Top New York Law Schools Comparison

There are 16 ABA-accredited law schools in New York. 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 New York at New York law school search page.
The following list compares 5 schools with important law school statistics - Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law, Cornell Law School, Fordham University School of Law, and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
  • All 5 schools are private.
  • Columbia Law School's tuition is the most expensive ($78,278) and Fordham University School of Law's tuition is the lowest ($66,750).
  • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law offers the best financial aid of $40,000 which is 58.43% of tuition amount.
  • Columbia Law School has the lowest acceptance rate of 11.42%) and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has the highest rate of 30.84%).
  • Columbia Law School has the highest LSAT score of 174 and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has the lowest score of 164.
  • New York University School of Law has the highest GPA of 3.86 and Fordham University School of Law has the lowest GPA of 3.70.
  • New York University School of Law is the largest school with 2,430 enrolled students and Cornell Law School is the smallest school with 737 students.
  • New York University School of Law has the highest bar exam pass rate of 98.00% and Fordham University School of Law has the lowest rate of 90.02%.
  • New York University School of Law is the oldest school founded in 1835 and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the most recently founded in 1976.
  • Columbia Law School requires the most expensive application fees of $85.

Columbia Law School

Private • New York, NY
Founded
1858
Tuition & Costs
$78,278 tuition & fees
$21,578 Living Costs
$4,800 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$15,000 Avg. Amount
19.16% Tuition Covered
84.67% Received
LSAT Scores
174 Median Score
176 75th Percentile
172 25th Percentile
GPA
3.84 Median Score
3.92 75th Percentile
3.75 25th Percentile
Admission
11.42% Acceptance Rate
39.44% Yield
9612 Applicants
1098 Admitted
433 Enrolled
Enrollment
1,520 Total Enrollment
1,293 JD Enrollment
227 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
367 Faculties
60 Staffs
4 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
96.36% Pass Rate
412 Exam Takers
18 Not Taken
397 Exam Passers
Employment
460 Total Graduates
451 Employed Full-time
0 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$85
Application deadline
2022-09-01 Application Open
2022-11-15 Early Decision
2023-02-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd
Application Requirements
https://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/apply/regular-admission

New York University School of Law

Private • New York, NY
Founded
1835
Tuition & Costs
$76,290 tuition & fees
$26,059 Living Costs
$1,144 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$26,000 Avg. Amount
34.08% Tuition Covered
54.92% Received
LSAT Scores
172 Median Score
174 75th Percentile
170 25th Percentile
GPA
3.86 Median Score
3.93 75th Percentile
3.73 25th Percentile
Admission
14.52% Acceptance Rate
29.43% Yield
10713 Applicants
1556 Admitted
458 Enrolled
Enrollment
2,430 Total Enrollment
1,413 JD Enrollment
1,017 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
393 Faculties
64 Staffs
6 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
98.00% Pass Rate
450 Exam Takers
35 Not Taken
441 Exam Passers
Employment
466 Total Graduates
457 Employed Full-time
0 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$85
Application deadline
2022-11-15 Early Decision
2023-02-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.law.nyu.edu/jdadmissions
Application Requirements
https://www.law.nyu.edu/jdadmissions/applicants/admissionsinformationandinstructions

Cornell Law School

Private • Ithaca, NY
Founded
1887
Tuition & Costs
$74,184 tuition & fees
$18,466 Living Costs
$3,300 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$20,000 Avg. Amount
26.96% Tuition Covered
83.39% Received
LSAT Scores
171 Median Score
173 75th Percentile
169 25th Percentile
GPA
3.86 Median Score
3.95 75th Percentile
3.75 25th Percentile
Admission
15.41% Acceptance Rate
20.56% Yield
5998 Applicants
924 Admitted
190 Enrolled
Enrollment
737 Total Enrollment
580 JD Enrollment
157 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
181 Faculties
39 Staffs
4 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
95.72% Pass Rate
187 Exam Takers
20 Not Taken
179 Exam Passers
Employment
193 Total Graduates
187 Employed Full-time
0 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$80
Application deadline
2022-11-01 Early Decision I
2023-01-08 Early Decision II
2023-03-01 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/
Application Requirements
https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/

Fordham University School of Law

Private • New York, NY
Founded
1905
Tuition & Costs
$66,750 tuition & fees
$23,066 Living Costs
$4,478 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$25,000 Avg. Amount
37.45% Tuition Covered
84.55% Received
LSAT Scores
166 Median Score
168 75th Percentile
164 25th Percentile
GPA
3.7 Median Score
3.8 75th Percentile
3.51 25th Percentile
Admission
17.69% Acceptance Rate
31.28% Yield
7882 Applicants
1394 Admitted
436 Enrolled
Enrollment
1,754 Total Enrollment
1,332 JD Enrollment
422 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
379 Faculties
69 Staffs
5 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
90.02% Pass Rate
381 Exam Takers
28 Not Taken
343 Exam Passers
Employment
406 Total Graduates
384 Employed Full-time
1 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
$75
Application deadline
2022-09-15 Application Open
2022-10-15 Early Decision
2023-03-15 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://www.fordham.edu/info/20612/school_of_law_admissions
Application Requirements
https://www.fordham.edu/info/21178/application_procedure_and_requirements

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Private • New York, NY
Founded
1976
Tuition & Costs
$68,462 tuition & fees
$22,143 Living Costs
$2,400 Personal Expenses
Financial Aid
$40,000 Avg. Amount
58.43% Tuition Covered
95.16% Received
LSAT Scores
164 Median Score
166 75th Percentile
160 25th Percentile
GPA
3.74 Median Score
3.86 75th Percentile
3.53 25th Percentile
Admission
30.84% Acceptance Rate
26.40% Yield
3820 Applicants
1178 Admitted
311 Enrolled
Enrollment
996 Total Enrollment
939 JD Enrollment
57 Non-JD Enrollment
Faculties & Staffs
297 Faculties
49 Staffs
3 to 1 Students to Faculty
Bar Exam
90.83% Pass Rate
327 Exam Takers
27 Not Taken
297 Exam Passers
Employment
323 Total Graduates
289 Employed Full-time
7 Employed Part-time
Application Fees
No Fees
Application deadline
2023-04-01 Regular Decision
Admission Info
General Admission
https://cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/jd-admissions
Application Requirements
https://cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/application-information