Law School Admission Trends 2022-2026

-1.94%

Acceptance Rate

8.71%

Applicants

Law school admissions trends (2022-2026): Total applicants changed from 475,703 to 517,139 (8.71%). Admitted students changed from 135,643 to 137,399 (1.29%). First-year enrolled students changed from 40,338 to 42,059 (4.27%).

The acceptance rate — the share of applicants who were admitted — was 28.51% in the first year and 26.57% in the most recent year, representing a change of -1.94 percentage points. Yield, defined as the share of admitted students who enrolled, was 29.74% at the start of the period and 30.61% at the end, a change of 0.87 percentage points.

Law School Admission Trends

At a glance: Law School Admissions 2022-2026

  • Applicants: 475,703 → 517,139 (8.71%)
  • Admitted: 135,643 → 137,399 (1.29%)
  • Enrolled (Matriculants): 40,338 → 42,059 (4.27%)
  • Acceptance rate: 28.51% → 26.57% (-1.94 percentage points)
  • Yield (Enroll / Admitted): 29.74% → 30.61% (0.87 percentage points)

Pre-admitted & First-year Composition

The following items summarize pre-admitted students, first-year admissions, and the breakdown of first-year students by full- and part-time status.

  • Pre-admitted (pre-admits): 1,470 → 753 (-48.78%)
  • First-year Admission: 41,808 → 42,812 (2.40%)
  • Full-time: 39,073 → 38,342 (-1.87%)
  • Part-time: 3,645 → 3,896 (6.89%)

Gender Distribution

Over 2022-2026, male first-year enrollment changed from 18,494 to 18,188 (-1.65%), while female first-year enrollment changed from 24,032 to 23,605 (-1.78%). Other-gender first-year enrollment changed from 192 to 445 (131.77%). The following breakdown shows full- and part-time composition by gender for first-year students.

  • Male: 18,494 → 18,188 (-1.65%)
  • Full-time: 17,024 → 16,580 (-2.61%)
  • Part-time: 1,470 → 1,608 (9.39%)
  • Female: 24,032 → 23,605 (-1.78%)
  • Full-time: 21,874 → 21,344 (-2.42%)
  • Part-time: 2,158 → 2,261 (4.77%)
  • Another Gender: 192 → 445 (131.77%)
  • Full-time: 175 → 418 (138.86%)
  • Part-time: 17 → 27 (58.82%)

Admissions Measures Explained

  • Acceptance rate = Admitted / Applicants. It moved from 28.51% to 26.57% (-1.94 percentage points).
  • Yield = Enrolled / Admitted. It changed from 29.74% to 30.61% (0.87 percentage points).
  • These two measures together show how selective schools are (acceptance) and how successful they are at converting admits into matriculants (yield).

Acceptance Rate Changes For All Law Schools (2022-2026)

This table presents the law school acceptance rate changes by institution for each year from 2022-2026. It shows year-over-year acceptance rate values, inline percent changes when available, You can check the actual number of applicants and matriculants at each school's page.

Law School Acceptance Rate Changes by School (2022-2026)
School202220232024202520265 Years Average
University of Akron School of Law59.62%62.87%62.07%58.39%58.53%60.30%
The University of Alabama School of Law30.96%25.78%26.62%26.58%25.63%27.11%
Albany Law School50.37%50.15%54.87%47.62%37.45%48.09%
Washington College of Law27.94%33.77%35.69%39.78%33.28%34.09%
Appalachian School of Law42.21%48.50%54.19%43.74%60.93%49.91%
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law20.61%19.65%21.28%22.05%19.78%20.67%
James E. Rogers College of Law24.73%24.93%29.35%30.38%27.91%27.46%
University of Arkansas School of Law47.78%41.17%42.57%28.00%26.63%37.23%
William H. Bowen School of Law59.63%55.81%58.99%39.16%54.89%53.70%
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School43.06%45.79%46.88%45.49%32.65%42.77%
Ave Maria School of Law48.80%43.73%45.19%53.02%46.95%47.54%
University of Baltimore School of Law54.17%56.56%58.66%49.40%49.50%53.66%
Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law57.27%53.81%55.63%60.20%55.94%56.57%
Baylor Law School34.34%23.87%17.77%26.93%20.59%24.70%
Belmont University College of Law40.84%39.60%39.62%41.44%37.62%39.82%
Boston College Law School23.49%10.16%13.38%13.27%8.48%13.76%
Boston University School of Law18.33%16.33%17.82%20.61%12.08%17.03%
J. Reuben Clark Law School39.92%31.41%28.77%27.76%22.80%30.13%
Brooklyn Law School39.63%46.22%50.00%54.29%44.00%46.83%
California Western School of Law56.05%49.26%55.38%55.30%46.92%52.58%
Berkeley School of Law13.66%12.47%14.92%17.30%14.84%14.64%
Davis School of Law 28.26%25.18%28.99%33.16%21.06%27.33%
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco28.04%28.95%30.91%37.50%27.48%30.58%
Irvine School of Law16.83%19.45%18.18%17.38%14.92%17.35%
Los Angeles School of Law15.43%15.50%16.80%16.10%12.05%15.18%
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law54.57%55.71%38.66%50.53%50.68%50.03%
Capital University Law School75.62%67.45%77.52%72.18%65.90%71.73%
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law30.84%33.80%37.64%37.54%29.56%33.88%
Case Western Reserve University School of Law46.60%39.18%41.79%37.14%34.80%39.90%
Columbus School of Law39.72%33.33%31.83%34.63%32.40%34.38%
Chapman University School of Law28.26%28.70%30.68%27.14%20.53%27.06%
Charleston School of Law60.00%56.60%53.13%50.09%50.20%54.00%
University of Chicago Law School11.91%14.24%12.78%12.73%9.74%12.28%
Chicago-Kent College of Law53.14%50.55%50.45%49.35%38.61%48.42%
University of Cincinnati College of Law46.62%44.80%47.66%42.64%32.74%42.89%
City University of New York School of Law29.63%35.27%39.89%40.29%28.65%34.75%
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law23.09%48.46%35.88%37.78%34.45%35.93%
University of Colorado Boulder School of Law27.69%31.23%34.24%36.43%27.56%31.43%
Columbia Law School11.42%11.93%12.23%11.75%11.84%11.83%
University of Connecticut School of Law28.79%27.99%29.31%30.18%20.05%27.26%
Cornell Law School15.41%17.44%18.39%23.11%18.19%18.51%
Creighton University School of Law66.38%67.76%71.36%69.57%64.54%67.92%
University of Dayton School of Law25.76%28.32%34.30%37.66%30.66%31.34%
Sturm College of Law37.66%48.47%50.37%53.06%41.33%46.18%
DePaul University College of Law44.30%41.81%43.59%45.37%34.81%41.98%
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law52.63%56.13%52.22%47.72%41.41%50.02%
David A. Clarke School of Law42.15%50.29%44.34%37.10%36.98%42.17%
Drake University Law School66.48%71.28%69.42%60.17%54.82%64.43%
Drexel University School of Law32.01%31.03%34.16%37.79%29.64%32.93%
Duke University School of Law14.45%10.74%10.51%13.88%12.88%12.49%
Duquesne Kline School of Law53.87%56.31%55.43%56.02%43.23%52.97%
Elon University School of Law43.74%44.03%45.93%47.85%53.21%46.95%
Emory University School of Law27.31%26.05%40.87%40.12%30.09%32.89%
Thomas Goode Jones School of Law44.47%47.93%58.25%55.97%53.87%52.10%
Florida A&M University College of Law37.03%35.48%35.83%39.64%34.67%36.53%
Florida International University College of Law20.56%22.60%25.18%21.03%18.77%21.63%
Florida State University College of Law22.47%19.58%21.12%19.61%15.97%19.75%
Levin College of Law17.43%16.94%17.01%17.44%16.52%17.07%
Fordham University School of Law17.69%18.79%21.13%22.15%16.22%19.20%
George Mason University School of Law27.07%19.63%14.03%14.64%15.87%18.25%
The George Washington University Law School21.57%25.00%28.72%32.59%27.21%27.02%
Georgetown University Law Center12.88%17.64%19.57%20.13%15.75%17.19%
Georgia State University College of Law26.96%28.44%31.03%36.04%30.57%30.61%
University of Georgia School of Law18.48%14.83%14.77%14.48%12.72%15.06%
Golden Gate University-San Francisco School of Law51.55%25.53%22.43%——33.17%
Gonzaga University School of Law55.27%61.86%61.67%53.58%51.14%56.70%
Harvard Law School6.90%10.06%9.58%10.97%9.20%9.34%
William S. Richardson School of Law32.74%29.65%28.80%32.00%26.24%29.89%
Hofstra University School of Law42.28%44.74%50.38%50.86%40.56%45.76%
University of Houston Law Center30.69%32.13%32.27%28.44%22.99%29.30%
Howard University School of Law24.53%31.16%33.55%70.58%24.05%36.77%
University of Idaho College of Law58.89%66.77%75.27%67.23%66.76%66.98%
University of Illinois College of Law29.80%34.74%43.69%46.79%32.93%37.59%
Maurer School of Law36.13%43.35%46.86%39.45%35.77%40.31%
Robert H. McKinney School of Law58.63%64.85%62.29%62.92%55.86%60.91%
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law47.16%50.99%58.41%54.33%50.92%52.36%
University of Iowa College of Law42.51%41.28%47.71%59.76%44.43%47.14%
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law59.56%66.44%69.53%64.14%52.57%62.45%
University of Kansas School of Law53.86%55.33%48.71%38.30%39.08%47.06%
University of Kentucky College of Law45.75%50.12%52.54%48.24%40.78%47.49%
Lewis & Clark Law School45.18%52.02%67.88%63.29%54.72%56.62%
Liberty University School of Law57.83%55.16%56.43%59.08%58.76%57.45%
Duncan School of Law56.11%57.47%52.17%54.32%52.17%54.45%
Paul M. Hebert Law Center45.74%52.50%48.93%49.46%38.55%47.04%
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law51.46%54.21%57.64%64.40%63.39%58.22%
Loyola Law School29.36%34.42%33.92%30.60%26.05%30.87%
Loyola University Chicago School of Law39.97%41.75%43.92%43.02%28.18%39.37%
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law58.54%66.67%64.71%58.55%50.93%59.88%
University of Maine School of Law52.28%54.60%58.29%66.54%37.27%53.80%
Marquette University Law School42.72%41.04%45.51%29.42%22.11%36.16%
University of Maryland School of Law32.77%29.49%30.18%30.83%26.08%29.87%
McGeorge School of Law53.61%55.33%61.31%59.46%54.41%56.82%
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law48.48%41.22%43.66%43.76%41.07%43.64%
Mercer Law School35.98%46.11%46.98%43.27%37.75%42.02%
University of Miami School of Law30.07%33.47%32.94%29.13%24.65%30.05%
Michigan State University College of Law48.05%43.89%39.37%31.86%26.02%37.84%
University of Michigan Law School10.65%13.51%12.58%11.85%8.57%11.43%
University of Minnesota Law School27.57%37.17%39.76%34.93%26.70%33.23%
Mississippi College School of Law61.97%61.92%67.41%66.34%59.80%63.49%
University of Mississippi School of Law37.33%41.09%43.53%46.23%41.96%42.03%
University of Missouri School of Law51.73%51.38%52.49%52.01%41.98%49.92%
University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law54.24%52.10%58.87%61.86%45.94%54.60%
Mitchell Hamline School of Law62.38%64.91%67.43%60.35%51.40%61.29%
University of Montana School of Law40.91%66.09%71.49%53.93%51.41%56.77%
University of Nebraska - Lincoln College of Law62.61%60.94%65.90%62.12%40.15%58.34%
William S. Boyd School of Law31.37%35.44%33.59%40.50%30.78%34.34%
New England School of Law66.14%71.04%74.29%76.27%61.30%69.81%
University of New Hampshire School of Law49.70%51.74%57.38%60.14%51.96%54.18%
University of New Mexico School of Law51.44%47.05%53.48%51.58%41.41%48.99%
New York Law School48.53%51.53%53.11%52.71%39.67%49.11%
New York University School of Law14.52%15.65%16.76%16.67%13.39%15.40%
North Carolina Central University School of Law37.87%35.73%34.62%31.95%39.06%35.85%
University of North Carolina School of Law15.46%14.61%16.27%15.18%11.19%14.54%
University of North Dakota School of Law54.66%72.68%62.01%52.22%63.09%60.93%
Northeastern University School of Law24.40%31.05%37.27%36.20%24.22%30.63%
Northern Illinois University College of Law62.27%52.12%54.48%55.60%44.27%53.75%
Salmon P. Chase College of Law65.18%60.58%71.91%67.46%58.70%64.77%
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law13.91%15.05%15.53%15.36%12.30%14.43%
Notre Dame Law School17.51%24.58%24.39%23.26%16.07%21.16%
Shepard Broad Law Center48.91%33.41%55.11%56.61%47.33%48.27%
Claude W. Pettit College of Law47.29%59.43%68.25%11.53%31.96%43.69%
Michael E. Moritz College of Law32.10%37.11%33.08%29.40%24.62%31.26%
Oklahoma City University School of Law59.34%61.92%65.40%56.36%51.61%58.93%
University of Oklahoma College of Law50.11%42.52%47.23%39.41%33.36%42.53%
University of Oregon School of Law48.80%55.26%75.23%66.42%54.97%60.14%
Pace University School of Law48.10%51.62%53.34%52.42%44.13%49.92%
Penn State Dickinson Law39.58%36.80%35.37%41.33%42.99%39.21%
Penn State Law35.64%30.86%36.94%51.40%—38.71%
University of Pennsylvania Law School9.39%9.74%9.88%9.95%8.05%9.40%
Pepperdine University School of Law24.97%27.68%28.18%28.44%23.36%26.53%
University of Pittsburgh Law School36.60%33.20%39.45%51.66%34.87%39.16%
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law40.79%56.28%39.88%44.34%61.54%48.57%
University of Puerto Rico School of Law66.96%49.01%42.35%49.23%39.69%49.45%
Quinnipiac University School of Law58.41%67.03%58.33%61.46%43.10%57.67%
Regent University School of Law39.70%41.32%40.88%44.34%44.32%42.11%
University of Richmond School of Law36.29%33.67%41.46%42.91%39.64%38.79%
Roger Williams University School of Law63.02%67.27%65.19%67.67%61.32%64.89%
Rutgers Law School - Camden campus41.63%41.06%38.88%38.17%33.54%38.66%
Saint Louis University School of Law60.43%61.16%61.90%62.04%56.43%60.39%
Cumberland School of Law60.66%62.15%55.67%58.84%48.97%57.26%
University of San Diego School of Law31.02%34.48%33.61%37.10%23.51%31.94%
University of San Francisco School of Law46.93%46.35%55.23%54.52%42.38%49.08%
Santa Clara University School of Law53.34%52.29%52.43%66.33%52.58%55.39%
Seattle University School of Law51.95%54.92%52.26%53.23%38.93%50.26%
Seton Hall University School of Law48.71%40.27%45.58%42.83%34.27%42.33%
University of South Carolina School of Law38.26%37.63%34.00%29.50%29.90%33.86%
University of South Dakota School of Law68.98%67.46%76.16%65.57%62.47%68.13%
South Texas College of Law43.93%44.34%44.04%38.77%33.65%40.95%
Gould School of Law12.96%12.70%12.52%12.41%11.17%12.35%
Southern Illinois University School of Law59.21%56.71%60.47%67.35%56.22%59.99%
Dedman School of Law33.42%33.91%32.69%30.39%24.59%31.00%
Southern University Law Center53.94%59.71%53.46%62.90%56.55%57.31%
Southwestern Law School46.85%50.35%49.85%39.38%36.47%44.58%
St. John's University School of Law35.63%37.45%41.48%30.60%23.05%33.64%
St. Mary's University School of Law48.46%50.27%35.94%32.48%25.98%38.63%
St. Thomas University School of Law47.96%65.48%51.44%60.66%60.25%57.16%
University of St. Thomas School of Law63.64%39.91%72.17%64.36%57.62%59.54%
Stanford Law School6.28%6.88%7.26%8.85%6.10%7.07%
Stetson University College of Law40.88%30.95%38.39%40.99%36.44%37.53%
Suffolk University Law School56.42%60.71%64.30%65.30%61.85%61.72%
Syracuse University College of Law32.74%41.71%42.59%13.08%34.59%32.94%
Beasley School of Law32.75%36.55%39.40%35.77%24.38%33.77%
University of Tennessee College of Law28.86%33.18%30.21%26.30%24.77%28.66%
Texas A&M University School of Law18.41%16.33%14.64%13.48%12.10%14.99%
University of Texas School of Law15.24%14.56%14.90%15.60%13.99%14.86%
Thurgood Marshall School of Law28.18%38.17%39.65%35.63%33.12%34.95%
Texas Tech University School of Law34.26%36.80%38.08%33.54%25.61%33.66%
University of Toledo College of Law64.08%43.68%61.59%42.18%52.46%52.80%
Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center51.97%51.40%50.49%48.27%45.62%49.55%
Tulane University School of Law40.05%43.29%48.01%53.03%39.97%44.87%
University of Tulsa College of Law57.79%60.44%43.17%47.78%56.58%53.15%
University at Buffalo Law School38.66%44.04%41.08%44.75%42.37%42.18%
University of Massachusetts School of Law64.47%59.36%67.27%59.89%52.17%60.63%
UNT Dallas College of Law36.46%33.30%30.06%27.68%24.22%30.34%
S.J. Quinney College of Law25.52%31.95%30.20%24.76%25.28%27.54%
Vanderbilt University Law School14.25%14.53%16.76%18.45%13.26%15.45%
Vermont Law School65.83%60.94%64.19%64.66%58.53%62.83%
Villanova University School of Law17.80%16.47%22.50%21.93%25.93%20.93%
University of Virginia School of Law9.66%12.88%11.46%13.92%10.17%11.62%
Wake Forest University School of Law31.27%32.98%31.47%26.84%24.63%29.44%
Washburn University School of Law49.02%49.33%66.10%73.12%46.45%56.80%
Washington and Lee University School of Law31.44%32.71%31.44%31.68%22.73%30.00%
Washington University School of Law15.88%18.02%17.16%19.90%18.96%17.98%
University of Washington School of Law25.57%30.29%34.67%40.50%19.61%30.13%
Wayne State University Law School32.87%35.49%27.41%29.33%24.81%29.98%
West Virginia University College of Law59.15%41.14%45.13%43.75%40.34%45.90%
Cooley Law School48.95%48.15%46.15%47.59%52.91%48.75%
Western New England University School of Law57.42%63.54%59.82%61.60%51.89%58.85%
Western State College of Law46.03%44.61%45.14%48.48%43.67%45.59%
Widener Law Commonwealth58.87%60.18%65.00%66.49%60.40%62.19%
Willamette University College of Law61.06%58.93%69.34%66.53%61.42%63.46%
Marshall-Wythe School of Law30.09%46.01%27.31%32.23%21.97%31.52%
University of Wisconsin Law School36.15%35.18%35.58%28.93%19.12%30.99%
University of Wyoming College of Law50.83%50.96%55.09%61.97%35.82%50.93%
Yale Law School4.12%5.72%5.58%5.28%4.06%4.95%
Jacksonville University College of Law———34.41%35.14%34.78%
Widener Law Delaware62.12%65.69%67.83%66.37%59.68%64.34%
Wilmington University School of Law———54.93%52.01%53.47%