Law School Admissions Calculator

Law schools combine your LSAT and GPA into an admissions index. This computes your index and compares it to example medians so you know your competitive position.

Direct answer

What does this tool do?

Law School Admissions Calculator computes the result directly in your browser — Law schools combine your LSAT and GPA into an admissions index. This computes your index and compares it to example medians so you know your competitive position. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.

LSAT score (120-180)

Undergraduate GPA (0.0-4.0)

What committees use: an index score combining LSAT and GPA — a common weighting is LSAT + (GPA × 15), giving a ~150-250 scale. How to read it: compare your index to a school's median LSAT/GPA; admissions decisions also weigh essays, letters, work experience, and diversity of background. LSAT is the lever: a 5-point LSAT gain moves your index more than a 0.3 GPA gain at this weighting, which is why retakes are worth it. Note: this is a screening estimate — no single formula decides an application.

How this calculator works

Admissions screening weights LSAT/GPA against school medians: index = LSAT percentile x weight + GPA percentile x weight, compared to the school 50th-percentile admits.

Worked example

A 160 LSAT and 3.6 GPA sit near the median at many top-50 schools; being above both medians moves an application into the likely-admit band at the next tier down.

Law school admissions: LSAT and GPA against school median bands — Medians matter more than minimums: above both 50th-percentile numbers is the realistic target band.

FAQ

What is a good LSAT score?

150s is below most law school medians, 160-165 is competitive for many programs, and 170+ is elite (T14 range). Most schools publish their median LSAT — aim above it.

How much does GPA matter for law school?

A lot — it's weighted heavily with LSAT in the admissions index. But a strong LSAT can offset a below-median GPA, and schools consider your full application, not just numbers.

What is the law school admissions index?

A combined score schools compute from LSAT and GPA to screen applicants. The exact formula is school-specific; the common LSAT + (GPA × 15) approximation is modeled here for comparison.

Figures are editable example defaults for modeling, not quotes or advice. Financial, tax, and medical outcomes vary with your situation — verify with a qualified professional (CFP, CPA, tax advisor, or veterinarian).

Index arithmetic: two applicants side by side

Applicant A has a 3.40 GPA and a 158 LSAT. The modeled index is LSAT + (GPA x 15), so A scores 158 + (3.40 x 15) = 158 + 51 = 209. Applicant B has a 3.75 GPA and a 155 LSAT: 155 + (3.75 x 15) = 155 + 56.25 = 211.25. B wins the index despite the 3-point lower LSAT, because each 0.1 of GPA is worth 1.5 index points, so a 0.35 GPA gap (5.25 points) outweighs a 3-point LSAT gap.

This is why the LSAT is the higher-leverage number per unit of effort: one extra LSAT point moves the index a full point, while a tenth of a GPA point moves it 0.15. Turning a 158 into a 161 gains 3 points; turning a 3.40 into a 3.43 gains 0.45. A retake score swap is also clean: schools take the high score in most indices, so a new 161 replaces 158 entirely, while a GPA is frozen at graduation.

What the index formula leaves out

The LSAT + (GPA x 15) approximation is a screening-era shorthand, and real schools diverge from it. Published admissions-index tables historically used school-specific weights and grade points; some weighted GPA x 30 or capped LSAT contributions. A 165/3.2 applicant (165 + 48 = 213 here) could rank above or below a 160/3.7 applicant (160 + 55.5 = 215.5) once a school applies its own coefficients, and some schools weight a 3.9 from a school with median class GPA of 2.9 differently than a 3.9 from one inflating to 3.7.

The formula also has no representation of anything below the 7.0 LSAT floor or above a 4.0 GPA: a 180 and a 170 differ by 10 points here, but at the most selective schools both may already clear the index screen, so the index stops predicting once you are above both medians. Treat the output as a rank-ordering estimate between two numeric profiles, not a probability. A 209 index can still be admitted when the rest of the file (work experience, upward grade trend, URM or first-gen status, essays) compensates, and a 215 can be rejected when a soft factor is absent.