36.09% Average Law School Acceptance Rate
An acceptance rate is the ratio of the number of admitted applicants to the total number of applicants. In general, the law school acceptance rate is much lower than the rate in general college admission. For the academic year 2025-2026, the average law school acceptance rate is 36.09% over 199 ABA-accredited law school in United States. A total of 427,004 students applied to law school(s) and 135,678 students accepted one or more law schools.
Tightest Law Schools Hard To Get In
Yale Law School has the lowest acceptance rate of 4.06%. Stanford Law School and University of Pennsylvania Law School follow it with 6.10% and 8.05% acceptance rate respectively.
Related Rankings
For comparison, you may also explore law schools with the highest acceptance rate to see schools at the other end of the selectivity spectrum.
Top 25 Law Schools with the Lowest Acceptance Rates
The following table compares the top 25 Law Schools with the Lowest Acceptance Rates with important academic indicators.
The rankings include 11 public and 14 law schools are included.
For the Law Schools with the Lowest Acceptance Rates, the average 2027 tuition & fees is $48,553 state residents and $63,882 for out-of-state students in public law schools. In private law schools in the rankings, the tuition & fees is $84,756. The average financial aid amount of them is $29,206 which is 38.65% of tuition & fees.
| Rank | School | Acceptance Rate | Yield | Application Fee | Tuition & Fees | LSAT Score | GPA | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yale Law SchoolPrivateNew Haven, CT | 4.06% | 77.43% | $85 | $81,818 | 174 | 3.96 | 676 |
| 2 | Stanford Law SchoolPrivateStanford, CA | 6.10% | 51.34% | $85 | $82,122 | 173 | 3.96 | 670 |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolPrivatePhiladelphia, PA | 8.05% | 39.08% | $80 | $88,184 | 173 | 3.95 | 1,032 |
| 4 | Boston College Law SchoolPrivateNewton, MA | 8.48% | 33.23% | $75 | $75,680 | 168 | 3.83 | 638 |
| 5 | University of Michigan Law SchoolPublicAnn Arbor, MI | 8.57% | 42.73% | $75 | $83,422 | 171 | 3.88 | 1,032 |
| 6 | Harvard Law SchoolPrivateCambridge, MA | 9.20% | 59.19% | $85 | $86,344 | 174 | 3.96 | 2,025 |
| 7 | University of Chicago Law SchoolPrivateChicago, IL | 9.74% | 29.80% | $90 | $88,500 | 174 | 3.97 | 710 |
| 8 | University of Virginia School of LawPublicCharlottesville, VA | 10.17% | 44.09% | $85 | $84,900 | 173 | 3.99 | 982 |
| 9 | Gould School of LawPrivateLos Angeles, CA | 11.17% | 28.20% | $75 | $88,436 | 169 | 3.91 | 1,543 |
| 10 | University of North Carolina School of LawPublicChapel Hill, NC | 11.19% | 45.48% | $75 | $57,854 | 168 | 3.89 | 543 |
| 11 | Columbia Law SchoolPrivateNew York, NY | 11.84% | 36.70% | $85 | $92,194 | 173 | 3.92 | 1,740 |
| 12 | Los Angeles School of LawPublicLos Angeles, CA | 12.05% | 30.99% | $75 | $76,992 | 171 | 3.95 | 1,376 |
| 13 | Boston University School of LawPrivateBoston, MA | 12.08% | 24.55% | $85 | $74,582 | 170 | 3.88 | 1,084 |
| 14 | Texas A&M University School of LawPublicFort Worth, TX | 12.10% | 19.09% | $65 | $50,145 | 169 | 4.00 | 2,396 |
| 15 | Northwestern Pritzker School of LawPrivateChicago, IL | 12.30% | 24.97% | $75 | $83,938 | 173 | 3.96 | 1,205 |
| 16 | University of Georgia School of LawPublicAthens, GA | 12.72% | 31.16% | $50 | $41,646 | 169 | 3.92 | 1,000 |
| 17 | Duke University School of LawPrivateDurham, NC | 12.88% | 27.61% | $80 | $85,074 | 171 | 3.91 | 830 |
| 18 | Vanderbilt University Law SchoolPrivateNashville, TN | 13.26% | 20.94% | $70 | $81,492 | 170 | 3.91 | 656 |
| 19 | New York University School of LawPrivateNew York, NY | 13.39% | 30.45% | $85 | $90,638 | 172 | 3.92 | 2,172 |
| 20 | University of Texas School of LawPublicAustin, TX | 13.99% | 40.98% | $70 | $56,822 | 172 | 3.89 | 960 |
| 21 | Berkeley School of LawPublicBerkeley, CA | 14.84% | 35.73% | $75 | $84,476 | 170 | 3.92 | 1,128 |
| 22 | Irvine School of LawPublicIrvine, CA | 14.92% | 33.87% | No Fee | $76,396 | 169 | 3.80 | 532 |
| 23 | Georgetown University Law CenterPrivateWashington, DC | 15.75% | 28.68% | $85 | $87,588 | 171 | 3.93 | 3,028 |
| 24 | George Mason University School of LawPublicArlington, VA | 15.87% | 35.89% | $70 | $44,044 | 169 | 3.93 | 810 |
| 25 | Florida State University College of LawPublicTallahassee, FL | 15.97% | 35.33% | $30 | $46,009 | 166 | 3.93 | 1,419 |
*The tuition & fees for the 2026-2027 academic year and Other admission date is for the 2025-2026.