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The UNC law school acceptance rate is 11.2 percent: 387 offers on 3,459 completed applications for fall 2025. Medians were 168 and 3.89, with 25th percentiles of 165 and 3.78; grants reach 95 percent of students. Here is how to get in against those numbers.
11.2 percent for the fall 2025 entering class: 387 offers of admission on 3,459 completed applications, per UNC's own 2025 ABA 509 report.
An 11.2% acceptance rate makes UNC more selective than its rank suggests, largely because in-state demand is intense.
Verified figureValueAcceptance rate11.2% (387 offers on 3,459 applications)LSAT 25/50/75165 / 168 / 169GPA 25/50/753.78 / 3.89 / 3.97Annual cost of attendance$62,496Median grant / share receiving$17,000 to 95% of studentsClass of 2025 graduates183Firms of 101+ attorneys38.3% (70 graduates)Federal clerkships4.4% (8 graduates)Employed at 10 months97.3%Top marketsNC 103, DC 13, NY 12CityChapel Hill, NCCar neededYesJanuary average low / July average high29.4F / 89.5F
Sources: UNC's 2025 ABA 509 report (https://law.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Std509InfoReport_2025.pdf), its class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary (https://law.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Final-EQ-Summary.pdf), and its admissions pages (https://law.unc.edu/admissions/apply-now/faqs/). Climate from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals. Verified July 26, 2026.
The enrolled class tells you what UNC actually takes. LSAT percentiles were 165 at the 25th, 168 at the median and 169 at the 75th.
A 168 clears the median and makes you numbers-competitive. A 169 puts you in the top quarter, which is where merit money conversations start. Below 165 you are under the disclosed floor and the rest of the file has to carry an unusual amount.
Moderately friendly.
GPA percentiles were 3.78 at the 25th, 3.89 at the median and 3.97 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 0.11, which is moderate, so a below-median GPA needs the LSAT to compensate.
Moderately unfriendly. UNC's numbers are tight and residency shapes the pool.
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 169+ and GPA 3.97+Above both 75th percentilesApply early and negotiate; you are who the aid budget exists forLSAT 168-169 and GPA 3.89-3.97At or above both mediansCompetitive; timing and the essay decide the marginLSAT 168+ and GPA below 3.78SplitterLSAT carries the file; addendum only if the GPA has a real storyLSAT 165-168 and GPA 3.89+Reverse splitterRetake is usually the highest-value moveLSAT 165-168 and GPA 3.78-3.89Below the class midpoint, inside the rangeEverything early and flawless; expect little aidBelow 165 or below 3.78Below 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. UNC's numbers are tight and residency shapes the pool. Moderately friendly.
The disclosed evidence behind that: the GPA spread is 0.11 and the LSAT spread is 3 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.
Roughly 95% receive grants, averaging about $17,000, on top of resident tuition of $31,562.
The disclosed figures: a median grant of $17,000 reaching 95 percent of students, against a cost of attendance of $62,496. That puts the median student at roughly $45,496 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 $12,496 a year at sticker to close privately, our arithmetic.
Early decision: None offered
Interviews: No
Both lines come from the school's own admissions pages (https://law.unc.edu/admissions/apply-now/faqs/), verified July 26, 2026. Terms reflect the most recently posted cycle; re-verify in September.
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.
North Carolina ties matter substantially. UNC is a state institution with a public mission and it reads applications accordingly.
Work experience: Neutral.
Rooted. A large majority are North Carolinians or have chosen North Carolina, and they intend to stay and build careers in the state.
The public-service law school of the South, and the lowest-cost route to a genuinely respected JD in the country.
The outcomes: 38.3 percent into firms of 101 or more attorneys, 4.4 percent into federal clerkships, 97.3 percent employed at ten months, concentrated in NC 103, DC 13, NY 12.
For the daily texture see what UNC Law is really like, and for the verdict see our honest take.
The fall 2025 enrolled medians were 168 LSAT with a 165 twenty-fifth percentile and a 169 seventy-fifth. A 168 is numbers-competitive; 169 puts you in the top quarter.
11.2 percent for fall 2025, 387 offers on 3,459 completed applications, per its 2025 ABA 509 report.
Median 3.89, with a 3.78 twenty-fifth percentile and a 3.97 seventy-fifth. The spread of 0.11 between median and floor is what tells you how far below the middle the school will go.
Roughly 95% receive grants, averaging about $17,000, on top of resident tuition of $31,562. The disclosed median grant is $17,000 reaching 95 percent of students.
Moderately unfriendly. UNC's numbers are tight and residency shapes the pool.
Written by Ali, Georgetown Law, founder of Lovare Institut.
July 30, 2026
July 30, 2026