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So you want to go to law school. Now what?
The two most important variables in determining law school admission are your scores on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and your grade point average (GPA). LSAT scores are required by virtually all law schools. Obviously, it takes higher scores to get into top ranked schools. Possible LSAT scores range from 120 to 180, with 150 being the median score.
An LSAT score of 160 or above, and a GPA of 3.5 or higher, are the very rough minimums to be considered for entry into higher ranked schools. However, students with GPA's as low as 2.5 and LSAT scores in the 140's can get into law school. Generally speaking, the higher your numbers, the more choices you will have.
Reported below are the competitive GPA and LSAT scores for recent (2004-2005) applicants to law schools in the area. The numbers represent the middle 50% of accepted applicants--25% of applicants to each school had scores below the range and 25% of applicants to each school had scores above the range. (i.e. 25% of students at, say, Boston College had an LSAT score below 162 while 25% scored above 166) The figures are by no means a guarantee of entry (or denial). Rather, they provide a rough estimate of the competitive range for each law school.
| Law School |
GPA Range |
LSAT Range |
| Boston College |
3.43-3.75 |
162-166 |
| Boston University |
3.45-3.76 |
162-165 |
| U. of Connecticut |
3.13.-3.58 |
160-164 |
| Harvard |
3.73-3.94 |
169-175 |
| New England |
2.91-3.45 |
150-154 |
| Northeastern |
3.19-3.62 |
157-162 |
| Roger Williams |
2.91-3.54 |
150-155 |
| Southern New England |
Data not available |
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| Suffolk |
3.00-3.50 |
154-159 |
| Western New England |
2.80-3.41 |
151-157 |
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The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) administers the LSAT and helps facilitate the admissions process for virtually all U.S. law schools through its Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). You can apply online to take the LSAT, or you may obtain a free application booklet from the pre-law advisor. The LSAT is administered four times per year (usually in October, December, February, and June).
The application deadlines for most schools are in the late Winter. So, if you want to attend law school beginning in the Fall, generally speaking you must submit your application by January or February of that year. For most students, this means they should begin the application process in the Fall semester of their senior year.
Consequently, the October LSAT exam date is the most popular, followed closely by the December exam. The February exam is generally taken by students who, for a variety of reasons, are applying late in the process. The June test is popular with students who are studying abroad in the Fall, those who wish to take the exam when they're free from the pressures of their semester's studies, or those who have personal reasons that render the Fall exam dates problematic.
If you are applying for non-loan financial aid, you should apply sooner (i.e. try to take the LSAT in October, December at the latest) rather than later in order to increase your chances of receiving an award. Law school applications for financial aid are usually separate from the application for admission to law school.
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