median or even below a law school’s 25th percentile should not stop you from considering that school and applying if you think it’s a good option for you. Remember, 1 in 4 matriculants — one quarter of them — were below the 25th percentile.
Law schools consider a number of factors in addition to your academic performance, including extracurricular activities, leadership skills, writing skills, letters of recommendation, personal essays, interviews, work experience, and lived experience, to understand the whole you and your ability to succeed in law school. This holistic review also means you shouldn’t assume that an LSAT score or UGPA above the median, or even above the 75th percentile, is a guarantee you’ll be offered admission. So, when deciding where to apply, go ahead and consider law school medians and percentiles, but also keep in mind what you are looking for in a law school based on your needs and goals, and pay careful attention as you assemble the other components of your application.
Your LSAT score and UGPA are two important elements to consider in choosing which law schools to apply to, but they are only two of many. Don’t let these numbers on their own dictate where you do and don’t apply. Do your homework, figure out which law schools have the kinds of programs and attributes that are best for you, then make your very best case through your application.
Everyone has their own unique journey to law school. Your academic, professional, and personal interests and needs will help you shape the list of law schools that are right for you. Throughout the process of finding and applying to law schools, consider what matters most to you, what you need, and take time to carefully understand the information you use to make your decision.