LNAT University and Score Requirements

Do I need to take LNAT?

The LNAT forms a part of the undergraduate admissions processes for some of the most prestigious law schools in the world.

Currently there are nine British universities requiring the test:

University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
Durham University
University of Glasgow
King's College London
The London School of Economics
University of Oxford
SOAS
University College London

If you are applying to any of these universities through UCAS for undergraduate law, you will be required to complete the LNAT. The deadline for completion will depend on whether you are applying to Oxbridge or the other universities; information regarding deadlines can be found here.

As the English Law enjoys such prominence in the commercial spheres, it is no wonder that you will find these universities in the UK.

However, there are also two international universities who use the LNAT:

Singapore University of Social Sciences
IE University

What is the required Score?

In this guide, we will also consider what LNAT score is required.

As the LNAT is split into two parts, each will be marked and given a score individually. The section A multiple choice will be out of 42. The section B essay will be given an individual score by each university and so there is no official metric for the score and nor will you receive a mark when you get your test results back.

There is no specific cut-off score for either parts of the LNAT and each university will have internal scores that they look for in applicants. It can however be useful to consider the average scores found by applicants historically at the universities. You should be aiming for a score above these levels in your preparation. Remember that the LNAT is the only genuine quantitative metric by which the admissions team can universally compare candidates. It stands to reason that doing well on your LNAT may well be that additional factor to put you across the line.

Normally the national LNAT average sits between 18-24 out of 42. Of course this mark changes yearly and you should be considerate of these when sitting practice tests. Below are the average scores achieved by students applying to some specific LNAT universities as a guide for the marks you should look to obtain.

Before launching into considering each specific university, it is best to understand what your aim is and what should be your preparation for LNAT. You should be aiming to be cut and above the average, as you wish to ensure that your application is a foregone conclusion. To expand on a previous point, consider that LNAT is the only genuine quantitative metric by which the admissions team can compare candidates: everyone has different A-levels, everyone has some work experience, everyone can write a persuasive personal statement. It stands to reason that doing well on your LNAT may well be that additional factor to put you across the line.

NB The statistics do not account for a spilt between home and international students, unless expressly stated. Usually, the level required of an international student is higher (about 5-10%).

University of Oxford

Courses: BA Law (Jurisprudence); BA Law with European Law; BA Law with French Law; BA Law with German Law; BA Law with Italian Law; BA Law with Spanish Law

Law (Jurisprudence) at Oxford is one of the most competitive undergraduate courses in the world. Unlike other universities, Oxford admissions consider the interview, LNAT, school grades, and personal statement. The LNAT here thus plays a bigger role in ensuring you can achieve an interview before then also playing a role in your admissions decision more generally. As an approximation, you could say that since Oxford admissions are centered on the interview performance, half of the job is getting the interview in the first place. For this, LNAT is crucial.

When you average out across the years of admission cycles, the average score of a successful candidate in pervious admission years was about 29. Further, only 2% of applicants scored above 34.

Oxford provides a number of metrics but information for the 2023 application cycle was as follows:
Section A:

The average score for those invited to interview was 29.46
The average score for those offered a place was 31

Section B:
When marking the LNAT, Oxford use 'No More Marking' which is a system that anonymises essays and let markers compare two essays at once. A numerical score is then attached to the essays when marked based on their ranking.

The average score for those invited to interview was 64.43
The average score for those offered a place was 64.94

No exact criteria are given but a rough guide of what markers will look for is below:

High score/ranked essays will normally exhibit:

Application
Close attention to the question(s) asked and sustained and focussed treatment of the issues.
Reasoning ability
Well-drawn distinctions, a keen eye for relevance, awareness of more than one possible line of argument, and an element of independent critical judgment.
Communication
Clear and fluent writing and notable clarity and appropriateness of structure and argument.

Low score/ranked essays will normally exhibit:

Application
Poor attention to the question(s) asked, no sustained and focussed treatment of the issues.
Reasoning ability
Poorly developed arguments, a preponderance of irrelevant points, few or no well-drawn distinctions, a lack of awareness of more than one possible line of argument, no evidence of independent critical judgment.
Communication
Lack of fluency and clarity and no clear or appropriate structure or argument.

The essay is to be marked as a percentage and tutors marking the test are asked to mark by analogy to the conventional understanding of marks in examinations: for example, it will only be in the rarest of cases that a candidate would obtain a mark of 75 or above. Marks should be awarded on the following basis:

70 and above: Excellent: The essay clearly and consistently contains “high mark features”. There are no “low mark features”; or the negligible “low mark features” are wholly outweighed by the excellence of the “high mark features”. The essay is therefore at a level one would expect of candidate very likely to obtain a place.

65 to 69: Very good: The essay contains a preponderance of “high mark features” with only a limited number of “low mark features” and is therefore at a level one would expect of a candidate with a strong chance of obtaining a place.

60 to 64: Good: The essay contains a number of “high mark features” which, taken as a whole, outweigh the “low mark features”. The essay is therefore at a level one would expect of candidate with some chance of obtaining a place.

55 to 59: Moderate: The essay may provide some “high mark features” but, taken as a whole, those features are outweighed by the “low mark features”. The essay is therefore at a level one would expect of candidate unlikely to obtain a place.

50 to 54: Poor: The essay contains a preponderance of “low mark features” with only a limited number of “high mark features” and is therefore at a level one would expect of a candidate very unlikely to obtain a place.

49 and below: Very poor: The essay clearly and consistently contains “low mark features”. There are no “high mark features”; or the negligible “high mark features” are wholly outweighed by the “low mark features”. The essay is therefore at a level one would expect of candidate almost certain not to obtain a place.

Please note that the LNAT guidelines on essay length emphasise that economy of expression is important and that the ideal LNAT essay length is about 500-600 words.

University of Cambridge

Cambridge is relatively new to the LNAT (starting for 2025 admissions cycle) having moved away from the CLT. It therefore does not have any data yet available having only been through the admissions process once. It is likely that the levels will be the same as Oxford however so you should be aiming for 30.

University College London (UCL)

Courses: LLB Law; LLB Law (Senior Status); LLB Law with French Law; LLB Law with German Law; LLB Law with Hispanic Law; LLB English and German Law Dual Degree; and M102/M145

The competition for UCL is fierce (15 applicants per place), and borders on being Oxbridge-like. The issue for a candidate is that UCL usually does not hold interviews. Therefore, one can see the importance of a rounded application, with a strong LNAT performance.

The deadline for UCL is slightly earlier than other non-Oxbridge universities being at the end of December.

On average, a successful home candidate presented a score of about 28.

On average, a successful international candidate presented a score of about 30.

For example, in 2022/23:

The average applicant score was 23
The average offer holder score was 29 (27 for contextualised offers)

The Essay seems to be very important. Here are some quotes from the admissions team at UCL:

‘The LNAT essay is given considerable weight in our consideration as it is the only piece of writing that we receive under exam conditions, and demonstrates a candidates abilities to reason, argue and to construct a cohesive essay.’

As for marking criteria of the essay (which is given a numerical mark), the below should be quite illuminating to the question:

When assessing the essay, admissions tutors will consider

Aptitude for reasoning skills
Including high-level comprehension, interpretation, analysis, synthesis, ability to draw broad and fine distinctions, induction and deduction
Aptitude for exploring arguments and ideas
Including in writing, the ability to formulate, develop and defend argument
Communication
Including accuracy of syntax, breadth of vocabulary and ability to formulate ideas succinctly.

For international students, the rate of offers is about 17%. UCL is quite popular with students from Singapore and Hong Kong, who have the reputation for excelling academically. This may be in part due to the motivation to undertake a year abroad (Singapore, Hong Kong or Australia), which is offered to M100 LLB students for their third year, provided they perform at the top in the first year and go through an interview process.

London School of Economics (LSE)

Course: LLB Law

The good news is that LSE is not using any cut-off scores. LNAT forms part of the holistic assessment of all candidate data. However, LSE is express at using the Score in particular to distinguish between seemingly similar applications.

It has been reported however that the average score of applicants is around 26, although one would imagine the average score to be a little below of that of Oxbridge and UCL.

LSE does not typically use the essay part of the LNAT but they state that they ‘reserve the right to assess the essay for all applicants including those taking non- traditional qualifications or less well-known qualifications’.

Durham University

Courses: LLB Law; LLB Law with Foundation

For Durham, you should be aiming for a score of at least 29.

As for the Essay, Durham does not disclose more than that it is part of the admissions process. It may be assumed that an impressive essay would work to push the candidate across the line.

King's College London (KCL)

Courses: LLB Law; LLB Politics, Philosophy and Law; LLB English Law & French Law; LLB English Law and German Law; LLB English Law and Hong Kong Law

The average score of a successful candidate is about 27 out of 42.

The Essay is not computed into any specific score. Its use should only come to aid for candidates who are considered borderline.

There has been a steady increase in the scores over the previous years, so it may be a sign that the application process has become even more competitive, on account of the increasing popularity and academic achievement of the Faculty.

University of Bristol

Courses: LLB Law; LLB Law and French; LLB Law and German; LLB Law and Spanish

The university notes the split of components parts of your application as follows:

GCSE 20%
A level 40%
LNAT 40%

Bristol states on its website that it has no minimum requirement for the LNAT but does note that ‘[t]he overall LNAT grade used by the University uses the following weightings: 60% multiple choice questions and 40% essay.’

In the 2022 application cycle, applicants scored an average of 23/42 in Section A.

The Essay is scored within five bands: 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100.

SOAS

Courses: LLB Law, all other combinations including Law (except Senior Status)

SOAS has sparse data on the role of LNAT in the admissions process. However, from a reasonable collation of anecdotal evidence, a score of minimum 25 and a solid essay performance will stand the candidate in good stead.

University of Glasgow

Courses: All LLB degrees, except LLB Scots Law (fast-track: graduate only)

Glasgow does not provide any official information regarding their LNAT requirements but on average, a successful candidate will score 23 out of 42.

The Essay is viewed as an add-on to one's personal statement: the tutor assesses the writing ability of the applicant. Indeed, the focus of a Law degree is undoubtedly on mastering the written skill.

Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and IE University

Unfortunately, there is no available data regarding LNAT here. SUSS is new to LNAT and IE University looks at LNAT differently, depending on the course choice.

Word of Advice

This guide aims to give you a rough understanding of what you are up against with LNAT. Note that it is only based on the available historical data, which does not guarantee any future trends. Do well on LNAT and it will help your application, but you should not forgo all the over parts, such as Personal Statement and A-level/IB results.

You should derive a target score for LNAT that is above the average - you want to ensure that your application stands the best chance. With that in mind, you can plan and train effectively towards success. Naturally, we recommend you consider Arbitio to help.

Arbitio is the leading online platform for LNAT preparation, with the most comprehensive resources available that are delivered under real timed exam conditions. With over 700 Questions & Solutions, and 20+ Model Essays with Questions, you will be able to cover every aspect of the exam and practice so that your real LNAT is just another Practice Test.