Limits on Repeating the Test (2024)

FAQs

Is there a limit to how many times you can take the LSAT? ›

You will only be able to take the LSAT five times in a single testing year. You will only be able to test a total of five times within the current and five past testing years (the timespan in which the LSAC reports your scores to law schools). You will only be able to take the LSAT seven times over a lifetime.

Every LSAT throughout the year is different, but on a typical LSAT, can still get around 18–19 questions wrong and still end up in the 160s—or about 12 wrong and get a 166, a 90th percentile score. Even a perfect score of 180 often allows for a question or two to be missed.

If your goal is to reach a score of 170 on the LSAT, the maximum number of questions you can answer incorrectly is 11. Correctly answering 90 out of the 101 total questions should give you your desired score of 170.

Another thing to consider is that you actually might do worse the second or third time around. There are statistics to back this up. While a little bit more than half of the students who retake the LSAT score within a range of two points of their first test, about 30% of students actually do worse.

A good LSAT score is generally considered to be 150 or higher for standard law schools, but for top-ranking institutions, you should aim for at least 160. If you're aspiring to get into one of the Top 10 law schools, a score of 170 or more is recommended.

The average LSAT score for first-time takers was 151, according to scores tracked from 2006-2013. During this period, second-time test takers had the highest LSAT average score of about 152. The average national LSAT score for full-time, first-year JD enrollees for fall 2022 was about 159.

On a four section LSAT, you can miss roughly 18 questions and get a 165. On a three section LSAT, you can miss roughly 13 questions and get a 165.

If your score, for example, was 159, your percentile is around 77 percent. An exceptional LSAT score will be somewhere around 173, which is the 99th percentile, according to the Law School Admissions Council—if you received a 173, you scored better than 99 percent of all test takers.

You can get into law school with a low LSAT score if it is above 144-145. Scores in this range will get you into some lower-ranking schools, although the majority of law schools prefer scores above 150. Unfortunately, your LSAT is one of the most important parts of your law school application.

What did Elle Woods get on her LSAT? ›

Conversation. The least realistic part of Legally Blonde is how Elle Woods went from scoring a 143 on her practice LSAT to a 179 on the real thing.

As previously stated, the score range for any LSAT exam is 120 to 180, but the average score is about 150. However, most of the top ten law schools require a candidate to have scored at least 165 on the LSAT.

While only 0.1% of test-takers get a 180, many more get accepted into law school each year.

So your highest score is really all law schools care about. Meaning, a lower score on a LSAT retake should not hurt you.

In short, no. Law Schools do not care how many times you take the LSAT; however, it is more about the improvement or lack-of improvement between the exams. Meaning, if you took the exam 4 times and received a 143, 152, 155, and then 161 then this looks amazing to the law schools and taking the exam 4 times is fine.

In those cases it is often a good idea to attempt a retake, since in general law schools only consider the highest score. It is the only score factored into USNWR rankings, after all. However, this principle begins to progressively deteriorate after 3 LSAT takes, barring a substantial explanation.

All of your 12 most recent LSAT (or LSAT-Flex) results will be reported to the law schools to which you apply if earned in the current testing year or if earned in the prior five testing years. (Note that LSAT results include scores, cancellations, and absences.

Yes, when you apply to law school, all schools you apply to will be able to see every LSAT you've taken. This means they can see if you've canceled your scores as well as all existing scores that you've kept. But no, reporting multiple scores will not “look bad” to schools to which you've applied.

Your odds of getting into any of the T14 Law Schools, Harvard included, will be much higher if you score over 170 (out of 180) on the LSATs. Harvard's median LSAT score of entering students is 174, with the lower 25th percentile being 170 and upper 75th percentile being 176.