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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 01/30/23
Getting a low LSAT score can be disappointing and discouraging for law school hopefuls. To learn more about how to proceed with a low LSAT score and if you can still get into law school with one, read on.
The LSAT is the component of your law school application that will take the most time, energy, and resilience. Students often spend months completing dozens of grueling mock exams to reach their target score and try tirelessly to perfect their reasoning skills.
Sometimes, however, these hours of preparation and practice exams are completed to no avail and students end up with low LSAT scores. If you’ve found yourself in a similar predicament, you might be asking yourself, “what now”?
This guide will give you the answer to this question and go over how you should proceed in your legal journey with a low LSAT score.
Unfortunately, your LSAT is one of the most important parts of your law school application. It’s a definite number that law schools can easily use to compare students, so it’s essential you do your best to score high.
However, if you do receive a low LSAT score, there are ways to prevent it from drastically affecting your candidacy. So, while you can absolutely still get into law school with a low LSAT score, it’s a little more complicated than simply submitting your application with your LSAT score and hoping for the best.
In order to maximize your chances of getting into law school despite having a low LSAT score, you’ll have to take additional steps to make yourself a more competitive candidate.
While the definition of a low score depends on the schools you’re trying to get into, if your score is too low to be considered competitive, your best option would be to retake the LSAT.
For instance, if you’re trying to get into a T14 school, a 160 would generally be considered a low score. On the other hand, for the majority of other lower-ranking schools, a 160 would still give you a competitive chance at admission.
While this option doesn’t necessarily get you into law school with a low LSAT score, it allows you to still get into law school with a low score. So long as your second or third attempt is higher than your first, you’ll have a better chance of getting into your desired law school.
Rewriting the LSAT is not everyone’s ideal choice! Aside from the test anxiety and risk of getting a lower score, retaking the LSAT may not be a feasible option for students whose application deadlines are fast approaching.
In this case, you may want to reassess which schools you apply to. If you’ve only been looking into high-ranking law schools but have a low LSAT score, you should consider also applying to lower-ranking schools.
Lower-ranking schools generally have higher acceptance rates and lower LSAT requirements! As such, you’ll be considered a more attractive candidate and have a better chance of getting into one of these schools.
If you’ve tried the previous options, or absolutely have your heart set on a top-ranking school, you can try writing a low LSAT score addendum to get the admissions committee to weigh your LSAT a little less in their decision.
An addendum is used to explain extenuating circumstances for any unfavorable parts of your law school application – like a low LSAT score.
In this addendum, you’ll need to give legitimate reasoning for your low score or repeat low scores. The key to a successful addendum is to explain, not make excuses.
You aren’t trying to guilt-trip the committee into letting you into their programs. You’re simply helping them understand how your score doesn’t accurately reflect your skills because of an unpreventable barrier that held you from achieving your full potential.
You should spend considerable effort on each part of your law school application, regardless of your LSAT score. However, if you do have a low score, you should pay extra attention to your personal statement, resume, and secondary essays to compensate for your low score.
You can also let someone else do the talking for you by getting stellar letters of recommendation that not only attest to your academic potential, but other strengths that the LSAT wouldn’t demonstrate!
Your aim should be to prove that you are academically and professionally accomplished despite your low LSAT score. By doing so, the committee will be more compelled to overlook your low LSAT score.
In case you still have reservations about attending law school with a low LSAT score, here are 15 law schools with the lowest LSAT score requirements.
As you can see, there is still hope for you if you have a low LSAT score!
If you have any remaining questions about a low LSAT score for law school, we may have the answers below!
A 144-145 is generally considered to be the lowest acceptable score to attend law school. The median LSAT score is around 151-152, so 144-145 is significantly lower than this. As such, the majority of law schools will not accept scores below this.
You can still get into law school if you have an LSAT score that is lower than your target. The key is to make yourself a competitive candidate otherwise through a stellar personal statement, impressive resume, and strong letters of recommendation.
If you have the time to retake your LSAT and your desired law school only looks at your highest score, you should attempt the LSAT a second time. However, if you choose this option, ensure you reassess your study plan to increase your score.
A 145 is considered to be a low LSAT score, but it is still accepted by various law schools, as seen on our list above!
To increase your LSAT score on your second attempt, you’ll need to come up with a new study plan that better rectifies your weaknesses.
Now that you have a better understanding of the sections you struggle with the most, use this to guide your studies. If you’re not sure where to start or how to improve your study plan, Juris’ 99th percentile tutors can help!
The lowest possible score you can receive on the LSAT is a 120.
There is no specific passing score for the LSAT, so you can’t really fail it! While you can receive the lowest score, the only way you might feel like you failed is if you get a score that is significantly lower than your target, as this can reduce your chances of admission to your dream law school.
The journey to law school can really push you to your limits and test your resilience! While a low LSAT score can make you second guess if you should continue pursuing a legal career, your LSAT score doesn’t define you! The LSAT is notorious for being difficult and doesn’t comprehensively reflect your legal potential or skills.
If you get a low LSAT score, it’s important you keep your head up and keep going, no matter how disheartened you are. As discussed in this guide, there are several practical ways to boost your candidacy despite a low score!
