Five of the eight Ivy League universities have law schools: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Carey Law), and Cornell. Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth have none. All five sit in the T14 and place graduates heavily into large firms and federal clerkships. Their exact U.S. News positions shift yearly, but each admits only very strong LSAT and GPA numbers.
By Ali Unar, Founder, Lovare Institut; JD/MSFS Candidate, Georgetown University. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
Only five of the eight Ivy League universities operate a law school: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania, whose law school is named Penn Carey Law. Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth have never had a law school. Remember that the Ivy League is an athletic conference, not a ranking, so several elite law schools sit entirely outside it.
All five Ivy League law schools belong to the T14, the group that has effectively always held the top U.S. News tier. The table names the five with the numbers that drive admissions and rankings, all of which should be confirmed against current sources.
See the U.S. News Best Law Schools list for the up-to-date order, and each school's ABA Standard 509 report for its median LSAT, GPA, and acceptance rate.
Yale Law is the smallest and most academic, known for feeding clerkships and legal academia, while Harvard Law is much larger with a vast alumni network and broad course offerings. Columbia and Penn Carey are strong in corporate law and tied to the New York and regional markets, and Cornell is smaller with a reputation for a collegial culture. Class sizes and yields differ, so confirm each school's figures in its ABA 509 report.
Compare your LSAT and GPA to each school's medians first, because all five are reaches for most applicants. Then weigh career goals, since some students prioritize clerkship and academic placement while others target big-firm corporate work. Location, class size, financial aid, and culture round out the decision, and admitted-student visits help you feel the differences these numbers cannot capture.
No, Princeton University does not have a law school, and neither does Brown or Dartmouth. Among the eight Ivy League universities, only Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania operate law schools. Students who want a law degree from an Ivy League university therefore choose among those five, each of which sits in the T14.
Yale Law School has consistently ranked at or near the top of the U.S. News law rankings, so it is frequently called the strongest Ivy League law school. Rankings shift year to year, and Harvard and Columbia sit closely behind. The best choice depends on fit and career goals, not the headline rank alone.
Ivy League law schools are among the best, but they are not the only top schools, because the Ivy League is an athletic conference rather than a ranking. Elite schools such as Stanford, the University of Chicago, and NYU rival or exceed several Ivy law schools in the U.S. News rankings. The T14 concept captures this broader top tier better than the Ivy label does.
Admission to an Ivy League law school is extremely competitive, with acceptance rates among the lowest of any law schools and medians at the top of the LSAT and GPA scales. Successful applicants generally sit at or above a school's 75th percentile numbers or offer exceptional strengths elsewhere. Compare your figures to each school's ABA 509 data.
Verified August 2026.
September 20, 2026
September 20, 2026