What do the 25th and 75th percentiles mean?

These are the LSAT scores of admitted students at the 25th and 75th percentile of a school's class. Scoring at or above the 75th (the school's median upper band) makes you highly competitive; below the 25th, admission is unlikely without strong soft factors.

What LSAT do I need for a T14 law school?

T14 schools generally admit students with LSATs in the 167–172 range, with medians clustering around 170. Hitting 170+ puts you at or above most T14 medians and improves scholarship chances.

Where does this data come from?

The bands mirror publicly reported ABA Standard 509 disclosures that every accredited law school must publish each year. Exact numbers shift annually, so treat these as representative target ranges.

Is the LSAT the only factor in admissions?

No. GPA carries nearly equal weight, and personal statements, letters, work experience, and diversity factors matter. But the LSAT is the single most leverageable number for both admission and merit aid.

Should I aim for the 75th percentile?

Yes, if possible. A score at or above a school's 75th percentile maximizes both admission odds and scholarship offers, since schools want to raise their reported medians and may pay to attract high scorers.

What is the LSAT Target Score by Law School Tier?

Select your target law school tier (T6/T14/T25/T50/Regional) to see the 25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores for admitted students, based on publicly reported ABA 509 admissions data. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

LSAT Target Score by Law School Tier

Name: LSAT Target Score by Law School Tier
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Find your LSAT target for any law school tier

Different law school tiers admit very different LSAT ranges. This tool lets you select a target tier — T6, T14, T25, T50, or Regional — and shows the 25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores of admitted students at schools in that band, drawn from the publicly reported ABA Standard 509 disclosures. Add your current score and it tells you exactly how many points stand between you and competitiveness.

How it works

Every ABA-accredited law school publishes a 509 report each year listing the 25th, 50th (median), and 75th percentile LSAT and GPA of its admitted class. This tool aggregates representative bands for each commonly used tier:

T6        25th ≈ 170   75th ≈ 175
T14       25th ≈ 167   75th ≈ 172
T25       25th ≈ 162   75th ≈ 168
T50       25th ≈ 156   75th ≈ 162
Regional  25th ≈ 150   75th ≈ 157

If you enter a current score, the tool compares it to the band: at or above the 75th means you are very competitive, between 25th and 75th means you are in range, and below 25th means you have a points gap to close.

Why the percentile bands matter more than the median

Most applicants focus on a school’s median LSAT. The problem is that admissions offices care about the 75th percentile just as much, because ranking methodologies reward median improvement and schools often offer scholarships as incentives to attract high scorers. Being well above the 75th percentile at a school you’re targeting puts you in a very strong scholarship negotiation position, sometimes making a school one tier below your reach a financially smarter choice.

The 25th percentile is equally important: it tells you the floor below which admission is unlikely without extraordinary soft factors (compelling personal statement, underrepresented background, significant professional achievement). Treating the 25th as a hard floor for realistic targeting keeps your school list grounded.

How GPA interacts with the LSAT target

The LSAT and GPA are the two most heavily weighted components in law school admissions. Schools often discuss them using a “splitter” framework:

Strong LSAT, low GPA (high splitter): above the 75th in LSAT but below the 25th in GPA — most T14 schools accept some splitters, but it requires a very high LSAT to compensate.
Low LSAT, strong GPA (reverse splitter): below the 25th in LSAT but high GPA — harder to use GPA to compensate at top schools, since LSAT is considered more standardized than undergraduate GPA.
Both above median: the strongest position. Aim to be above median on at least one dimension and near median on the other for schools in your target tier.

Score improvement and its leverage

On the LSAT’s 120–180 scale, score improvements compound in terms of percentile rank. Moving from 165 to 170 is only five points numerically, but it covers a large percentile jump and the difference between being below the median at T14 and above the median. Every study session that moves your practice score by 2–3 points can materially change your tier competitiveness.

Tips and notes

Aim for the 75th percentile of your target tier, not just the median. Schools report medians to ranking bodies and often pay scholarship money to attract scores that lift those medians, so being above the band is both an admissions and a financial advantage. These ranges are representative aggregates — always check the specific 509 report for any individual school you are targeting, since medians move every cycle. LSAC’s official site and LawSchoolData.com provide current 509 data by school.