The speed with which you receive your LSAT score will depend on whether or not you have an online account with LSAC.org. Students with an account typically receive their scores about three weeks after the test date. Students without an account will often have to wait about four weeks or so for scores to arrive in the mail.
LSAT Score Release Details
Few standardized test scores create more anxiety than those for the LSAT. While many undergraduate and graduate programs are recognizing that standardized tests are not always the best measure of a student's potential for success, law schools typically rely heavily on the LSAT. With a good LSAT score you'll have a decent chance of being admitted; with a weak score, you're going to have almost no chance of getting into any of the country's top law schools.
Because of the test's importance, you clearly need to plan your exam so that you will get scores to your top choice law schools in time. The table below presents the score release dates published on the LSAC website. Realize, however, that these dates are approximate and are, in fact, most likely inaccurate. Unlike the SAT and ACT that have specific dates on which scores go live, LSAT scores have no such concrete date. The dates below are about three weeks after the exam for online score reporting and four weeks after the exam for mail reporting.
2019 LSAT Score Release Dates
LSAT Test Dates | LSAT Scores Available Online | LSAT Scores Mailed |
January 26 and 28, 2019 | February 15, 2019 | February 22, 2019 |
March 30 and April 1, 2019 | April 19, 2019 | April 26, 2019 |
June 3, 2019 | June 27, 2019 | July 4, 2019 |
July 15, 2019 | August 28, 2019 | September 4, 2019 |
September 21, 2019 | October 14, 2019 | October 21, 2019 |
October 28, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
November 25, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
You Have Your LSAT Scores. What Now?
When you receive your score report, you'll find your current score, results of all tests you've taken since 2012, the average of all scores if you've taken the LSAT more than once, a "score band" that compensates for the imprecision of the LSAT, and your percentile rank. If you're shooting for the country's top-ranked law schools, you'll most likely need a score that is above 160 to be competitive.
If you find that your scores aren't on target for the law schools you are aiming for, you'll probably want to beef up your test-taking skills and take the exam again. Be realistic here. The LSAT is expensive, so you don't want to retake the test if there isn't a reasonable chance of a meaningful improvement in your score. Simply taking the test again can result in an increase or decrease of a few points. To significantly increase your score, you're going to need to put in some real effort. Fortunately, there are free online resources to help you prepare for the LSAT, and you can also find tips for studying for the LSAT.