Top California Law Schools Comparison

There are 17 ABA-accredited law schools in California. Of those schools, the top 5 schools present in the following table. The schools are ranked based on test scores, tuition, bar pass rate, and employment statistics. You can search all law schools in California at California law school search page.
The following list compares 5 schools with important law school statistics - Stanford Law School, Berkeley School of Law, Los Angeles School of Law, Gould School of Law, and Irvine School of Law.
  • Gould School of Law's tuition is the most expensive ($74,173) and Irvine School of Law's tuition is the lowest ($64,218).
  • Stanford Law School offers the best financial aid of $35,457 which is 51.39% of tuition amount.
  • Stanford Law School has the lowest acceptance rate of 6.28%) and Irvine School of Law has the highest rate of 16.83%).
  • Stanford Law School has the highest LSAT score of 172 and Irvine School of Law has the lowest score of 167.
  • Stanford Law School has the highest GPA of 3.91 and Irvine School of Law has the lowest GPA of 3.69.
  • Gould School of Law is the largest school with 1,414 enrolled students and Irvine School of Law is the smallest school with 479 students.
  • Stanford Law School has the highest bar exam pass rate of 98.22% and Irvine School of Law has the lowest rate of 86.36%.
  • Stanford Law School is the oldest school founded in 1893 and Irvine School of Law is the most recently founded in 2009.
  • Stanford Law School requires the most expensive application fees of $85.

Stanford Law School

Private • Stanford, CA
Founded
1893
Tuition & Costs
$68,997 tuition & fees
$34,458 Living Costs
Financial Aid
$35,457 Avg. Amount
51.39% Tuition Covered
75.04% Received
LSAT Scores
172 Median Score
175 75th Percentile
170 25th Percentile
GPA
3.91 Median Score
3.99 75th Percentile
3.81 25th Percentile
Admission
6.28% Acceptance Rate
45.10% Yield
5685 Applicants
357 Admitted
161 Enrolled
Enrollment
613 Total Enrollment
577 JD Enrollment
36 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
182 Faculties
51 Staffs
3 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
98.22% Pass Rate
168 Exam Takers
24 Not Taken
165 Exam Passers
Employment
184 Total Graduates
178 Employed Full-time
0 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$85
Application deadline
2022-09-08 Application Open
2022-12-06 Priority
2023-02-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://law.stanford.edu/office-of-admissions/
Application Requirements
https://law.stanford.edu/apply/how-to-apply/jd-application-process/

Berkeley School of Law

Public • Berkeley, CA
Founded
1894
Tuition & Costs
$67,781 ($59,237 in-state)
$29,792 Living Costs
$2,908 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$25,000 Avg. Amount
36.88% Tuition Covered
70.49% Received
LSAT Scores
169 Median Score
171 75th Percentile
165 25th Percentile
GPA
3.83 Median Score
3.92 75th Percentile
3.74 25th Percentile
Admission
13.66% Acceptance Rate
31.58% Yield
7948 Applicants
1086 Admitted
343 Enrolled
Enrollment
1,235 Total Enrollment
1,088 JD Enrollment
147 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
284 Faculties
19 Staffs
4 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
96.67% Pass Rate
301 Exam Takers
15 Not Taken
291 Exam Passers
Employment
327 Total Graduates
312 Employed Full-time
1 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$75
Application deadline
2022-09-01 Application Open
2022-11-15 Priority
2023-02-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admissions/jd/
Application Requirements
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admissions/jd/applying-for-jd-degree/ready-to-apply/

Los Angeles School of Law

Public • Los Angeles, CA
Founded
1949
Tuition & Costs
$64,426 ($53,920 in-state)
$25,173 Living Costs
$2,394 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$17,867 Avg. Amount
27.73% Tuition Covered
99.50% Received
LSAT Scores
170 Median Score
171 75th Percentile
166 25th Percentile
GPA
3.82 Median Score
3.92 75th Percentile
3.57 25th Percentile
Admission
15.43% Acceptance Rate
28.33% Yield
7939 Applicants
1225 Admitted
347 Enrolled
Enrollment
1,184 Total Enrollment
1,038 JD Enrollment
146 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
197 Faculties
36 Staffs
6 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
96.55% Pass Rate
290 Exam Takers
27 Not Taken
280 Exam Passers
Employment
343 Total Graduates
327 Employed Full-time
3 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$75
Application deadline
2022-09-01 Application Open
2023-02-01 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://law.ucla.edu/admissions/jd-admissions
Application Requirements
https://law.ucla.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/first-year-jd-applicants

Gould School of Law

Private • Los Angeles, CA
Founded
1896
Tuition & Costs
$74,173 tuition & fees
$22,158 Living Costs
$2,422 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$35,000 Avg. Amount
47.19% Tuition Covered
97.50% Received
LSAT Scores
168 Median Score
169 75th Percentile
165 25th Percentile
GPA
3.82 Median Score
3.9 75th Percentile
3.6 25th Percentile
Admission
12.96% Acceptance Rate
22.91% Yield
6839 Applicants
886 Admitted
203 Enrolled
Enrollment
1,414 Total Enrollment
613 JD Enrollment
801 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
148 Faculties
23 Staffs
10 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
92.13% Pass Rate
178 Exam Takers
10 Not Taken
164 Exam Passers
Employment
193 Total Graduates
187 Employed Full-time
1 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$75
Application deadline
2022-09-01 Application Open
2022-11-20 Early Decision
2023-02-01 Priority
2023-04-01 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://gould.usc.edu/admissions/
Application Requirements
https://gould.usc.edu/academics/degrees/jd/application/

Irvine School of Law

Public • Irvine, CA
Founded
2009
Tuition & Costs
$64,218 ($54,103 in-state)
$18,035 Living Costs
$3,188 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$20,000 Avg. Amount
31.14% Tuition Covered
99.40% Received
LSAT Scores
167 Median Score
168 75th Percentile
163 25th Percentile
GPA
3.69 Median Score
3.8 75th Percentile
3.5 25th Percentile
Admission
16.83% Acceptance Rate
27.39% Yield
3600 Applicants
606 Admitted
166 Enrolled
Enrollment
479 Total Enrollment
443 JD Enrollment
36 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
143 Faculties
36 Staffs
3 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
86.36% Pass Rate
132 Exam Takers
17 Not Taken
114 Exam Passers
Employment
211 Total Graduates
188 Employed Full-time
3 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
No Fees
Application deadline
2022-09-01 Application Open
2022-11-15 Priority
2023-03-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.law.uci.edu/admission/jd.html
Application Requirements
https://www.law.uci.edu/admission/apply/