|
LSAT
vs. Future Salary: The Importance of Test Preparation
The decision
to take a preparation course for the LSAT is often a difficult one
for potential test takers. After all, $350 to $1,195 is a considerable
amount of money to spend, especially for the mere possibility of
gaining ten to twelve points on a single test.
There is, however,
an underlying investment in your test preparation efforts. The following
chart lists various LSAT scores from 145 to 170 and the corresponding
schools that (in the graduating class of 2000) admitted approximately
fifty percent (50%) of applicants with those scores. When graduates
from these represented schools are analyzed post-graduation in terms
of starting salary and likelihood of securing gainful employment,
the LSAT score paints an incredibly accurate picture of what graduates
entering the private sector can expect to earn, as well as the unemployment
rate those students will find themselves facing at graduation.
| Law
School |
 |
Average Starting Salary Range ($)
** |
|
%
Unemployed Upon Graduation *** |
|
| Average LSAT: 145 * |
|
|
|
|
|
| Golden Gate 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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 145 Section |
$36,558 |
$55,417 |
9.0% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Average LSAT: 150 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Samford University |
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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 150 Section |
$38,111 |
$61,550 |
6.0% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Average LSAT: 155 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 155 Section |
$40,971 |
$66,142 |
5.6% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Average LSAT: 160 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 160 Section |
$64,000 |
$110,962 |
2.8% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Average LSAT: 165 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 165 Section |
$98,909 |
$125,000 |
0.5% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Average LSAT: 170 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 |
| |
|
|
|
| Averages for LSAT 170 Section |
$119,167 |
$125,833 |
0.3% |
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).
BACK
TO THE TOP
It should be
immediately clear that even a five-point increase in your LSAT score
can ultimately produce a huge difference in your starting salary
upon graduation. Most notably, the five-point differential between
an LSAT score of 155 and 160 results in an average salary increase
of $33,924.50 (155: $53,556.50; 160: $87,481.00) for the first year
of employment. When considering an LSAT preparation course such
as those offered by PowerScore, you should be aware that increases
greater than five points are commonplace. In fact, students have
seen their scores improve by ten, fifteen, even twenty points or
more, resulting in a tremendous increase in their potential salary
based on the law of averages represented in the chart above. To
hear what some students had to say about their PowerScore experience,
read these Student Comments.
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. The LSAT, then, is one of the few real determining
factors that the student can affect.
A second trend
of increasing LSAT scores is, on average, an increasing level of
employment. The statistics given here represent graduates from particular
colleges who actively seek employment and are unable to find it
for at least six months. Actual unemployment figures for the universities
listed above are slightly higher, as some students pursue further
degrees and others do not seek immediate employment upon graduation,
but the important percentage to consider is that of graduates unable
to find employment they deem appropriate.
When evaluating
salaries, you should remember that these are typically considered
high-end salaries, that is, starting salaries from the private sector
are, on average, higher than those of the public sector (the public
sector includes government employment, judicial clerkships, academic
employment, etc.). While the majority of students are employed in
private sector areas upon graduation, average salaries for all graduates
are going to be slightly lower for each school listed. Also, the
salaries here are only for the first year of employment. In other
words, the nearly $34,000 separating the starting salaries for a
155 and 160 very likely applies to the years that follow the first
year of employment. So, assuming constant pay rates, after three
years that five point LSAT difference is worth over $100,000!
It should be
clear from the information above that even a seemingly small improvement
in your LSAT score can open doors to a future you may have never
considered possible. While there is no guarantee that a particular
score, or even enrollment in one of the schools listed, will result
in a salary that falls in the given range, a vast number of test
takers (and, eventually, law school graduates) will find themselves
with the opportunity to earn an amount that corresponds with their
initial LSAT results. That said, do not gamble with your financial
future when an opportunity to help secure it is well within reach.
Click
here to enroll in a PowerScore LSAT Course.
BACK
TO THE TOP
|
YOUR
SHOPPING CART
LSAT
Publications
