A 164 opens a real list of ranked schools, and at the schools just below that list it starts opening cheque books instead.
A 164 is the score most people are picturing when they say they want to do well on the LSAT. It opens a real list of ranked schools, and at the schools just below that list it starts opening cheque books instead.
A 164 is the score that turns applying into choosing. 4 schools on our median table sit clearly below it.
The list that matters is the one built off medians. A 164 clears 4 of the schools we track outright and matches 5 more. Rutgers, St. John's, Hofstra (Deane) are among the first group.
These categories describe distance from a midpoint, nothing more. Half of every admitted class came in under the median, so a Reach school is one you apply to with a good story, not one you cross off.
Tier figures come from our law school tier page, which aggregates ABA 509 medians by ranking band. Individual schools vary, so treat the tier as a starting point.
| Tier | Rank | Median LSAT | A 164 against this tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYS (Harvard, Yale, Stanford) | 1-3 | 173–176 | below the 25th percentile |
| T6 | 1-6 | 172–176 | below the 25th percentile |
| T14 | 1-14 | 169–175 | below the 25th percentile |
| T15-T20 | 15-20 | 168–171 | below the 25th percentile |
| T21-T50 | 21-50 | 161–168 | inside the median range |
| T51-T100 | 51-100 | 156–162 | at or above the median range |
| Sub-T100 / regional | 100+ | 148–155 | above the 75th percentile |
A 164 clears most of the field. The 90th percentile means you finished ahead of the large majority of people who sat the test, though not ahead of the group applying to the schools with the highest medians.
What a point buys depends entirely on where you buy it. At a 164 the next one is worth 1.9 percentile points — a very different proposition from the same point bought in the mid-170s, where it barely registers.
A retake is not a step up, it is a re-roll. What you are gambling with is the range 161–167, because that is what a 164 means once you allow for measurement error — and the dice can come back lower.
Worth it if you have a target. 11.4 percentile points of spread is meaningful, but you want a named median to aim at rather than a vague hope of improvement.
How the LSAT score band works has the statistics in full.
Sit the same test twice with the same ability and you will not get the same score. The measurement error runs to roughly 2.6 points, so a 164 is shorthand for the range 161 to 167.
That window is worth 11.4 percentile points. Not decisive on its own, but enough to tip the decision if there is a school median sitting just above you.
Retake if you have a target, not because the number could be higher. From a 164 the nearest target that changes anything is 165.
Most of the remaining points are being lost to the clock rather than to difficulty. Timed practice tests will tell you that in one sitting.
The next useful step is to stop looking at the score alone. Put a 164 and your GPA into the law school admissions calculator and see which of these schools your actual profile lands in.
Open the admissions calculatorThe next few points are available but they are no longer cheap. Decide what you want them for before you commit the months — a better rank, or a bigger discount, are different goals with different answers.
A band of 161-167 is worth 11.4 percentile points of variance. With schools keeping the higher score, that asymmetry argues for a retake.
Moving from 164 to 165 is worth 1.9 percentile points. Five points, to a 169, is worth 6.8.
Every T14 median sits above a 164, so those schools are reaches rather than targets. Applicants do get in below median, usually on the strength of a very high GPA.
Schools reporting a median within two points of 164 include Boston College, Ohio State (Moritz), Wisconsin, SMU (Dedman). Check current 509 data before building a list.