Enrollment and admission standards
Learn about how enrollment rates and admission standards have changed over time.
LSAT vs Bar Pass Rates
2010 - 2024, 50th percentile
| Risk Band | LSAT Score | LSAT Percentile |
|---|---|---|
Minimal Risk | 156-180 | ≥ 61.3 |
Low Risk | 153-155 | 50.5 - 57.7 |
Modest Risk | 150-152 | 39.5 - 46.7 |
High Risk | 147-149 | 29.4 - 36.1 |
Very High Risk | 145-146 | 23.6 - 26.3 |
Extreme Risk | 120-144 | ≤ 21.0 |
The LSAT is the best predictor before law school as to whether a student will pass or fail the bar exam. The table (left) shows the risk of bar failure by LSAT score. The chart below shows how many schools fell into each risk category between 2010 and 2024. Schools that admit students who face a high risk of failing the bar may be taking advantage of them for their tuition dollars. However, the LSAT score is just a starting point for such an assessment. Undergraduate GPA, bar exam difficulty, and academic programs mitigate or exacerbate this starting point.
The chart above has three parts:
1. LSAT Distribution: The shaded blue area shows the distribution of LSAT scores for all people who took the LSAT during the last three years. LSAT scores range from 120 to 180. A student scoring 120 is in the 0 percentile because the student scored better than 0% of test-takers. A student scoring a 180 is in the 99.9 percentile because the student scored better than 99.9% of test-takers. A student scoring a 160 is in the 74.8 percentile because the student scored better than 74.8% of test-takers. You can hover over the blue outline to see a tooltip for all each LSAT/percentile combinations.
2. Black and Green Bars: Each school has a bar. The start point for each bar, a purple marker, is the school's 50th percentile LSAT score for students who entered in 2010. The end point is the 50th percentile LSAT score for students who entered in 2024. If the 50th percentile went up, the bar is green. If it went down, the bar is black. If the score is the same, there is only a purple marker (no bar). You can hover over the bar (or marker) to see the school and how its 50th percentile LSAT score has changed.
3. Risk Overlays: We highlight the three highest risk areas, from high to extreme. Using these indicators, you can see which schools' bottom quartile students are most likely to struggle to complete school and pass the bar exam. Learn more.
The table below presents the chart's underlying data:
Puerto Rican schools have been excluded from the chart above because the LSAT is in English and the bar exam in Puerto Rico may be taken in Spanish. Admissions and enrollment data come from the American Bar Association.
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