While the average applicant's LSAT score sits at a modest 152.75, breaking into a top law school like Yale demands a stratospheric 175, placing you among a tiny fraction of high-achievers in a fiercely competitive pool.
Key Takeaways
- In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the average LSAT score for all applicants to ABA-accredited law schools was 152.75.
- The 75th percentile LSAT score for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 175.
- 12.4% of LSAT test takers in 2023 scored 170 or above.
- The median undergraduate GPA for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 3.96.
- Harvard Law School median GPA for entering class 2027 was 3.93.
- Stanford Law School's 25th-75th GPA range for Class of 2026 was 3.82-3.99.
- In 2023, 62% of applicants were white.
- Women comprised 52.1% of law school applicants in 2023-2024.
- 15.3% of applicants identified as Hispanic/Latino in 2023.
- Overall acceptance rate for ABA law schools in 2023: 39.5%.
- Yale Law acceptance rate Class of 2027: 5.6%.
- Harvard Law acceptance rate: 8.8%.
- Total JD enrollments in fall 2023: 37,828.
- Yale Law yield rate: 82.5%.
- Harvard yield: 75.4%.
Amid fierce competition, elite law schools seek top-tier LSAT scores and GPAs.
Admissions Outcomes
1Overall acceptance rate for ABA law schools in 2023: 39.5%.
Verified2Yale Law acceptance rate Class of 2027: 5.6%.
Verified3Harvard Law acceptance rate: 8.8%.
Verified4Stanford Law acceptance rate: 6.9%.
Directional5T14 average acceptance rate: 11.2%.
Single source6Chicago Law acceptance rate: 11.5%.
Verified7Median waitlist size across schools: 1,200 applicants.
Verified8Columbia Law acceptance rate: 12.2%.
Verified9NYU Law acceptance rate: 15.6%.
Directional10Penn Law acceptance rate: 11.1%.
Single source11Berkeley Law acceptance rate: 13.4%.
Verified1262% of accepted applicants enrolled somewhere.
Verified13Duke Law acceptance rate: 10.5%.
Verified14Northwestern acceptance rate: 15.5%.
Directional15Michigan Law acceptance rate: 13.5%.
Single source16UVA acceptance rate: 12.9%.
Verified17Cornell acceptance rate: 17.5%.
Verified18Georgetown acceptance rate: 17.6%.
Verified19Yield rate for T10 schools: 52%.
Directional20Average offers per applicant: 2.8.
Single source21Rejection rate for sub-150 LSAT: 85%.
Verified22Vanderbilt acceptance rate: 14.2%.
Verified23Texas Law acceptance rate: 15.8%.
Verified24Scholarship offers to 45% of accepted students.
Directional25USC Law acceptance rate: 12.5%.
Single sourceAdmissions Outcomes Interpretation
These statistics suggest that getting into law school is mostly an exercise in mass rejection, except for a few who then get to play musical chairs with the very few coveted seats.
Applicant Demographics
1In 2023, 62% of applicants were white.
Verified2Women comprised 52.1% of law school applicants in 2023-2024.
Verified315.3% of applicants identified as Hispanic/Latino in 2023.
Verified4Average age of applicants: 24.8 years.
Directional57.2% of applicants were Black/African American in 2023 cycle.
Single source65.1% of applicants reported as Asian American.
Verified743% of applicants held STEM undergraduate majors.
Verified8First-generation college students: 22% of applicant pool.
Verified911% of applicants had military experience.
Directional10LGBTQ+ identification among applicants: 9.4%.
Single source1128% of applicants from public universities.
Verified12International applicants: 2.3% of total.
Verified1318.5% of applicants disabled or with disabilities.
Verified14Humanities majors: 35% of applicants.
Directional15Median family income of applicants: $85,000.
Single source166.8% Native American/Indigenous applicants.
Verified17Splitters (high LSAT low GPA): 15% of pool.
Verified18Social science majors: 22%.
Verified193.2% multiracial applicants.
Directional20Out-of-state applicants to flagship publics: 65%.
Single source2124% of applicants over age 30.
Verified22Business majors: 12% of applicants.
Verified23Low-income applicants (under $50k): 18%.
Verified2441% female in T14 applicant pools.
Directional25Engineering majors: 4.5%.
Single sourceApplicant Demographics Interpretation
The future legal field is being shaped by a surprisingly diverse and pragmatic new cohort that is still, however, wrestling with the stubborn ghost of its traditionally white and male-dominated past.
Application Trends and Volumes
1Total applicants 2023-2024: 60,922.
Verified2Applications per applicant: 6.1 on average.
Verified32023 cycle applications up 14% from 2022.
Verified4T14 received 40% of all applications.
Directional5CAS registrations: 72,000 in 2023.
Single source6Early decision applications: 5% of total.
Verified7Applications to top 20 schools: 250,000 total.
Verified82010 peak applicants: 100,000+.
Verified9Post-2020 rebound: 25% increase in apps.
Directional10Rolling admissions fill 30% of seats.
Single source11Multiple LSAT submissions: 28% of applicants.
Verified12GRE applications: 15% of total submissions.
Verified13Fee waiver usage: 35% of applicants.
Verified14Cycle length: 95% apps by March 1.
Directional152024 apps projected up 5%.
Single source16Regional apps: Northeast 32%.
Verified17Addendums submitted by 22%.
Verified18Letters of rec average: 3.2 per app.
Verified19Diversity statement inclusion: 65%.
DirectionalApplication Trends and Volumes Interpretation
The collective march to law school has become a frenzied, algorithmically-optimized pilgrimage, where a shrunken pool of 61,000 hopefuls, undeterred by the ghost of 100,000 past applicants, carpet-bomb the same elite fortresses with an average of six pleas each, all while carefully curating their three tributes and a diversity statement, proving that while the dream is still alive, the path to it is now a brutally efficient and meticulously documented grind.
Enrollment and Yield
1Total JD enrollments in fall 2023: 37,828.
Verified2Yale Law yield rate: 82.5%.
Verified3Harvard yield: 75.4%.
Verified4Stanford yield: 78.9%.
Directional5Overall yield rate for law schools: 48.2%.
Single source6Chicago yield: 62.3%.
Verified7Columbia yield: 58.1%.
Verified8NYU yield: 52.7%.
Verified9Penn yield: 60.4%.
Directional10Berkeley yield: 55.2%.
Single source11Duke yield: 57.8%.
Verified12Northwestern yield: 48.9%.
Verified13Michigan yield: 54.3%.
Verified14UVA yield: 61.2%.
Directional15Cornell yield: 49.5%.
Single source16Georgetown yield: 47.1%.
Verified17Full-time JD enrollment decline from 2010-2023: 24%.
Verified18T14 average yield: 62.1%.
Verified19Part-time enrollment: 12% of total JD students.
Directional20Median class size T50 schools: 185.
Single source2185% of enrollees attended their top choice school.
Verified22International student enrollment: 3.5%.
Verified23Women in entering classes: 51.2%.
Verified24Deferred enrollment offers: 4.2% of admits.
Directional25Average merit aid per enrollee: $42,000.
Single sourceEnrollment and Yield Interpretation
While the overall law school market is a daunting negotiation where most students happily accept their first offer, Yale, Harvard, and Stanford operate on a different plane, practically sending a "don't even bother to apply unless you're already ours" vibe to the other top schools.
LSAT Performance
1In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the average LSAT score for all applicants to ABA-accredited law schools was 152.75.
Verified2The 75th percentile LSAT score for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 175.
Verified312.4% of LSAT test takers in 2023 scored 170 or above.
Verified4The median LSAT for Harvard Law School entering class 2027 was 174.
Directional5In 2022, 52,000 unique LSAT takers applied to law school.
Single source6Stanford Law School's 25th-75th LSAT range for Class of 2026 was 171-178.
Verified7LSAT scores increased by 1.5 points on average from 2020 to 2023 due to remote testing.
Verified88.2% of 2023 LSAT takers achieved a perfect score of 180.
Verified9University of Chicago Law School median LSAT for 2027 class was 173.
Directional10The correlation between LSAT score and first-year law school GPA is 0.44.
Single source11Columbia Law School's 75th percentile LSAT for entering class was 175.
Verified12In 2024, the number of 170+ LSAT scores awarded rose 20% from prior year.
Verified13NYU Law median LSAT for Class of 2027 was 172.
Verified14LSAT Fee Waiver recipients averaged 149.2 in 2023.
Directional15Penn Law's LSAT median for 2027 entrants was 171.
Single source1625% of T14 law schools require LSAT above 170 for competitive applicants.
Verified17UC Berkeley Law median LSAT Class of 2027: 170.
Verified18Average LSAT retake improvement is 2.8 points per attempt.
Verified19Duke Law 75th percentile LSAT: 170.
Directional202023 LSAT standard deviation was 10.1 points across test takers.
Single source21Northwestern Law median LSAT: 171.
Verified22LSAT scores predict bar passage at r=0.28.
Verified23Michigan Law median LSAT Class 2027: 171.
Verified24170+ LSAT scorers comprise 4.5% of applicants to top 20 schools.
Directional25UVA Law median LSAT: 170.
Single source26GRE to LSAT concordance shows median GRE equivalent to 160 LSAT for many schools.
Verified27Cornell Law median LSAT: 170.
Verified28LSAT takers from 2023: 124,000 total administrations.
Verified29Georgetown Law median LSAT: 171.
Directional3075th percentile LSAT for non-URM applicants rose to 162 in 2023.
Single sourceLSAT Performance Interpretation
While the average law school hopeful humbly circles 152, the elite gates to Yale and Columbia demand a near-perfect 175, yet even scoring a godly 170 only makes you a member of a distressingly common 4.5% minority fighting for a seat at the T14 table.
Undergraduate GPA
1The median undergraduate GPA for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 3.96.
Verified2Harvard Law School median GPA for entering class 2027 was 3.93.
Verified3Stanford Law School's 25th-75th GPA range for Class of 2026 was 3.82-3.99.
Verified4University of Chicago Law median GPA 2027: 3.91.
Directional5Overall applicant median GPA in 2023-2024 cycle was 3.58.
Single source6Columbia Law School median GPA: 3.87.
Verified7NYU Law median GPA Class of 2027: 3.88.
Verified8Penn Law median GPA: 3.92.
Verified9UC Berkeley Law median GPA 2027: 3.87.
Directional10Duke Law median GPA: 3.87.
Single source11Correlation between UGPA and 1L GPA is 0.36.
Verified12Northwestern Law median GPA: 3.92.
Verified13Michigan Law median GPA Class 2027: 3.85.
Verified14UVA Law median GPA: 3.94.
Directional15Cornell Law median GPA: 3.90.
Single source16Georgetown Law median GPA: 3.91.
Verified17Average GPA for accepted students at T14 schools: 3.89.
Verified1875th percentile GPA for all applicants in 2023: 3.79.
Verified19Median GPA for URMs at top schools: 3.72 vs 3.85 non-URM.
Directional20UCLA Law median GPA: 3.92.
Single source21Median GPA decline for applicants from 2010-2023: -0.05.
Verified22Vanderbilt Law median GPA: 3.89.
Verified23Texas Law median GPA: 3.84.
Verified24USC Law median GPA: 3.88.
Directional25Boston University Law median GPA: 3.86.
Single source26Washington University St. Louis median GPA: 3.94.
VerifiedUndergraduate GPA Interpretation
If you're dreaming of a top law school, you'd better have a transcript that gleams like a polished gavel, but remember that once you're in, your undergraduate GPA becomes about as predictive of your first-year success as a Magic 8-Ball.
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