.png)
Here is how to get into Duke law school, numbers first: it admits 12.9 percent, 804 offers on 6,240 applications, with medians of 171 and 3.91 and 25th percentiles of 169 and 3.83. Everything after that is strategy, and this page is the strategy.
12.9 percent for the fall 2025 entering class: 804 offers of admission on 6,240 completed applications, per Duke's own 2025 ABA 509 report.
Duke competes on money. If you have a competing offer, Duke will often move, and it is one of the most negotiable schools in the tier.
Verified figureValueAcceptance rate12.9% (804 offers on 6,240 applications)LSAT 25/50/75169 / 171 / 172GPA 25/50/753.83 / 3.91 / 3.96Annual cost of attendance$113,428Median grant / share receiving$35,000 to 94% of studentsClass of 2025 graduates230Firms of 101+ attorneys74.8% (172 graduates)Federal clerkships11.7% (27 graduates)Employed at 10 months99.6%Top marketsNY 80, DC 27, CA 24CityDurham, NCCar neededYesJanuary average low / July average high31.8F / 90.8F
Sources: Duke's 2025 ABA 509 report (https://law.duke.edu/sites/default/files/news/Std509InfoReport2025.pdf), its class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary (https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=109&year=2025), and its admissions pages (https://law.duke.edu/admis/apply/early/). Climate from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals. Verified July 26, 2026.
The enrolled class tells you what Duke actually takes. LSAT percentiles were 169 at the 25th, 171 at the median and 172 at the 75th.
A 171 clears the median and makes you numbers-competitive. A 172 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 3.83 at the 25th, 3.91 at the median and 3.96 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 0.08, which is narrow, so this school protects its GPA median hard and a low transcript is difficult to overcome.
Friendly. Duke is one of the more splitter-tolerant schools in the top 10.
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 172+ and GPA 3.96+Above both 75th percentilesApply early and negotiate; you are who the aid budget exists forLSAT 171-172 and GPA 3.91-3.96At or above both mediansCompetitive; timing and the essay decide the marginLSAT 171+ and GPA below 3.83SplitterLSAT carries the file; addendum only if the GPA has a real storyLSAT 169-171 and GPA 3.91+Reverse splitterRetake is usually the highest-value moveLSAT 169-171 and GPA 3.83-3.91Below the class midpoint, inside the rangeEverything early and flawless; expect little aidBelow 169 or below 3.83Below the 25th percentileRetake, then rebuild the list
Percentile anchors from the 2025 ABA 509; the readings are our framework, not published admit rates.
Friendly. Duke is one of the more splitter-tolerant schools in the top 10. Moderately friendly.
The disclosed evidence behind that: the GPA spread is 0.08 and the LSAT spread is 2 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: High. Duke is one of the most yield-protective schools in the T14 and will waitlist very strong applicants.
94% receive grants, the highest rate in the tier, median $35,000. Mordecai and Duke Law Scholars are full tuition.
The disclosed figures: a median grant of $35,000 reaching 94 percent of students, against a cost of attendance of $113,428. That puts the median student at roughly $78,428 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 $63,428 a year at sticker to close privately, our arithmetic.
Early decision: Binding, two rounds: November 1 Round I and January 3 Round II. Round I decisions by end of December, Round II by end of January. Regular decision February 15.
Interviews: Three different things, and Duke's own pages do not agree. (1) Duke's application page states that since it is unable to offer interviews due to large application volume, applicants are invited to write a short essay instead, which is the interview substitute. (2) The FAQ carves out a discretionary invitation-only campus interview where the committee decides more information would help.
Scholarship effect of applying early: No ED scholarship consequence stated either way. Duke's own page warns that ED is most appropriate if you do not anticipate needing to compare offers of financial aid.
Both lines come from the school's own admissions pages (https://law.duke.edu/admis/apply/early/, https://law.duke.edu/apply/faq), verified July 26, 2026. Two cycles stale, the worst in the set. Posted dates are for the 2025 entering class and the linked ED contract PDF is from the 2008 entering term.
One caution for anyone cross-checking us against a secondary summary. Widely circulated write-ups of this school's early decision and interview policy are out of date on this point, which is why every line above carries the school's own URL rather than a citation to a compilation.
Both get a page of their own: the full early decision terms and the interview format and prep.
Duke wants to know you will actually attend and will contribute to a 227-person community. Fit and enthusiasm carry unusual weight.
Work experience: Neutral to slightly preferred.
Ambitious, friendly, outcome-focused, sporty. Heavy on people who chose Duke over a higher-ranked school for money and never regretted it.
A small, warm, ruthlessly effective placement machine that happens to be in North Carolina.
The outcomes: 74.8 percent into firms of 101 or more attorneys, 11.7 percent into federal clerkships, 99.6 percent employed at ten months, concentrated in NY 80, DC 27, CA 24.
For the daily texture see what Duke Law is really like, and for the verdict see our honest take.
The fall 2025 enrolled medians were 171 LSAT with a 169 twenty-fifth percentile and a 172 seventy-fifth. A 171 is numbers-competitive; 172 puts you in the top quarter.
12.9 percent for fall 2025, 804 offers on 6,240 completed applications, per its 2025 ABA 509 report.
Median 3.91, with a 3.83 twenty-fifth percentile and a 3.96 seventy-fifth. The spread of 0.08 between median and floor is what tells you how far below the middle the school will go.
94% receive grants, the highest rate in the tier, median $35,000. Mordecai and Duke Law Scholars are full tuition. The disclosed median grant is $35,000 reaching 94 percent of students.
Friendly. Duke is one of the more splitter-tolerant schools in the top 10.
Written by Ali, Georgetown Law, founder of Lovare Institut.
July 30, 2026
July 30, 2026