Admissions Statistics at Columbia University | Law School Transparency (2023)

FAQs

What is the lowest LSAT accepted by Columbia? ›

LSAT: There is no minimum LSAT score in the consideration process for admission to Columbia Law School. For the 2021 entering class, the median LSAT score was 174.

Only 11.8% of applicants are accepted to Columbia Law School. It's interesting to note that despite having a low acceptance rate, Columbia University students had the lowest GPAs of any institution, with a median GPA of 3.87. The median LSAT score is 173, thus the same doesn't hold true for LSAT scores.

The median GPA is 3.84. The 25th percentile GPA is 3.75 and the 75th percentile GPA is 3.92.

Quite frankly, if your LSAT score is below 147, it will be difficult to be admitted to an accredited law school, not impossible but very difficult. Your GPA will have to do some heavy lifting. If your LSAT score is 150 or above, your chances increase if you choose prospective law schools wisely.

NYU Law and Columbia Law are both considered highly competitive, much like each university's undergraduate programs. However, Columbia University's Law School is ranked slightly above NYU's on the US News & World Report list. Columbia Law School also has a slightly lower acceptance rate than NYU's Law School.

No. Because our financial aid funds are limited, applicants who will require financial assistance to attend Columbia Law School should also seek assistance from other sources. Awards are generally in the form of partial waivers of tuition and, in some cases, loans. Full waivers of tuition are almost never granted.

While a high LSAT score alone will not guarantee admission, and students with “low” scores can still gain admission, you should aim for a score in the 170s–preferably 172 and above.

For law students considering the two schools, which are ranked second (Stanford) and fifth (Columbia) in U.S. News & World Report's 2020 Best Law Schools, they acknowledge the high costs as an investment in a prestigious legal education, Chapman said.

What is a respectable law school GPA? ›

Among the 191 ranked law schools that submitted grade data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average median GPA of entering law school students in 2021 was 3.55. But at the 20 highest-ranked law schools, the average median GPA is much higher – 3.86.

The LSAT is scored between 120 and 180, with 153 being the average score.

First off, if you're in this score range, you're already officially above the mean (and above median, though we can't speak to mode – sorry stats fans). Within this score range, you're besting 64-78 percent of your peers, putting you solidly within the top half of test takers!

Tier 1 schools include: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, UChicago, Caltech, Columbia, Brown, Northwestern, The University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Duke, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and Rice.

While still remaining the 17th best university in the nation, Cornell has now surpassed Columbia University, which saw a significant drop this year in rank, falling from No.

Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked in the top five schools in the United States since the establishment of the law school rankings by U.S. News & World Report in 1987.

Columbia Law School is renowned for the intellectual rigor of its curriculum and the groundbreaking scholarship of its faculty.

Columbia has an open campus and you are welcome to explore the outdoor areas at your leisure. If you would like to take a guided tour, the reservation process varies depending on the type of tour that you would like to take. Please find more specific information about your options on the tour section of our website.

Is 148 a bad LSAT score? ›

Typical LSAT score ranges include: 120-147 Low. 148-156 Mid. 157-164 High.

The LSAT score range is 120–180, and the median score is approximately 152. You need to get about 60 questions right (out of 99–102 questions) to get that median score of 152, which means you need to bat about 60 percent.

According to U.S. News, law school admissions experts recommend striving for at least a 150; however, for a top-ranking law school, you should aim for a 160 or better. For a Top 10 law school, a 170 or more is desired.

Harvard University tied with Columbia University for fourth place in U.S. News & World Report's 2023 ranking of best law schools. The rankings knock the Cambridge law school out of U.S. News' top three this year — Yale and Stanford retained the top two spots, followed by the University of Chicago.

I understand at CLS it's approximately 60- 100 people they put on the waitlist. So, a few, let's say 5-15, will make it via the waitlist at Columbia. This is a pretty low percentage.

Average LSAT Score

LSAT scores range from 120 to 180. The median average score is roughly 152. To get this average score, you'll need to get about 60 questions correct, out of 99 to 102 total questions.

The most expensive law school in the country is Columbia University. The university is located in the thriving Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.

Top 1/3 of class and journal or moot court experience preferred. We prefer candidates with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Is it worth going to a lower ranked law school? ›

Downsides of Attending a Low-Ranked Law School

Unless they have personal connections or career experience, graduates of lower-ranked schools face steep odds on the job market. Graduates of top-ranked law schools have a leg up on securing legal internships, clerkships, and job interviews—even with mediocre grades.

To achieve a score of 170 requires a test taker to correctly answer 90 out of 101 questions.

If we were to speak about a good LSAT score in very broad terms, 157 or above would be a reasonable place to start. Anything above 160 is not a bad LSAT score.

Scoring a 175 means you missed 5 questions on the test, which can be the equivalent of an entire logic game. Scoring a 170 means you missed 10 or 11 questions, which is nearly half of an entire section.

1L Legal Writing (I & II) Mean: 3.15 to 3.45.

The 1L class at Georgetown University has a median LSAT of 171. The 25th percentile LSAT is 167 and the 75th percentile LSAT is 173. The median GPA is 3.85.

The 1L class at New York University has a median LSAT of 172. The 25th percentile LSAT is 170 and the 75th percentile LSAT is 174. The median GPA is 3.86.

The LSAT is scored on a 120-180 scale.

From our independent research, we've found that students who take the LSAT without studying achieve scores between 145 and 153.

Ultimately, the LSAT is just one piece of evidence for your academic potential as a law student. High grades can help offset a low LSAT score, as can strong recommendation letters from professors, professional experience and a well-structured personal statement.

To make it easier to compare scores earned across different LSAT administrations, your “raw score” is converted to an LSAT scale. This is the score you receive in your score report. The LSAT scale ranges from 120 to 180, with 120 being the lowest possible score and 180 being the highest possible score.

How many people pass the LSAT on the first try? ›

Each June (which is considered the start of the testing cycle), about 80% of the test takers are first-times. This percentage drops off in successive tests: 73% of September/October testers are first-timers, 58% of December test takers are LSAT virgins, as are 57% of February test takers.

Whelp, you can apply to pretty much anywhere with confidence. Scoring in this range makes you extremely competitive for a variety of great law schools.

Law Schools Where Students Had the Highest LSAT Scores. ] Law school admissions experts say the minimum LSAT score applicants should strive for is 150, assuming they would be satisfied with acceptance at any accredited law school.

LSAT: There is no minimum LSAT score in the consideration process for admission to Columbia Law School. For the 2021 entering class, the median LSAT score was 174.

When You Should Cancel Your LSAT Score. If you can point to a specific interference during the lead up to the exam or the exam itself, then you might have reason to cancel your LSAT score. Here are some good reasons for canceling your score: You were sick and battling the flu or other illness during the exam.

You can also improve your LSAT scores to increase your odds of getting a scholarship. Students with an LSAT score close to 170 have a great chance of earning a scholarship for law school. Some other ways to increase the odds of getting a scholarship for law school are listed below.

Retake the LSAT - the lowest acceptable LSAT score is 140.

You must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA to be eligible. 6) Are letters of recommendation required? Yes. We require two letters of recommendation to be submitted through the application website.

The easiest to predict, by far, is President Barack Obama's score, mostly because we have some data. Based on admissions records, we can deduce — somewhat reliably — that Barry-O scored between the 94^th-98^th percentile on his LSAT. Using today's grading system, that'd place him somewhere around a 170.

The LSAT is scored on a 120-180 scale.

From our independent research, we've found that students who take the LSAT without studying achieve scores between 145 and 153.

Is Columbia a second tier Ivy? ›

There's probably some debate about which schools compose the next tier of Ivy League schools, but, based on my rankings, I would put Columbia, Penn, and Brown in the second tier. Their academic reputations aren't quite as established as those of the first-tier schools, and as a whole they're slightly less selective.

We hope your application will show strong academic performance across subjects, effective written communication skills, and that you have taken a rigorous course load within the scope of your school's curriculum, one that is appropriate for your goals and interests.

Average LSAT Score

LSAT scores range from 120 to 180. The median average score is roughly 152. To get this average score, you'll need to get about 60 questions correct, out of 99 to 102 total questions.

First off, if you're in this score range, you're already officially above the mean (and above median, though we can't speak to mode – sorry stats fans). Within this score range, you're besting 64-78 percent of your peers, putting you solidly within the top half of test takers!

For law students considering the two schools, which are ranked second (Stanford) and fifth (Columbia) in U.S. News & World Report's 2020 Best Law Schools, they acknowledge the high costs as an investment in a prestigious legal education, Chapman said.