Nearly 40% of applicants were accepted to an ABA law school last cycle. Elite schools like Yale and Harvard, however, accepted fewer than 9%. These figures illustrate a system of mass rejection for the many and intense competition for a few coveted seats.
Key Takeaways
- Overall acceptance rate for ABA law schools in 2023: 39.5%.
- In 2023, 62% of applicants were white.
- Total applicants 2023-2024: 60,922.
- Total JD enrollments in fall 2023: 37,828.
- In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the average LSAT score for all applicants to ABA-accredited law schools was 152.75.
- The median undergraduate GPA for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 3.96.
Admissions decisions increasingly favor applicants with higher GPAs and stronger LSAT scores across recent cycles.
Related reading
01 · Category
Admissions Outcomes25 stats
01
Overall acceptance rate for ABA law schools in 2023: 39.5%.
02
Yale Law acceptance rate Class of 2027: 5.6%.
03
Harvard Law acceptance rate: 8.8%.
04
Stanford Law acceptance rate: 6.9%.
05
T14 average acceptance rate: 11.2%.
06
Chicago Law acceptance rate: 11.5%.
07
Median waitlist size across schools: 1,200 applicants.
08
Columbia Law acceptance rate: 12.2%.
09
NYU Law acceptance rate: 15.6%.
10
Penn Law acceptance rate: 11.1%.
11
Berkeley Law acceptance rate: 13.4%.
12
62% of accepted applicants enrolled somewhere.
13
Duke Law acceptance rate: 10.5%.
14
Northwestern acceptance rate: 15.5%.
15
Michigan Law acceptance rate: 13.5%.
16
UVA acceptance rate: 12.9%.
17
Cornell acceptance rate: 17.5%.
18
Georgetown acceptance rate: 17.6%.
19
Yield rate for T10 schools: 52%.
20
Average offers per applicant: 2.8.
21
Rejection rate for sub-150 LSAT: 85%.
22
Vanderbilt acceptance rate: 14.2%.
23
Texas Law acceptance rate: 15.8%.
24
Scholarship offers to 45% of accepted students.
25
USC Law acceptance rate: 12.5%.
Interpretation
Admissions Outcomes Interpretation
These statistics suggest that getting into law school is mostly an exercise in mass rejection, except for a few who then get to play musical chairs with the very few coveted seats.
02 · Category
Applicant Demographics25 stats
01
In 2023, 62% of applicants were white.
02
Women comprised 52.1% of law school applicants in 2023-2024.
03
15.3% of applicants identified as Hispanic/Latino in 2023.
04
Average age of applicants: 24.8 years.
05
7.2% of applicants were Black/African American in 2023 cycle.
06
5.1% of applicants reported as Asian American.
07
43% of applicants held STEM undergraduate majors.
08
First-generation college students: 22% of applicant pool.
09
11% of applicants had military experience.
10
LGBTQ+ identification among applicants: 9.4%.
11
28% of applicants from public universities.
12
International applicants: 2.3% of total.
13
18.5% of applicants disabled or with disabilities.
14
Humanities majors: 35% of applicants.
15
Median family income of applicants: $85,000.
16
6.8% Native American/Indigenous applicants.
17
Splitters (high LSAT low GPA): 15% of pool.
18
Social science majors: 22%.
19
3.2% multiracial applicants.
20
Out-of-state applicants to flagship publics: 65%.
21
24% of applicants over age 30.
22
Business majors: 12% of applicants.
23
Low-income applicants (under $50k): 18%.
24
41% female in T14 applicant pools.
25
Engineering majors: 4.5%.
Interpretation
Applicant Demographics Interpretation
The future legal field is being shaped by a surprisingly diverse and pragmatic new cohort that is still, however, wrestling with the stubborn ghost of its traditionally white and male-dominated past.
03 · Category
Application Trends and Volumes19 stats
01
Total applicants 2023-2024: 60,922.
02
Applications per applicant: 6.1 on average.
03
2023 cycle applications up 14% from 2022.
04
T14 received 40% of all applications.
05
CAS registrations: 72,000 in 2023.
06
Early decision applications: 5% of total.
07
Applications to top 20 schools: 250,000 total.
08
2010 peak applicants: 100,000+.
09
Post-2020 rebound: 25% increase in apps.
10
Rolling admissions fill 30% of seats.
11
Multiple LSAT submissions: 28% of applicants.
12
GRE applications: 15% of total submissions.
13
Fee waiver usage: 35% of applicants.
14
Cycle length: 95% apps by March 1.
15
2024 apps projected up 5%.
16
Regional apps: Northeast 32%.
17
Addendums submitted by 22%.
18
Letters of rec average: 3.2 per app.
19
Diversity statement inclusion: 65%.
Interpretation
Application Trends and Volumes Interpretation
The collective march to law school has become a frenzied, algorithmically-optimized pilgrimage, where a shrunken pool of 61,000 hopefuls, undeterred by the ghost of 100,000 past applicants, carpet-bomb the same elite fortresses with an average of six pleas each, all while carefully curating their three tributes and a diversity statement, proving that while the dream is still alive, the path to it is now a brutally efficient and meticulously documented grind.
More related reading
04 · Category
Enrollment and Yield25 stats
01
Total JD enrollments in fall 2023: 37,828.
02
Yale Law yield rate: 82.5%.
03
Harvard yield: 75.4%.
04
Stanford yield: 78.9%.
05
Overall yield rate for law schools: 48.2%.
06
Chicago yield: 62.3%.
07
Columbia yield: 58.1%.
08
NYU yield: 52.7%.
09
Penn yield: 60.4%.
10
Berkeley yield: 55.2%.
11
Duke yield: 57.8%.
12
Northwestern yield: 48.9%.
13
Michigan yield: 54.3%.
14
UVA yield: 61.2%.
15
Cornell yield: 49.5%.
16
Georgetown yield: 47.1%.
17
Full-time JD enrollment decline from 2010-2023: 24%.
18
T14 average yield: 62.1%.
19
Part-time enrollment: 12% of total JD students.
20
Median class size T50 schools: 185.
21
85% of enrollees attended their top choice school.
22
International student enrollment: 3.5%.
23
Women in entering classes: 51.2%.
24
Deferred enrollment offers: 4.2% of admits.
25
Average merit aid per enrollee: $42,000.
Interpretation
Enrollment and Yield Interpretation
While the overall law school market is a daunting negotiation where most students happily accept their first offer, Yale, Harvard, and Stanford operate on a different plane, practically sending a "don't even bother to apply unless you're already ours" vibe to the other top schools.
05 · Category
LSAT Performance30 stats
01
In the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the average LSAT score for all applicants to ABA-accredited law schools was 152.75.
02
The 75th percentile LSAT score for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 175.
03
12.4% of LSAT test takers in 2023 scored 170 or above.
04
The median LSAT for Harvard Law School entering class 2027 was 174.
05
In 2022, 52,000 unique LSAT takers applied to law school.
06
Stanford Law School's 25th-75th LSAT range for Class of 2026 was 171-178.
07
LSAT scores increased by 1.5 points on average from 2020 to 2023 due to remote testing.
08
8.2% of 2023 LSAT takers achieved a perfect score of 180.
09
University of Chicago Law School median LSAT for 2027 class was 173.
10
The correlation between LSAT score and first-year law school GPA is 0.44.
11
Columbia Law School's 75th percentile LSAT for entering class was 175.
12
In 2024, the number of 170+ LSAT scores awarded rose 20% from prior year.
13
NYU Law median LSAT for Class of 2027 was 172.
14
LSAT Fee Waiver recipients averaged 149.2 in 2023.
15
Penn Law's LSAT median for 2027 entrants was 171.
16
25% of T14 law schools require LSAT above 170 for competitive applicants.
17
UC Berkeley Law median LSAT Class of 2027: 170.
18
Average LSAT retake improvement is 2.8 points per attempt.
19
Duke Law 75th percentile LSAT: 170.
20
2023 LSAT standard deviation was 10.1 points across test takers.
21
Northwestern Law median LSAT: 171.
22
LSAT scores predict bar passage at r=0.28.
23
Michigan Law median LSAT Class 2027: 171.
24
170+ LSAT scorers comprise 4.5% of applicants to top 20 schools.
25
UVA Law median LSAT: 170.
26
GRE to LSAT concordance shows median GRE equivalent to 160 LSAT for many schools.
27
Cornell Law median LSAT: 170.
28
LSAT takers from 2023: 124,000 total administrations.
29
Georgetown Law median LSAT: 171.
30
75th percentile LSAT for non-URM applicants rose to 162 in 2023.
Interpretation
LSAT Performance Interpretation
While the average law school hopeful humbly circles 152, the elite gates to Yale and Columbia demand a near-perfect 175, yet even scoring a godly 170 only makes you a member of a distressingly common 4.5% minority fighting for a seat at the T14 table.
06 · Category
Undergraduate GPA26 stats
01
The median undergraduate GPA for Yale Law School Class of 2027 was 3.96.
02
Harvard Law School median GPA for entering class 2027 was 3.93.
03
Stanford Law School's 25th-75th GPA range for Class of 2026 was 3.82-3.99.
04
University of Chicago Law median GPA 2027: 3.91.
05
Overall applicant median GPA in 2023-2024 cycle was 3.58.
06
Columbia Law School median GPA: 3.87.
07
NYU Law median GPA Class of 2027: 3.88.
08
Penn Law median GPA: 3.92.
09
UC Berkeley Law median GPA 2027: 3.87.
10
Duke Law median GPA: 3.87.
11
Correlation between UGPA and 1L GPA is 0.36.
12
Northwestern Law median GPA: 3.92.
13
Michigan Law median GPA Class 2027: 3.85.
14
UVA Law median GPA: 3.94.
15
Cornell Law median GPA: 3.90.
16
Georgetown Law median GPA: 3.91.
17
Average GPA for accepted students at T14 schools: 3.89.
18
75th percentile GPA for all applicants in 2023: 3.79.
19
Median GPA for URMs at top schools: 3.72 vs 3.85 non-URM.
20
UCLA Law median GPA: 3.92.
21
Median GPA decline for applicants from 2010-2023: -0.05.
22
Vanderbilt Law median GPA: 3.89.
23
Texas Law median GPA: 3.84.
24
USC Law median GPA: 3.88.
25
Boston University Law median GPA: 3.86.
26
Washington University St. Louis median GPA: 3.94.
Interpretation
Undergraduate GPA Interpretation
If you're dreaming of a top law school, you'd better have a transcript that gleams like a polished gavel, but remember that once you're in, your undergraduate GPA becomes about as predictive of your first-year success as a Magic 8-Ball.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Law School Admission Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/law-school-admission-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Law School Admission Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/law-school-admission-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Law School Admission Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/law-school-admission-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level