The Most Selective Law Schools In The U.S.

Yale Law School remains the most selective in the country

Yale Law School remains the most selective in the country

Which are the most selective law schools in the U.S.? The list contains quite a few surprises.
Sure, you’ll find Yale University’s Law School at the very top, selecting less than one in every 10 applicants for the roughly 200 available seats in the school’s three-year J.D. program: 8.3% despite several years of application declines.
Yale Law School received 2,943 applications in 2012, accepted 245 applicants and enrolled a class of 203 students. That compares with 3,173 applicants in 2011 and 3,797 applicants in 2010. Even so, Yale’s small class size and prestige combine to make its admissions process the most competitive in the United States
Not far behind Yale on the most selective list are two California powerhouse schools, Stanford University and UC-Berkeley, with acceptance rates of 9.7% and 11.6%, respectively.
Rounding out the top five are the law schools at the University of Virginia (15.2%) and the University of Pennsylvania (15.5%).
The surprises? Consider UC-Irvine, Baylor and the University of Richmond, which all have acceptance rates that make them even choosier than Northwestern, Michigan or Georgetown. UC-Irvine, which accepted only 20.0% of its applicants last year, is the only unranked school by U.S. News & World Report to be among the top ten most selective in the country. Irvine only opened its law school four years ago in 2009.

The Most Selective Law Schools in the U.S.

 

School Acceptance Rate
Yale University 8.3%
Stanford University 9.7%
UC-Berkeley 11.6%
University of Virginia 15.2%
University of Pennsylvania 15.5%
Harvard University 16.1%
Columbia University 18.4%
Duke University 19.1%
University of Chicago 20.1%
UC-Irvine 21.0%
Baylor University 21.2%
University of Richmond 21.4%
University of Washington 21.8%
Florida International University 22.2%
University of Minnesota 23.2%
Northwestern University 23.7%
UCLA 23.7%
University of Notre Dame 23.7%
University of Michigan 24.5%
University of Alabama 25.2%
City University of New York 25.4%
University of Maryland 26.6%
Georgia State University 26.8%
University of Texas-Austin 27.2%
New York University 27.9%
University of North Carolina 28.3%
Georgetown University 28.4%
Washington University 28.5%
University of Southern California 29.0%
Cornell University 29.1%

 Source: Law schools reporting to U.S. News & World Report