How to Get Into Cleveland State Law School: LSAT, GPA & Admissions (2026)

The short answer to how to get into Cleveland State Law School is to reach the medians in Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 155 LSAT and a 3.6 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 152 to 159 and earned 3.35 to 3.79, so a file at both medians is solidly in range.

By Ali Unar, Georgetown Law, Founder of Lovare Institut. Ali Unar is a Georgetown Law student and the founder of Lovare Institut, an admissions and LSAT-prep practice built on primary-source law school data. Verified August 2026. Admissions figures on this page come from Cleveland State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, employment figures from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and bar passage and other details from Cleveland State Law's own published ABA reports and pages.

Cleveland State Law School, formally the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, is far more selective within its band than its reputation or its acceptance rate suggests, and it sends an unusually high share of graduates into large Cleveland firms. Among the 59 ABA law schools whose median LSAT is within two points of Cleveland State Law's 155, Cleveland State Law ranks 7th most selective, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 18.0% of its graduates landing at large firms of 101 or more lawyers, the strongest large-firm share among the Ohio public schools in its tier. The honest counterweight, disclosed plainly on this page, is that Cleveland State Law reports 13.0% first-year academic attrition in the same 509, a notably high figure that any applicant should weigh before enrolling. The thesis of this page is that Cleveland State Law School is a selective, Cleveland-focused school with real large-firm reach and a first-year academic gate that is steeper than most peers.

Cleveland State Law School at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

Cleveland State Law School posts a 155 LSAT median, a 3.6 GPA median, and a 34.45% acceptance rate in Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Resident tuition and fees run $31,566 and nonresident $31,666, a nearly identical figure. The table below collects the headline numbers for the fall 2025 entering class.

MetricCleveland State Law School (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)152 / 155 / 159GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.35 / 3.6 / 3.79Acceptance rate34.45%Applications1,733Offers of admission597Matriculants from the applicant pool195First-year class195 (120 full-time + 75 part-time)Full-time tuition and feesResident $31,566 / nonresident $31,666Living expenses$21,870Share receiving grants98%Median grant$11,000Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage77.67%Employed at ten months93.7% (104 of 111)

Source: Cleveland State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, with employment from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 and bar passage from Cleveland State Law's ABA bar-passage report. The 509 prints tuition and living expenses separately and does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page does not sum them into an all-in figure.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into Cleveland State Law School?

Cleveland State Law School reports an LSAT spread of 152 to 159 and a GPA spread of 3.35 to 3.79 in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. A 155 LSAT and a 3.6 GPA sit at both medians. Below the 152 LSAT or the 3.35 GPA, an applicant needs a clear compensating strength on the other number.

Cleveland State Law School reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 152, 155, and 159, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.35, 3.6, and 3.79 for the fall 2025 entering class, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of the enrolled class scored above 155 on the LSAT and above 3.6 in GPA, and half scored below. The LSAT band is moderately wide, running seven points from the 152 bottom quartile to the 159 top quartile, which means Cleveland State Law admits a real spread of scores rather than clustering tightly at the median.

The realistic read is straightforward. A 155 LSAT paired with a 3.6 GPA places you at both Cleveland State Law School medians, the position from which a file competes on its merits. Drop below the 152 LSAT that marks the 25th percentile, or below the 3.35 GPA at the same rung, and Cleveland State Law will look for a clear compensating strength on the other number. A 159 LSAT can carry a 3.35 GPA; a 3.79 GPA can carry a 152 LSAT. What the numbers do not support is a file below both quartiles at once, which is the profile the school is least likely to reach for, and it is worth noting that Cleveland State Law's steep first-year attrition, addressed below, makes the underlying academic preparation behind those numbers matter as much as the numbers themselves.

On the splitter question, Lovare reads Cleveland State Law School as splitter friendly. The 509 shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.25 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of three points, and Lovare's read is that Cleveland State Law forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high. A splitter is a high-LSAT, lower-GPA applicant; a reverse-splitter is the opposite. The practical version at Cleveland State Law School is that a 159 LSAT gives genuine cover to a GPA that dips under the 3.35 quartile, while a sub-152 LSAT is the harder gap to close even with a strong transcript.

Is Cleveland State Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

Cleveland State Law School is considerably more selective than its 34.45% acceptance rate suggests. Among the 59 ABA law schools whose median LSAT is within two points of Cleveland State Law's 155, ranked by acceptance rate, Cleveland State Law is 7th most selective, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. That places it near the top of its band.

Reputation tends to file Cleveland State Law School as an accessible urban public school, valued in Cleveland for its practical training and its bar preparation rather than for national selectivity. To test the admit gate against that reputation, Lovare built a peer band of the 59 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of Cleveland State Law's 155, that is, a median of 153 to 157, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Cleveland State Law School comes in 7th of 59, near the top of the band and well ahead of where its reputation would place it.

What that means for you is that the headline acceptance rate badly understates the real gate. A 34.45% rate reads as moderately open, but ranked against schools with the same academic profile, Cleveland State Law School converts a smaller share of its applicants than almost all of its peers, the signature of strong demand for a Cleveland degree with genuine firm placement. The practical consequence is that you should treat Cleveland State Law as a school where reaching the 155 and 3.6 medians matters, not a safety you clear on reputation. It is not a national reach, but within its band it is one of the firmer gates, and the near-top ranking is the number to plan around.

How much does Cleveland State Law School cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

Cleveland State Law School charges $31,566 in resident tuition and fees and $31,666 for nonresidents, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, plus $21,870 in living expenses. Ninety-eight percent of students receive a grant, but the median award of $11,000 is shallow, netting the nonresident sticker to about $20,666 in tuition before living costs.

Cleveland State Law School prices close to a single figure for residents and nonresidents alike. Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time resident tuition and fees at $31,566 and nonresident at $31,666, a gap of only $100, plus living expenses of $21,870. The 509 prints tuition and living separately and does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in annual number quoted elsewhere is someone's arithmetic rather than a figure Cleveland State Law reports, and this page will not invent one.

On aid, the honest read is that grants are broad but shallow. According to the same 509, 98% of Cleveland State Law School students receive grant aid, which sounds sweeping, but the award amounts are modest, at $6,000, $11,000, and $18,000 across the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, with just 1 full-tuition award and none above full tuition. Nearly everyone gets something, but the something is a partial discount rather than the deep price cut that some peer schools use. Set expectations accordingly at Cleveland State Law: a grant is likely, a large grant is not the norm, and full-tuition awards are rare.

The math shows the reach. For a nonresident, against the $31,666 sticker, a student receiving the median grant of $11,000 nets about $20,666 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. For a resident, against the $31,566 sticker, that same $11,000 median grant nets about $20,566 in tuition before living costs. Even at the 75th-percentile grant of $18,000, a student still nets more than $13,000 in tuition, so Cleveland State Law School is a moderate-cost option after aid rather than a deep-discount one.

One structural reassurance and one clear caution belong together here. The reassurance is that Cleveland State Law School scholarships are not conditional, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, so an award is not tied to a first-year class-rank or GPA threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip. The caution is separate and consumer-protective: Cleveland State Law reports 13.0% first-year academic attrition in the same disclosure, meaning about one in eight first-year students did not continue for academic reasons. Your scholarship is safe from a grade cutoff, but the academic gate itself is steep, and that risk to your enrollment, not to your award, is the real thing to weigh at Cleveland State Law School.

What are your real chances off the Cleveland State Law School waitlist?

Cleveland State Law School does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 195 matriculants against 597 offers is a 32.7% yield in Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. That is a moderate yield, so the waitlist can move in some years, though it is never guaranteed.

Here is the reasoning in full. Cleveland State Law School enrolled 195 matriculants from 597 offers in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 32.7%. No ABA disclosure, Cleveland State Law's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted off the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for waitlist movement. When roughly a third of admitted students enroll, a school extends meaningfully more offers than it has seats, which tends to keep a live waitlist as a backstop when yield runs light in a given cycle.

The class structure at Cleveland State Law School is worth noting because it shapes the odds. The 195 matriculants filled a first-year class of exactly 195, split 120 full-time and 75 part-time, per the same 509. That sizeable part-time cohort means Cleveland State Law manages two enrollment tracks at once, and an applicant open to the part-time program may find a path that the full-time numbers alone do not show. The 32.7% implied yield is computed from the 195 matriculants against the 597 offers, the correct comparison for reasoning about this cycle's waitlist odds at Cleveland State Law.

If you land on the Cleveland State Law School waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Cleveland State Law as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand as your real plan. A 32.7% yield leaves some room for waitlist movement, but movement is never promised, and the disciplined approach is to treat the waitlist at Cleveland State Law School as a possibility rather than a plan.

Where do Cleveland State Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Cleveland State Law School placed 82.9% of graduates in Ohio and 88.3% across its top three markets. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 18.0% of graduates, and federal clerkships took 1.8%. Cleveland State Law is a Cleveland-anchored school with an unusually strong large-firm share for its tier.

Cleveland State Law School's employment profile is firmly rooted in Ohio. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Cleveland State Law placed 92 graduates in Ohio, 4 in New York, and 2 in Pennsylvania. That is an 82.9% top-market share and an 88.3% top-three share, a highly concentrated single-state profile: more than four in five graduates practice in Ohio, and the markets beyond it are thin. If your goal is Cleveland or anywhere in Ohio, Cleveland State Law School's network points directly at it. If your goal is another state, that 82.9% concentration is a clear signal that the school's reach outside Ohio is limited, and you would be relying on your own connections to build a career elsewhere.

Why lead with concentration rather than the raw employment rate? Because the rate is uniformly high across peers. Cleveland State Law School reported 104 of 111 graduates employed at ten months, or 93.7%, in the same ABA Employment Summary, a strong figure but one that says less about fit than where those jobs are. At Cleveland State Law, the answer is emphatically Ohio, and Cleveland in particular.

On firm outcomes, Cleveland State Law School stands out for its tier. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 18.0% of Cleveland State Law graduates taking jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers, roughly one in five, which is a notably high large-firm share for a regional public school and reflects real hiring pipelines into Cleveland's large firms. Federal clerkships accounted for 1.8% of Cleveland State Law School graduates in the same summary, a smaller channel, so the school's outcome strength is concentrated in private practice rather than the federal courts.

Read the whole profile together and Cleveland State Law School is best understood as a Cleveland-employment engine with genuine large-firm reach. The one number to weigh against that strength is the bar result: Cleveland State Law posted a 77.67% first-time pass rate for exam year 2024, with Ohio as the largest jurisdiction, per its ABA bar-passage report, a rate below several Ohio peers, even as its 93.13% ultimate pass rate for the 2022 cohort shows that most graduates who do not pass on the first attempt eventually do. For a school whose value depends on getting you licensed in Ohio, that first-time figure is worth entering the decision with eyes open.

When are Cleveland State Law School's application deadlines?

Cleveland State Law School's specific application deadlines and any Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. If you are planning a cycle, confirm the current regular-decision deadline and any binding or non-binding Early Decision option directly on Cleveland State Law's admissions site, because those dates shift from year to year and this page will not state a date it cannot verify.

Cleveland State Law School, like most ABA law schools, runs a rolling admissions cycle that typically opens in the early fall and reviews files as they are completed, which rewards applying early in the window when more seats and more scholarship money remain. That early-application edge is worth taking seriously at Cleveland State Law, where the grant budget is broad but the awards are modest, so the timing of your file can matter to the size of an offer. The exact opening date, the priority and final deadlines, and whether Cleveland State Law School offers an Early Decision track with specific terms are details this page did not verify from a primary source.

The practical takeaway for Cleveland State Law School applicants is to treat the calendar as a competitive variable rather than an afterthought. Aim to have your LSAT taken, your transcripts and letters in, and your application submitted as early in the cycle as your materials allow, both for admission odds and for the best shot at the grant pool. Confirm the current deadlines and any Early Decision terms on Cleveland State Law School's admissions page before you rely on them, because a page like this one is a planning aid verified in August 2026, not the registrar of record.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Cleveland State Law School

Is a 155 LSAT good enough for Cleveland State Law?

A 155 is exactly the LSAT median at Cleveland State Law School, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 152 to 159. A 155 puts you at the fiftieth percentile, a solid position. Paired with a GPA near the 3.6 median, a 155 makes you a comfortably in-range candidate at Cleveland State Law School.

What GPA do you need to get into Cleveland State Law?

Cleveland State Law School reports a GPA median of 3.6, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.35 to 3.79, in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Aim for 3.6 or higher to sit at the median. Because Cleveland State Law is splitter friendly, a GPA that dips toward the 3.35 quartile can still work if your LSAT reaches toward the 159 upper quartile at Cleveland State Law School.

What is Cleveland State Law's acceptance rate?

Cleveland State Law School admitted 34.45% of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 597 offers against 1,733 applications, according to Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Among the 59 schools within two points of its 155 LSAT median, that ranks Cleveland State Law School 7th most selective, near the top of its band.

How many people apply to Cleveland State Law each year?

Cleveland State Law School received 1,733 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 597 offers, and enrolled 195 matriculants for a first-year class of 195, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. That pool and a 32.7% implied yield produce the 34.45% acceptance rate at Cleveland State Law School.

How much does Cleveland State Law cost per year?

Cleveland State Law School lists resident tuition and fees of $31,566 and nonresident tuition and fees of $31,666, plus living expenses of $21,870, in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Cleveland State Law does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total, so tuition and living are read separately. Grants are broad but modest, so most students still pay a substantial net at Cleveland State Law School.

Does Cleveland State Law give scholarships?

Broadly, but modestly. Cleveland State Law School reports that 98% of students receive grant aid, with awards of $6,000, $11,000, and $18,000 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus just 1 full-tuition award and none above full tuition, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Nearly everyone gets a partial discount, but deep awards are rare at Cleveland State Law School.

Are Cleveland State Law scholarships conditional?

No. Cleveland State Law School does not use conditional scholarships, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, so an award is not tied to a first-year class-rank or GPA threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip. The grant Cleveland State Law School quotes at admission is the award you keep for all three years, even though the awards themselves are modest.

What is Cleveland State Law's first-year attrition rate?

Cleveland State Law School reported 13.0% first-year academic attrition in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, meaning about one in eight first-year students did not continue for academic reasons. That is a high figure and a consumer-protective fact worth weighing plainly: the academic gate at Cleveland State Law School is steeper than at most peers, so strong preparation matters as much as hitting the entering medians.

What is Cleveland State Law's bar passage rate?

Cleveland State Law School posted a 77.67% first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with Ohio as its largest jurisdiction, according to Cleveland State Law's ABA bar-passage report. Its ultimate pass rate for the 2022 cohort was 93.13%. The first-time figure sits below several Ohio peers, so bar preparation deserves attention, while the ultimate rate shows most Cleveland State Law School graduates do pass in time.

Where do most Cleveland State Law graduates work?

Almost all stay in Ohio. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Cleveland State Law School placed 92 graduates in Ohio, 4 in New York, and 2 in Pennsylvania, an 82.9% top-market share and 88.3% across the top three. Cleveland State Law School has one of the more Ohio-concentrated placement profiles among its peers, centered on Cleveland.

Can a splitter get into Cleveland State Law?

A splitter has a real path. Lovare reads Cleveland State Law School as splitter friendly, with a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.25 against an LSAT spread of three points in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. That means Cleveland State Law forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a 159 LSAT paired with a GPA under the 3.35 quartile is genuinely viable at Cleveland State Law School.

How selective is Cleveland State Law compared with schools at the same LSAT?

Cleveland State Law School ranks 7th most selective of the 59 ABA schools within two points of its 155 LSAT median, by acceptance rate in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, per Lovare's analysis. That is near the top of its band, so Cleveland State Law School is markedly harder to get into than its 34.45% acceptance rate suggests, and reaching the medians matters.

Is Cleveland State Law worth the cost?

For Cleveland-focused applicants, the outcomes are strong, but weigh the risks. Cleveland State Law School pairs an 18.0% large-firm share and 82.9% Ohio placement with a 77.67% first-time bar rate and 13.0% first-year attrition, per its 2025 ABA 509 and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024. The value is real for a committed Ohio applicant who is prepared for a steep first-year gate at Cleveland State Law School.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a Cleveland State Law scholarship?

A file above both medians competes best, though the awards stay modest. Because Cleveland State Law School reports a 75th-percentile grant of $18,000 and a single full-tuition award, an application above the 3.6 GPA and 155 LSAT medians is best positioned for the larger grants, per Cleveland State Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Since Cleveland State Law School scholarships are not conditional, the award you win is the award you keep.

Sources

Every figure on this page is drawn from primary disclosures, listed here so readers can verify each one directly.

Cleveland State Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=116&year=2025

Cleveland State Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=116&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=116&year=2024

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