One of the perverse incentives in the U.S. News law school rankings involves “splitters.” In a non-U.S. News world, a hypothetical law school with an admissions goal of 164 LSAT|3.85 UGPA medians (which has a 227 index score (based on a hypothetical 60% LSAT|40% UGPA weighting)) would jump at the chance to admit and scholarship an applicant from MIT with a 163|3.84 (226 index) over a “splitter” applicant from a far less selective college with a 164|3.25 (220 index) or a “reverse splitter” applicant from a far less selective college with a 158|3.85 (220 index).
The ABA does not collect this data, but a Reddit user posted an interesting chart on the use of splitters by some top law schools, based on applicant data from LSD.Law for the Fall 2022 admissions season:
Here are the Yale and Wash U data:
|
Yale |
Wash U |
|
|
At or Above Both Medians |
43.4% |
13.2% |
|
Splitter (LSAT at/Above, UGPA Below) |
18.3% |
56.5% |
|
Reverse Splitter (LSAT Below, UGPA at/Above) |
20.0% |
26.2% |
|
Below Both |
18.3% |
4.1% |
