LNAT scores explained

How the LNAT is scored

Section A is 42 multiple choice questions worth one mark each, so scores run from 0 to 42. There is no negative marking: never leave a question blank. There is no pass mark; each university decides what is competitive for its own applicants.

Section B, the essay, receives no central score at all. Your essay is transmitted to your chosen universities and read by their admissions staff. Some universities grade it internally; others read it qualitatively alongside your application. A strong essay cannot be "banked" as a number, but a weak one can quietly cost an offer at universities that weigh it heavily. For how to approach it, see our LNAT essay guide.

What is the average LNAT score?

The national average in recent cycles has sat in the low-to-mid twenties out of 42 (reported figures cluster around 23 to 26 depending on the year). Scoring in the high twenties places you clearly above average; thirty or more is strong for any university.

What do successful applicants score?

Universities mostly do not publish official cutoffs, but reported averages for successful applicants in recent cycles look like this:

• Oxford: around 30 to 31, the highest of any LNAT university, with the essay also formally assessed.
• Cambridge: around 30 for offer holders.
• UCL: reported between 27 and 29; the essay is weighted seriously.
• King's College London: around 26 to 27; KCL is reported to focus on Section A.
• LSE: around 26; the multiple choice section carries the weight.
• Durham: around 26.
• Bristol: around 25, within a stated weighting across LNAT, A levels and GCSEs.
• Glasgow and several others: reported averages in the low-to-mid twenties.

How to raise your score

Three things move Section A scores more than anything else. First, timed practice: 95 minutes for 42 questions across 12 passages is the real difficulty, and pacing only improves under a clock. Second, learning the question style: LNAT questions test what the passage argues and assumes, not what is true in the world, and practising that distinction is trainable. Third, reviewing wrong answers properly: most improvement comes from understanding why a tempting wrong option was wrong.

Sit a realistic timed test early to find your baseline. Our free full-length practice test runs in a simulator styled on the real Pearson interface and includes answer review, with no card details required.