LSAT Scoring Policies of Law Schools - Revised and Verified

Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by NBS

If you have a low LSAT score should you retake it? Not necessarily.Your LSAT report will carry scores of your every attempt.If you retake LSAT, your LSAC record will list each score independently and your average score will also be mentioned.

Before retaking the exam consider:
If you were well prepared for the first attempt and still did not score well then retaking the exam can be risky.
Does the law school of your interest use average of your multiple LSAT scores or does it consider only the highest score? If your school of choice falls under second category, then you are not taking much of a risk by retaking the exam.

A general remark for the Schools Grouped under the two categories will be in order:

While most of the schools were clear about their policy some were ambiguous and trying not to commit. Here is the language used by one of the schools:

In situations where a candidate has multiple LSAT scores, the College of Law will presumptively use the highest score. The reviewer, however, may use the average score if information in the file indicates that the average score is the most appropriate measure of the candidate’s skills.

Important Notes

For Law Schools

Every care has been taken to identify your school correctly.If you feel your school has been wrongly grouped please inform us and the error shall be rectified.

For Law School Applicants

School admission policies do change.You should check with the school before applying.

To view a table below hit the header

US NEWS Rank 2009	Schools using the Highest LSAT score	Schools using Average LSAT Score	The Silent Ones. Schools whose LSAT Scoring policy is not clearly stated on their Web Site

1		Yale Law School We consider all of the information about an applicant, including multiple LSAT scores
2		Harvard Law School The LSAT need be taken only once. If you take the test more than once, all scores and their average will be reported and considered
3			Stanford U
4		Columbia Law School The Committee considers the entire LSAT testing history when evaluating applications for admission
5	New York U If I take the LSAT more than once, does the Committee see the higher score? Yes, but they evaluate based on the average score in most cases. The Committee may take special circumstances into account. If a candidate can point out specific reasons why the Committee should consider an LSAT score aberrant, they should detail those reasons in an addendum to the personal statement.
6		UC Berkeley- Boalt Hall If you take the test more than once, we will use your average score in most cases
7	U of Chicago Law School We will focus on the higher of an applicant’s two scores
8	University of Pennsylvania The Admissions Committee may, at its discretion, evaluate your application based on the higher or highest LSAT score.
9	U of Michigan Law School The ABA requires law schools to report score information based on an admitted student’s highest score, and therefore, that is the score to which we give the most weight
10	Duke University Duke may place greater weight on a high score if the applicant provides compelling information about why that score is a better indication of his or her potential
10	Northwestern U Law We will use your highest score when evaluating your file
10	U of Virginia Law School The ABA requires law schools to report LSAT information using an admitted student’s highest score, so that is the score to which we give the most weight
13	Cornell U Law School In general, Cornell Law’s policy is to take the higher score if it is at least 3 points higher than a prior score
14		Georgetown University The Admissions Committee typically averages LSAT scores. Georgetown may consider the higher LSAT score if you have only taken the LSAT twice
15	UC Los Angeles Our general policy is to consider the highest LSAT score attained
15		University of Texas at Austin Candidates with multiple LSAT scores will be evaluated using all reported scores. However, the Law School will no longer solely consider an applicant’s average score in the admissions review process
17	Vanderbilt U Law School There is no minimum LSAT score; however, applicants with lower LSAT scores are admitted at lower rates than applicants with higher scores. The median score of J.D. students at Vanderbilt is 167. We consider each applicant’s LSAT score in the context of all the information in the full application. This means that applicants with lower scores are more likely to be admitted if they are strong in other respects
18	U of Southern California All scores (not averaged) will be considered in the admissions review process.
19	Washington U St.Louis School of Law The test may be taken more than once if you think that you can substantially improve your performance. If you take the test more than once, all your scores are considered
20	Boston University School of Law If an applicant has taken the test more than once, the highest score will be considered in admission review
20	Emory School of Law If there is more than one score on the LSDAS report, the highest of those scores will be used
20	U of Minnesota
23	Indiana U School of Law Bloomington Most law schools look at the higher or highest LSAT test score for applicants with multiple scores
23			U of Illinois
23	U of Notre Dame Law School If you have taken the LSAT more than once within a five-year period, the most recent and/or highest LSAT score may be given more focus
26	Boston College We will consider all LSAT scores in the application review process. We will use the highest LSAT score for reporting to the ABA and LSAC.
26			U of Iowa
28	College of William & Mary Will evaluate the LSAT portion of the application by using the highest reported score
28	George Washington University We will consider each of your LSAT scores if you take the test more than once, but will give greater weight to the highest score.
30			Fordham Law School
30			U of Alabama
30	U of North Carolina For applicants who have multiple LSAT scores, the policy at Carolina Law is to base our admissions decisions on the highest score
30		U of Washington We average multiple LSAT scores
30	Washington and Lee U We place the greatest weight on your highest score
35			Ohio State U
35	UC Davis- King Hall The highest score will be used to reach a decision on the file
35			U of Georgia
35			Wisconsin Madison
39	UC Hastings Will consider the highest score in its evaluation
40			Wake Forest Law
41	BYU Law School The highest score will be considered for admission
41	George Mason Law For statistical purposes, we will consider the high score of any LSAT scores that you earned in the past 5 years
43	U of Arizona ABA now permits law schools to report the high score if an applicant takes multiple LSATs. All LSAT scores will be reported on the LSDAS report and will be considered in the admissions process.
43			U of Maryland Baltimore
45	American University Law School Although all tests within the reporting window are evaluated, generally we consider the highest score for admission purposes
45	Tulane University If you took the LSAT more than once, we will see all of your scores. We encourage you to provide us with information that will help us determine which score is more indicative of your abilities.
45		U of CO Boulder We receive LSDAS report with your scores for each individual examination, as well as your average score.
45	U of Utah College of Law In situations where a candidate has multiple LSAT scores, the College of Law will presumptively use the highest score
49	SMU Dedman School of Law We use an applicant’s highest reported LSAT score for admissions and scholarship awarding purposes
49	Yeshiva U Cardozo School of Law It is within the discretion of the Admissions Committee to place heavier emphasis on the higher LSAT score, but all scores will be taken into consideration
51		U of FL Law All LSAT scores are considered
52	Florida State U College of Law If you take the LSAT more than once, the Committee will consider the highest score
52	U of Cincinnati The highest LSAT will be used in the admissions process
52			U of Connecticut
55			Arizona State U
55	CWRU Law School We look at all LSAT scores with the emphasis on the high score
55			Pepperdine U
55	U of Kentucky If you have multiple LSAT scores, the UK Law Admissions Committee will consider only your highest score if that score appears to be a better predictor of your performance in law school than your average score.

Some More LAW SCHOOLS and their LSAT Scoring Policy

Schools using the Highest LSAT score

Schools using
Average LSAT
Score

The Silent Ones. Schools whose LSAT Scoring policy is not clearly stated on their Web Site

Ave Maria School of Law
When an applicant for admission has taken the LSAT more than one time, the Admissions Committee typically relies upon the highest score when arriving at the admission decision

Baylor Law School
We no longer solely consider an applicant’s average LSAT Score

CUNY School of Law
LSAT score refers to highest score of multiple test scores

Cleveland- Marshall College of Law
Cleveland-Marshall will consider the highest score

U of Kentucky College of Law
The Law Admissions Committee will consider only your highest score

U of Mississippi
We take the highest LSAT score

U of Missouri, Columbia
If you have taken the LSAT twice, we will consider the highest score. If you take the test more than twice we will use the average score

NC Central U School of Law
The Law School uses the highest LSAT score among multiple test takers

Ohio Northern U College of Law
ONU College of Law will consider the highest of your scores for admission

Quinnipiac University School of Law
If you take the test more than once, we use your higher LSAT score

Regent University School of Law
The committee relies heavily upon the highest score when an applicant has taken the LSAT more than once

Stetson U College of Law
Stetson uses the highest LSAT score for admission

Texas Tech U College of Law
Texas Tech University School of Law will evaluate the strength of an applicant’s file based upon the highest score

William Mitchell College of Law
The highest LSAT score among multiple scores will be considered for admission and scholarship awarding purposes

U of Hawaii, Manoa School of Law
The Committee is inclined to consider your highest valid score

Indiana U, Indianapolis School of Law
We use your best score

U of Memphis Scool of Law
We look closely at the admission index, which is based on the applicant’s undergraduate GPA and the applicant’s highest LSAT score

Marquette U Law School
The Admissions Committee may give the highest score priority on a case-by-case basis

U of Oregon School of Law
The American Bar Association, in surveying its member schools, asks that the highest LSAT score of each enrolled student be reported

University of Pittsburgh Law
If an applicant takes the LSAT more than one time the highest score is considered by the admissions committee when making a decision

St. John’s U School of Law
If an applicant has taken the LSAT more than once, there will be an emphasis on the highest score during the review process

Santa Clara U School of Law
If the test is taken more than once, the higher score will be considered

Seattle U Law School
If an applicant has more than one LSAT score, the Committee normally gives greater weight to the highest score

Villanova U School of Law
Applicants with substantially different scores on multiple testing dates should provide reasons for disregarding the lower score(s). The decision to disregard any test score is at the sole discretion of the School of Law

Whittier College
The ABA requires all law schools to report the highest score of a matriculated student. The Law School will look at individual scores and assess the reliability of each LSAT score and its combination

Thomas M. Cooley Law School
We will use the highest LSAT score as long as it is not over five years old

Loyola University, New Orleans
Applicants are encouraged to be well prepared before sitting for the LSAT and are forewarned that the test may not be taken for “practice” in a formal LSAT setting

Temple U School of Law
The Faculty Admissions Committee does not average LSAT scores and all scores from the LSAT will be considered

Brooklyn Law School
The Admissions Committee attaches substantial weight to the highest score, which is the one we will report in our data

U of Miami School of Law
All LSAT scores will be considered and in most cases, the highest LSAT score will be given greater weight

Chicago-Kent College of Law
Preference is typically given to the highest score earned

U of Houston Law Centre
We will consider your highest LSAT score as we review your application

Suffolk U Law School
The Suffolk Law Admissions Committee considers only the highest score on the LSAT when making admissions decisions

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
It is within the discretion of the Admissions Committee to place heavier emphasis on the higher LSAT score, but all scores will be taken into consideration

Seton Hall Law School
The Admissions Committee will consider an applicant’s entire testing record, but may use the higher school in evaluating the overall strength of your application

Catholic University
We see all previous LSAT scores on your LSDAS report, but our policy is to take the highest score, not the average, when considering you for admission

U of Denver Sturm C of Law
We will use your highest LSAT score when reviewing your file for admission

U of San Diego School of Law
The highest LSAT score will generally be used to evaluate applications for admission and scholarship consideration

U of Missouri, Kansas City
UMKC considers all scores when reviewing files

Chapman U School of Law
From an admissions perspective, the average score may be the best indication of an applicant’s success

U of Detroit Mercy - U of Windsor
The Admissions Committee considers the applicants’ cumulative LSAT score