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Here is how to get into UVA law school, numbers first: it admits 10.2 percent, 685 offers on 6,734 applications, with medians of 173 and 3.99 and 25th percentiles of 168 and 3.83. Everything after that is strategy, and this page is the strategy.
10.2 percent for the fall 2025 entering class: 685 offers of admission on 6,734 completed applications, per UVA's own 2025 ABA 509 report.
Demonstrated interest matters more here than at any other top-10 school. Visit, engage, and say why UVA specifically.
Verified figureValueAcceptance rate10.2% (685 offers on 6,734 applications)LSAT 25/50/75168 / 173 / 175GPA 25/50/753.83 / 3.99 / 4.04Annual cost of attendance$111,420Median grant / share receiving$35,000 to 66% of studentsClass of 2025 graduates308Firms of 101+ attorneys69.2% (213 graduates)Federal clerkships10.7% (33 graduates)Employed at 10 months98.7%Top marketsDC 87, NY 75, CA 28CityCharlottesville, VACar neededYesJanuary average low / July average high29.5F / 89.7F
Sources: UVA's 2025 ABA 509 report (https://www.law.virginia.edu/document/2025-aba-report/view), its class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary (https://www.law.virginia.edu/document/aba-employment-data-2025/view), and its admissions pages (https://www.law.virginia.edu/admissions/admissions/jd-application-information). Climate from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals. Verified July 26, 2026.
The enrolled class tells you what UVA actually takes. LSAT percentiles were 168 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 168 you are under the disclosed floor and the rest of the file has to carry an unusual amount.
Friendly.
GPA percentiles were 3.83 at the 25th, 3.99 at the median and 4.04 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 0.16, which is moderate, so a below-median GPA needs the LSAT to compensate.
Unfriendly. UVA's 3.99 GPA median is the highest 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 175+ and GPA 4.04+Above both 75th percentilesApply early and negotiate; you are who the aid budget exists forLSAT 173-175 and GPA 3.99-4.04At or above both mediansCompetitive; timing and the essay decide the marginLSAT 173+ and GPA below 3.83SplitterLSAT carries the file; addendum only if the GPA has a real storyLSAT 168-173 and GPA 3.99+Reverse splitterRetake is usually the highest-value moveLSAT 168-173 and GPA 3.83-3.99Below the class midpoint, inside the rangeEverything early and flawless; expect little aidBelow 168 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.
Unfriendly. UVA's 3.99 GPA median is the highest in the top 10. Friendly.
The disclosed evidence behind that: the GPA spread is 0.16 and the LSAT spread is 5 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: Real and well documented. UVA protects yield more visibly than most peers.
66% receive grants, median $35,000. The Karsh-Dillard Scholarship is full tuition plus a stipend.
The disclosed figures: a median grant of $35,000 reaching 66 percent of students, against a cost of attendance of $111,420. That puts the median student at roughly $76,420 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 $61,420 a year at sticker to close privately, our arithmetic.
Early decision: Binding Expedited Decision, and it is NOT an early deadline. BED runs rolling for the whole cycle up to March 1, 2027, the same date as regular decision. What the applicant buys is speed: a decision within 21 business days of the file being marked complete.
Interviews: Yes: invitation-only, evaluative, initiated by the Office of Admissions; applicants may not request one. Format is NOT PUBLISHED. UVA gives no platform, no length, and does not say whether it is one-on-one or a panel, on the admissions process page, the FAQ or the prospective-student guide.
Scholarship effect of applying early: BED admits are eligible for both merit and need-based aid exactly as regular decision admits are.
Both lines come from the school's own admissions pages (https://www.law.virginia.edu/admissions/admissions/jd-admissions/faqs), verified July 26, 2026. Current cycle posted, one of only three in this set: March 1, 2027. Note the legacy page path still serves last cycle's March 1, 2026 date; the current information sits under the jd-admissions path.
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.
UVA reads for the person. It is the T14 most likely to admit on the strength of character and community contribution rather than raw index.
Work experience: Preferred. UVA has a notably high veteran population.
Well-rounded, socially fluent, athletic, disproportionately veterans and public-service-minded. The highest ratio of people you'd want to have a beer with.
The happiest law school in America, and the only one where the social culture is a nationally recognized recruiting asset.
The outcomes: 69.2 percent into firms of 101 or more attorneys, 10.7 percent into federal clerkships, 98.7 percent employed at ten months, concentrated in DC 87, NY 75, CA 28.
For the daily texture see what UVA Law is really like, and for the verdict see our honest take.
Our verified data layer for UVA is missing the ED mechanics (UVA runs a Binding Expedited Decision rather than a conventional early decision). Everything else on this page is sourced; that one item is not, so we have written around it rather than guessing. Confirm it with the admissions office before you rely on it.
The fall 2025 enrolled medians were 173 LSAT with a 168 twenty-fifth percentile and a 175 seventy-fifth. A 173 is numbers-competitive; 175 puts you in the top quarter.
10.2 percent for fall 2025, 685 offers on 6,734 completed applications, per its 2025 ABA 509 report.
Median 3.99, with a 3.83 twenty-fifth percentile and a 4.04 seventy-fifth. The spread of 0.16 between median and floor is what tells you how far below the middle the school will go.
66% receive grants, median $35,000. The Karsh-Dillard Scholarship is full tuition plus a stipend. The disclosed median grant is $35,000 reaching 66 percent of students.
Unfriendly. UVA's 3.99 GPA median is the highest in the top 10.
Written by Ali, Georgetown Law, founder of Lovare Institut.
July 30, 2026
July 30, 2026