Each year thousands of prospective law students take the LSAT and submit their applications to law schools hoping to be one of the individuals selected. Being the most difficult requires students have highest LSAT (or in some cases GRE) and GPA scores. Some law school prep consultancies even predict that there will be increased competition, as people are applying to a greater number of law schools.
Interviews have also become a tool to evaluate prospective candidates, and there is competition to getting a coveted spot for an interview. This is even more so for schools in the upper echelon. Check out tips to help you nail your law school interview.
So, how did the schools look? We’ve included the top 20 hardest schools (ranked by highest LSAT/GPA average) below. In 2017, the schools with the highest LSAT were Yale & Harvard, with their average LSAT score being 173, while the lowest (Not including Puerto Rico) was Western Michigan University at 142. We have also included the offer rate that schools made to applicants, along with some other details.
<Check out 10 Tips to Increase your LSAT Score>
Top 20 Hardest Schools to Get Into:
1. Yale University
Number of Applicants: 2,862
Number of Offers: 240
Offer Rate: 8.39%
Average GPA: 173
Average LSAT: 3.91
2. Harvard University
Number of Applicants: 5,711
Number of Offers: 900
Offer Rate: 15.76%
Average GPA: 173
Average LSAT: 3.86
3. Stanford University
Number of Applicants: 3,952
Number of Offers: 392
Offer Rate: 9.92%
Average GPA: 3.9
Average LSAT: 171
4. Columbia University
Number of Applicants: 5,829
Number of Offers: 1,188
Offer Rate: 20.38%
Average GPA: 3.7
Average LSAT: 171
5. University of Chicago
Number of Applicants: 4,459
Number of Offers: 958
Offer Rate: 21.48%
Average GPA: 3.9
Average LSAT: 170
6. University of Pennsylvania
Number of Applicants: 5,601
Number of Offers: 986
Offer Rate: 17.60%
Average GPA: 3.89
Average LSAT: 169
7. University of Virginia
Number of Applicants: 5,049
Number of Offers: 923
Offer Rate: 18.28%
Average GPA: 3.87
Average LSAT: 169
8. New York University
Number of Applicants: 6,534
Number of Offers: 1,778
Offer Rate: 27.21%
Average GPA: 3.83
Average LSAT: 169
9. University of Michigan
Number of Applicants: 5,284
Number of Offers: 1,157
Offer Rate: 21.90%
Average GPA: 3.8
Average LSAT: 169
10. Duke University
Number of Applicants: 4,672
Number of Offers: 1,063
Offer Rate: 22.75%
Average GPA: 3.75
Average LSAT: 169
11. Northwestern University
Number of Applicants: 4,472
Number of Offers: 1,063
Offer Rate: 23.77%
Average GPA: 3.83
Average LSAT: 168
12. Washington University
Number of Applicants: 4,114
Number of Offers: 1,107
Offer Rate: 26.91%
Average GPA: 3.74
Average LSAT: 168
13. University of California, Berkeley
Number of Applicants: 5,466
Number of Offers: 1,266
Offer Rate: 23.16%
Average GPA: 3.79
Average LSAT: 167
14. Georgetown University
Number of Applicants: 8,808
Number of Offers: 2,291
Offer Rate: 26.01%
Average GPA: 3.79
Average LSAT: 167
15. Cornell University
Number of Applicants: 3.809
Number of Offers: 844
Offer Rate: 22.16%
Average GPA: 3.77
Average LSAT: 167
16. University of California, Los Angeles
Number of Applicants: 5,457
Number of Offers: 1,466
Offer Rate: 26.86%
Average GPA: 3.76
Average LSAT: 167
17. University of Texas at Austin
Number of Applicants: 4,486
Number of Offers: 1,116
Offer Rate: 24.88%
Average GPA: 3.71
Average LSAT: 167
18. Vanderbilt University
Number of Applicants: 4,734
Number of Offers: 1,395
Offer Rate: 29.47%
Average GPA: 3.75
Average LSAT: 166
19. Emory University
Number of Applicants: 4,117
Number of Offers: 1,407
Offer Rate: 34.18%
Average GPA: 3.81
Average LSAT: 165
20. University of Southern California
Number of Applicants: 4,823
Number of Offers: 1,178
Offer Rate: 24.42%
Average GPA: 3.76
Average LSAT: 165
