Also see my related notes on the
Net Present
Value of undergraduate grades towards law school tuition and the
increasing numbers of millionaires in the USA.
Getting into a good law school
With several family members and associates
looking into law school, I've prepared this brief summary showing
the probability of being accepted into law schools across metrics
such as undergraduate GPA, LSAT score and less tangible factors such
as major, undergraduate research and publication. The LSAT is
scored on a scale of 120-180 and the
average LSAT
score is about 150.
Grades are also important in getting into an
affordable law school, and see my notes on the
net present
value of undergraduate grades towards law school tuition.
Law school admissions UGPA and LSAT for top law
schools are shown
below. Law schools report that the undergraduate GPA is the
most important factor regardless of major; they assume applicants
choose a major that they enjoy and the schools expect high grades. The LSAT scores
were the second most determining factor, followed by subjective
measures (the Letter of Intent) and extra-curricular activities
(volunteer work, legal-related interests).
The ranges below are for the "25th
percentile-75th percentile", showing a wide range of acceptable
undergraduate GPA's from 3.3 to 3.7.
Law
School UPGA
LSAT
Nationwide 3.37-3.71 161-168
When we examine the most selective law schools we
see the minimum UPGA starting at 3.69. All else being equal
(ceteris parabus), at this 25th percentile, only a quarter of the
applicants were able to gain admission, even with stellar LSAT
scores and extracurricular activities:
For more details on LSAT and GPA factors, the
Grinnell Rankings show average UPGA and LSAT, shown by law
school. Here are the
Top 100 Law schools, with the top dozen law schools here:
1. Yale University (CT)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Stanford University (CA)
4. Columbia University (NY)
5. New York University
6. University of Chicago
7. University of Pennsylvania
8. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
9. University of Virginia
10. Northwestern University (IL)
11. Cornell University (NY)
12. Duke University (NC)
