Median LSAT Scores for the 2015 U.S. News Law School Rankings

In advance of Tuesday's release of the new 2015 U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings:  here is a spreadsheet of the 202 ABA-accredited law schools by median LSAT scores for the law school class entering in Fall 2013 (which counts 12.5% in the forthcoming rankings).  Here are the Top 55 law schools:

Rank	Law School	Median LSAT
1	Harvard	173
1	Yale	173
3	Columbia	171
3	Stanford	171
5	Chicago	170
5	NYU	170
7	Duke	169
7	Pennsylvania	169
7	Virginia	169
10	Georgetown	168
10	Michigan	168
10	Northwestern	168
13	Cornell	167
13	UC-Berkeley	167
13	UCLA	167
13	Vanderbilt	167
17	Texas	166
17	USC	166
17	Washington U.	166
20	Boston U.	165
20	Emory	165
20	G. Washington	165
23	Alabama	164
23	Boston College	164
23	UC-Irvine	164
23	Minnesota	164
23	U. Washington	164
23	Washington & Lee	164
23	William & Mary	164
30	Fordham	163
30	Georgia	163
30	Notre Dame	163
33	Arizona State	162
33	Colorado	162
33	Indiana	162
33	SMU	162
33	UC-Davis	162
33	Wake Forest	162
39	BYU	161
39	George Mason	161
39	Iowa	161
39	North Carolina	161
39	Northeastern	161
39	Richmond	161
39	Wisconsin	161
46	Arizona	160
46	Baylor	160
46	Cardozo	160
46	Florida	160
46	Houston	160
46	Illinois	160
46	Ohio State	160
46	Pepperdine	160
46	Temple	160
46	Tulane	160

Jerry Organ (St. Thomas) analyzes the change in LSAT scores from the 2012 to 2013 classes among the 195 ABA-accredited law schools in the 48 contiguous states and Hawaii (thus excluding Belmont, LaVerne, UC-Irvine, and UMass):

[T]he entering first-year class average LSAT profile fell one point at all three measures [75th percentile/50th percentile/25th percentile] between 2012 and 2013, from 159.6/157/153.5 to 158.6/156/152.5.  The entering first-year class average LSAT profile fell roughly two points at all three measures between 2010 and 2013, from 160.5/158.1/155.2 to 158.6/156/152.5.

The average decline in median LSAT scores between 2012 and 2013 across U.S. News “tiers” of law schools was .98 among top 50 schools, 1.18 among schools ranked 51-99, .72 among schools ranked 100-144, and 1.13 among schools ranked alphabetically.

Notably, 133 law schools saw a decline in their median LSAT between 2012 and 2013, with 80 down one point, 38 down two points, 12 down three points, one down four points, one down five points and one down six points, while 54 law schools were flat and 7 saw an increase in their median LSAT.

In terms of schools experiencing “larger” declines in median LSAT scores between 2012 and 2013, five schools in the top 50 saw a three point decline in their median LSAT, five schools ranked 51-99 saw at least a three point decline (of which one was down four points), three schools ranked 100-144 saw a three point decline, and two schools ranked alphabetically saw large declines – one of five points and one of six points.

The average decline in median LSAT scores between 2010 and 2013 across U.S. News “tiers” of law schools was 1.54 among top 50 schools, 2.27 among schools ranked 51-99, 2.11 among schools ranked 100-144, and 2.79 among schools ranked alphabetically.  If one were to unpack the top 50 schools a little more, however, one would discover that the top 20 schools saw an average decline in their median LSAT of 1.05 between 2010 and 2013, while the bottom 15 schools in the top 50 saw an average decline in their median LSAT of 2.53.

In terms of schools experiencing “larger” declines in median LSAT scores between 2010 and 2013, three schools in the top 50 have seen declines of four or more points, nine schools ranked 51-99 have seen declines of four or more points, 11 schools ranked 100-144 have seen declines of four or more points and 17 schools ranked alphabetically have seen declines of four or more points.

When looking at the 2012-13 data in comparison with the 2010-2013 data, one sees that lower ranked schools have had more of a sustained challenge in terms of managing profile over the last few years, while schools ranked in the top 50 or top 100 had been managing profile fairly well until fall 2013 when the decreased number of high LSAT applicants really began to manifest itself in terms of impacting the LSAT profiles of highly ranked schools.

The overall decline in the LSAT profile of first-year students also can be demonstrated with two other reference points. In 2010, there were 74 law schools with a median LSAT of 160; in 2013, that number has fallen to 56.  At the other end of the spectrum, in 2010, there were only 9 schools with a median LSAT of less than 150 and only one with a median LSAT of 145. In 2013, the number of law schools with a median LSAT of less than 150 has more than tripled to 32, while the number of law schools with a median LSAT of 145 or less now numbers 9 (with the low now being a 143).

Update:  ABA Journal, Which Law Schools Have the Best LSAT Profiles? And How Many Are Struggling? Law Profs Have Answers