LSAT vs. Future Salary: The Importance of Test Preparation
The following chart lists various LSAT scores from 145 to 170 and the corresponding schools that (in the graduating class of 2000) admitted approximately fifty percent (50%) of applicants with those scores. When graduates from these represented schools are analyzed post-graduation in terms of starting salary and likelihood of securing gainful employment, the LSAT score paints an incredibly accurate picture of what graduates entering the private sector can expect to earn, as well as the unemployment rate those students will find themselves facing at graduation.
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Average Starting laceName>SalarylaceName> laceType>RangelaceType> ($) ** |
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% Unemployed?Upon Graduation *** |
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Average LSAT: 145 * |
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laceName>Golden GatelaceName> University |
45,000 |
67,000 |
2.7 |
St. Thomas University |
40,000 |
60,000 |
9.2 |
Washburn |
34,200 |
48,000 |
5.3 |
New England |
40,000 |
70,000 |
4.7 |
Thomas M. Cooley |
32,500 |
55,000 |
6.0 |
CUNY- Queens |
40,000 |
46,000 |
9.0 |
Touro College |
40,000 |
60,000 |
17.4 |
Ohio Northern University |
32,000 |
50,000 |
14.9 |
Oklahoma City University |
35,000 |
50,000 |
14.0 |
University of Tulsa |
35,000 |
54,000 |
14.9 |
Roger Williams University |
35,000 |
65,000 |
4.7 |
University of South Dakota |
30,000 |
40,000 |
5.7 |
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Averages for LSAT 145 Section |
$36,558 |
$55,417 |
9.0% |
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Average LSAT: 150 |
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40,000 |
57,500 |
5.4 |
California Western |
45,000 |
65,000 |
8.5 |
Whittier |
50,000 |
70,000 |
7.5 |
Quinnipiac |
40,000 |
70,000 |
1.9 |
Widener |
38,500 |
75,600 |
7.6 |
Florida Coastal |
36,250 |
52,500 |
27.9 |
Mercer |
38,500 |
77,500 |
1.5 |
University of Idaho |
36,000 |
52,500 |
1.2 |
John Marshall |
45,312 |
86,750 |
11.4 |
Drake University |
36,250 |
49,500 |
6.9 |
Louisiana State University |
44,000 |
72,800 |
3.6 |
University of Maine |
36,000 |
57,500 |
16.5 |
University of Baltimore |
42,000 |
72,000 |
7.4 |
Western New England |
35,000 |
70,000 |
6.8 |
Michigan State University |
35,000 |
63,000 |
3.1 |
Hamline University |
38,250 |
50,000 |
3.8 |
Creighton University |
32,000 |
50,000 |
2.9 |
Albany |
40,000 |
60,000 |
1.3 |
Campbell University |
30,000 |
42,500 |
0.0 |
University of Dayton |
35,000 |
70,000 |
5.4 |
University of Memphis |
38,500 |
57,000 |
1.6 |
Gonzaga |
35,000 |
51,500 |
3.5 |
University of Wyoming |
30,000 |
42,500 |
3.4 |
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Averages for LSAT 150 Section |
$38,111 |
$61,550 |
6.0% |
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Average LSAT: 155 |
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Arizona State University |
43,000 |
80,000 |
10.1 |
University of the Pacific |
49,500 |
70,000 |
28.6 |
Florida State University |
42,000 |
60,000 |
3.2 |
University of Florida |
45,000 |
71,000 |
5.8 |
University of Hawaii |
50,000 |
61,000 |
5.9 |
Northern Illinois University |
36,000 |
44,800 |
2.2 |
Indiana U- Indianapolis |
42,500 |
75,000 |
2.1 |
University of Kansas |
42,000 |
79,000 |
3.0 |
University of Louisville |
35,000 |
65,000 |
0.8 |
University of Mississippi |
40,500 |
63,750 |
1.1 |
University of Montana |
34,000 |
45,000 |
4.1 |
University of Nebraska |
35,000 |
55,000 |
0.8 |
University of New Mexico |
37,720 |
50,000 |
3.2 |
University of Oklahoma |
35,000 |
60,000 |
6.8 |
Willamette University |
36,000 |
55,000 |
12.1 |
University of South Carolina |
39,250 |
66,000 |
4.7 |
University of Tennessee |
40,000 |
80,000 |
4.5 |
University of Houston |
55,000 |
110,000 |
1.0 |
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Averages for LSAT 155 Section |
$40,971 |
$66,142 |
5.6% |
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Average LSAT: 160 |
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University of Alabama |
50,000 |
70,000 |
1.1 |
University of Arizona |
64,000 |
95,000 |
4.2 |
Loyola- Los Angeles |
70,000 |
125,000 |
16.8 |
University of Connecticut |
58,000 |
100,000 |
1.7 |
George Washington |
47,000 |
125,000 |
2.7 |
University of Georgia |
57,000 |
100,000 |
1.4 |
Notre Dame |
75,000 |
125,000 |
0.6 |
Tulane |
65,000 |
125,000 |
3.2 |
Boston College |
82,000 |
125,000 |
1.6 |
Washington University- St. Louis |
70,000 |
90,000 |
0.5 |
Cardozo-Yeshiva |
74,000 |
125,000 |
2.5 |
Vanderbilt |
70,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
George Mason |
50,000 |
112,500 |
0.4 |
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Averages for LSAT 160 Section |
$64,000 |
$110,962 |
2.8% |
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Average LSAT: 165 |
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U Cal- Berkeley |
115,000 |
125,000 |
1.4 |
U Cal- Los Angeles |
80,000 |
125,000 |
0.9 |
Southern California |
115,000 |
125,000 |
1.1 |
Georgetown |
99,000 |
145,000 |
0.9 |
Northwestern |
125,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
Boston University |
80,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
Cornell University |
125,000 |
125,000 |
0.6 |
Duke University |
100,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
University of Pennsylvania |
75,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
University of Texas |
84,000 |
115,000 |
0.4 |
University of Virginia |
90,000 |
115,000 |
0.0 |
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Averages for LSAT 165 Section |
$98,909 |
$125,000 |
0.5% |
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Average LSAT: 170 |
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Stanford University |
125,000 |
130,000 |
0.6 |
Yale |
100,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
University of Chicago |
125,000 |
125,000 |
0.0 |
Harvard |
115,000 |
125,000 |
0.4 |
Columbia University |
125,000 |
125,000 |
0.3 |
New York University |
125,000 |
125,000 |
0.2 |
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Averages for LSAT 170 Section |
$119,167 |
$125,833 |
0.3% |
The importance of LSAT preparation is further increased by that fact that, for the vast majority of law school applicants, their GPA is already established.
Notes:
Data as given under ** and *** below is based upon graduates responding to surveys by both the Law School Admission Council and by the individual law schools, and, therefore, likely does not represent 100% of graduates from a particular institution.
* The average LSATs used are those that fall well within the 25% - 75% range for past years' acceptance for that particular school. ** Salaries listed are the midrange of full-time private sector (representing employment in either a law firm or in business/industry) salaries for graduates in the year 2000. Private sector employment is typically understood to represent the highest salaries graduates receive when compared to graduates employed in academia, government, judicial clerkships, etc. *** "Unemployment" represents graduates seeking employment yet still unemployed six (6) months after graduation (please note that these numbers are not a complete percentage of all unemployed graduates, as some pursue further degrees and some do not seek immediate employment).
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