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Here is how to get into Columbia law school, numbers first: it admits 11.8 percent, 1,120 offers on 9,463 applications, with medians of 173 and 3.92 and 25th percentiles of 169 and 3.85. Everything after that is strategy, and this page is the strategy.
11.8 percent for the fall 2025 entering class: 1,120 offers of admission on 9,463 completed applications, per Columbia's own 2025 ABA 509 report.
Class size grew 12.7% in one cycle, from 394 to 443, which is the single most useful fact in the file for anyone modelling Columbia's odds.
Verified figureValueAcceptance rate11.8% (1,120 offers on 9,463 applications)LSAT 25/50/75169 / 173 / 175GPA 25/50/753.85 / 3.92 / 3.98Annual cost of attendance$119,944Median grant / share receiving$32,000 to 54% of studentsClass of 2025 graduates458Firms of 101+ attorneys78.4% (359 graduates)Federal clerkships4.1% (19 graduates)Employed at 10 months97.6%Top marketsNY 332, DC 36, CA 28CityNew York, NYCar neededNoJanuary average low / July average high27.9F / 84.9F
Sources: Columbia's 2025 ABA 509 report (https://www.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/2025-12/cls_std509inforeport_2025.pdf), its class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary (https://law.columbia.edu/careers/employment-statistics), and its admissions pages (https://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/apply/early-decision). Climate from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals. Verified July 26, 2026.
The enrolled class tells you what Columbia actually takes. LSAT percentiles were 169 at the 25th, 173 at the median and 175 at the 75th.
A 173 clears the median and makes you numbers-competitive. A 175 puts you in the top quarter, which is where merit money conversations start. Below 169 you are under the disclosed floor and the rest of the file has to carry an unusual amount.
Moderately friendly.
GPA percentiles were 3.85 at the 25th, 3.92 at the median and 3.98 at the 75th. The 25th percentile is the number that matters most if your transcript is the weaker half of your file, because it is the disclosed floor rather than the advertised middle.
The spread between the median and the 25th is 0.07, which is narrow, so this school protects its GPA median hard and a low transcript is difficult to overcome.
Moderately unfriendly. Columbia is index-driven.
No school publishes admit rates by score band, so this grid is directional and built strictly from where each combination sits against the disclosed percentiles above.
Your positionRead on your oddsWhat to doLSAT 175+ and GPA 3.98+Above both 75th percentilesApply early and negotiate; you are who the aid budget exists forLSAT 173-175 and GPA 3.92-3.98At or above both mediansCompetitive; timing and the essay decide the marginLSAT 173+ and GPA below 3.85SplitterLSAT carries the file; addendum only if the GPA has a real storyLSAT 169-173 and GPA 3.92+Reverse splitterRetake is usually the highest-value moveLSAT 169-173 and GPA 3.85-3.92Below the class midpoint, inside the rangeEverything early and flawless; expect little aidBelow 169 or below 3.85Below the 25th percentileRetake, then rebuild the list
Percentile anchors from the 2025 ABA 509; the readings are our framework, not published admit rates.
Moderately unfriendly. Columbia is index-driven. Moderately friendly.
The disclosed evidence behind that: the GPA spread is 0.07 and the LSAT spread is 4 points. A wide GPA spread means the school routinely enrolls students well below its own transcript midpoint; a wide LSAT spread means the same on the test.
Yield protection: Moderate.
54% receive grants. Hamilton Fellowship and Public Interest/Public Service Fellowships are full tuition plus stipend.
The disclosed figures: a median grant of $32,000 reaching 54 percent of students, against a cost of attendance of $119,944. That puts the median student at roughly $87,944 a year before interest.
Since July 1, 2026 federal borrowing for professional students is capped at $50,000 a year and $200,000 in aggregate with Grad PLUS eliminated, under the Reimagining and Improving Student Education final rule, which attributes the change to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations). That leaves about $69,944 a year at sticker to close privately, our arithmetic.
Early decision: Binding, one round, November 15. Aid not expected before end of March; some denied ED applicants are re-reviewed in April with the regular pool.
Interviews: Yes: invitation-only, live Zoom, no longer than 20 minutes, evaluative. Requests explicitly refused.
Scholarship effect of applying early: Neutral. No eligibility restriction published.
Both lines come from the school's own admissions pages (https://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/apply/early-decision, https://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/faq), verified July 26, 2026. Prior cycle only. Page headed 2025-26 Early Decision Admissions Dates.
Both get a page of their own: the full early decision terms and the interview format and prep.
Columbia is the most numbers-mechanical of the top 10. Write clearly and professionally, but do not expect the essay to overcome an index shortfall.
Work experience: Preferred. 79% of the entering class was at least one year out of college.
Focused, transactional, credential-conscious, internationally diverse. The highest share of students who arrived knowing they wanted BigLaw.
The most efficient conversion of a JD into a Wall Street career that exists. Everything is oriented toward the New York corporate market.
The outcomes: 78.4 percent into firms of 101 or more attorneys, 4.1 percent into federal clerkships, 97.6 percent employed at ten months, concentrated in NY 332, DC 36, CA 28.
For the daily texture see what Columbia Law is really like, and for the verdict see our honest take.
The fall 2025 enrolled medians were 173 LSAT with a 169 twenty-fifth percentile and a 175 seventy-fifth. A 173 is numbers-competitive; 175 puts you in the top quarter.
11.8 percent for fall 2025, 1,120 offers on 9,463 completed applications, per its 2025 ABA 509 report.
Median 3.92, with a 3.85 twenty-fifth percentile and a 3.98 seventy-fifth. The spread of 0.07 between median and floor is what tells you how far below the middle the school will go.
54% receive grants. Hamilton Fellowship and Public Interest/Public Service Fellowships are full tuition plus stipend. The disclosed median grant is $32,000 reaching 54 percent of students.
Moderately unfriendly. Columbia is index-driven.
Written by Ali, Georgetown Law, founder of Lovare Institut.
July 30, 2026
July 30, 2026