Law Schools in Colorado + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

Colorado has two ABA accredited law schools: the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm). Their median LSATs span 160 to 164 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, a narrow band, so a score in the low to mid 160s covers the entire in-state range, and the low 160s already open a real Colorado option.

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. Every median, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition figure on this page comes from each Colorado school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, and the bar exam status comes from the NCBE.

What law schools are in Colorado?

Colorado is a small state for legal education, with two ABA accredited law schools. The University of Colorado Boulder is the public flagship school and the more selective of the two, while the University of Denver (Sturm) is the private school and the more accessible option. The table below gathers the median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition for each Colorado law school, and every figure in it comes from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionUniversity of Colorado Boulder16427.6%$35,992University of Denver (Sturm)16041.3%$63,390

Source: each figure above is from that Colorado school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class. The two Colorado schools differ on both selectivity and cost. The University of Colorado Boulder is the more selective, admitting 27.6% of applicants, and the more affordable, with full-time tuition of $35,992 as a public school. The University of Denver (Sturm) is more accessible, admitting 41.3%, but it is a private school with higher full-time tuition of $63,390. For a Colorado applicant, that means the more selective in-state school is also the less expensive, so the choice between the two Colorado schools weighs selectivity and price together.

Because Colorado has only two law schools, the state offers a clear rather than a crowded choice. This page treats both Colorado schools in real depth so that a small state still gives you a full picture of the score you need, the cost you will pay, the market you will enter, and the bar exam you will sit.

The two-school structure also shapes how out-of-state applicants should think about Colorado. With only the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm) inside the state, an applicant set on Colorado has a focused list, and the high in-state retention at both schools, discussed below, means either one is a credible path into the Denver legal market rather than a detour through it.

What LSAT and GPA do you need for law school in Colorado?

In-state median LSATs in Colorado run from 160 to 164 across the two schools, according to their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. The University of Colorado Boulder posts the higher median at 164, which anchors the top of the Colorado range, while the University of Denver (Sturm) posts a 160 median and is the more accessible school in the state. That four point gap is the entire spread of Colorado legal education, one of the narrowest in-state ranges anywhere, which means Colorado is a low 160s state for admissions purposes.

The rule of thumb is that a score at or above a school's median is competitive there, and a score below it leans on the rest of your file. A 164 or higher is competitive at the University of Colorado Boulder, the top-median school in Colorado, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. A 160, the University of Denver (Sturm) median, puts you at the center of that school's class. Between 160 and 164, you are competitive at the University of Denver (Sturm) and in reach at the University of Colorado Boulder depending on how your GPA and the rest of your application read.

Because the Colorado band is so narrow, the practical message is encouraging for a wide set of applicants. A score in the low 160s is not below the Colorado range; it sits right inside it, at or near the University of Denver (Sturm) median and within a few points of the University of Colorado Boulder median. An applicant who lands a 160 to 162 should treat both Colorado schools as realistic, with the University of Denver (Sturm) the stronger bet and the University of Colorado Boulder a live target. A score below 160 leans harder on the rest of the file, and the University of Denver (Sturm), with its 41.3% acceptance rate, is the more forgiving of the two Colorado doors. The 509 disclosures report LSAT and GPA separately and do not publish a single admissions index, so this page does not invent a combined cutoff for either Colorado school.

The narrowness of the Colorado band has one more implication worth naming. Because only four points separate the two medians, small movements in your LSAT change your Colorado prospects more than they would in a state with a wide range. Gaining two or three points, say from a 160 to a 163, moves you from the University of Denver (Sturm) median toward the University of Colorado Boulder median and materially improves your standing at the more selective school. For a Colorado applicant near the band, retaking the LSAT to gain a few points can be the difference between one in-state option and two.

Which Colorado law schools are splitter friendly?

A splitter is an applicant with a high LSAT and a lower GPA, and a reverse splitter is the opposite: a strong GPA carrying a lower LSAT. A school is splitter friendly when it forgives a lower GPA for a high LSAT, and reverse-splitter friendly when it forgives a lower LSAT for a strong GPA. In Colorado, both law schools read as splitter friendly in the 2025 ABA 509 spreads, and neither is flagged as reverse-splitter friendly, so the state leans toward rewarding a strong LSAT over a strong GPA.

The University of Denver (Sturm) is the more splitter-friendly of the two Colorado schools. Its GPA runs a wide 0.30 from the 25th percentile up to the median in its 2025 ABA 509 spread, which tells you the school admits a meaningful share of students whose GPA sits below its median when the LSAT holds up. If your transcript lags but your LSAT is at or above the 160 median, the University of Denver (Sturm) is the more forgiving Colorado option for your profile.

The University of Colorado Boulder also reads as splitter friendly, with a narrower 0.19 GPA spread from the 25th percentile to its median in the same 2025 ABA 509 data. It too will look past a softer GPA for a strong LSAT, though its narrower spread means it forgives less than the University of Denver (Sturm) does. The clear takeaway for Colorado is that a high LSAT is the more powerful lever at both schools, so an applicant whose LSAT outruns a GPA is well positioned in Colorado, while a reverse splitter with a strong GPA and a lower LSAT has no in-state school whose numbers specifically favor that profile, and should lean on the low 160s target the University of Denver (Sturm) presents.

For application strategy, the Colorado picture is simple to state. Both schools reward a strong LSAT, so the single most valuable thing a Colorado applicant can do is maximize the test score. A splitter with a high LSAT and a softer GPA is well served by either Colorado school and best served by the University of Denver (Sturm). A reverse splitter, strong on GPA and weaker on the LSAT, has no Colorado school whose spread specifically favors that shape, so that applicant should aim at the University of Denver (Sturm) median and strengthen the LSAT where possible before applying.

What is the legal job market like in Colorado?

The dominant legal market in Colorado is Denver, the state capital and its economic center, home to most of Colorado's large firms, its federal and state courts, and its corporate legal departments. Both Colorado law schools place heavily into that market, which is clear from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data on how much of each class stays in Colorado.

The two Colorado schools are close and both strongly local. The University of Denver (Sturm) keeps 75% of its class in Colorado, and the University of Colorado Boulder keeps 72%, according to the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. Those are high in-state shares, and they are within three points of each other, so neither school is meaningfully more local than the other. For an applicant who wants to practice in Denver or elsewhere in Colorado, both schools send roughly three of every four graduates into the state, which makes either a sound base for a Colorado legal career.

Read together, the two retention figures tell a consistent Colorado story: this is a state whose law schools feed their own market rather than exporting most graduates elsewhere. That concentration is a strength if Colorado is your goal, because it signals deep local alumni networks and employer relationships centered on Denver. This page does not quote salary figures for Colorado, because the packet behind it does not include salary data, and inventing one would break the integrity standard this page holds to.

For a Colorado applicant weighing the two schools, the near-identical retention numbers mean the choice does not hinge on which school keeps more graduates in state, since both keep roughly three quarters. The decision turns instead on cost and selectivity: the University of Colorado Boulder offers lower public tuition and a higher median, while the University of Denver (Sturm) offers easier access at a higher private price. Both anchor careers in the Denver market, so a Colorado applicant can choose on price and fit rather than worrying that one school locks them out of the state.

Does Colorado use the NextGen bar exam?

Colorado is currently a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, and it has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with a transition to NextGen set for July 2028, according to the NCBE. So a Colorado applicant sitting the bar in the near term takes the UBE, while those graduating a bit later will take the NextGen exam.

The transition timing is worth understanding for Colorado. The NCBE has set the end of the legacy tests after the February 2028 administration, retiring the older Uniform Bar Exam and the Multistate Bar Exam nationwide, and Colorado's first NextGen administration follows in July 2028. That sequence means Colorado moves directly from the UBE it gives today to the NextGen exam, with the changeover landing in 2028. If you are entering a Colorado law school now, plan on the NextGen exam being the format you sit, since a standard three year J.D. would put your bar date at or after the transition.

For your study planning in Colorado, the practical message is to prepare for the exam that will be in force when you graduate. The NextGen exam still tests core legal doctrine and lawyering skills, and a Colorado law school curriculum is built to prepare graduates for the bar. Because exam logistics and any transition rules are set by the state, confirm the current details with the Colorado bar authorities as you approach graduation, but expect NextGen to be the Colorado bar exam for anyone starting law school today.

Where can you take the LSAT in Colorado?

LSAT test centers are available in Colorado's major metros, so most Colorado applicants can test reasonably close to home. The state's population concentrates along the Front Range, with Denver the largest metro, followed by Colorado Springs to the south, the Denver suburbs including Aurora, Fort Collins to the north, and Boulder, home of the University of Colorado. Those are the areas where in-person LSAT centers tend to appear in Colorado.

The important caveat is that specific test-center locations and their available seats change from one testing cycle to the next, and many LSAT administrations are now offered in a remote-proctored format you take from home. For that reason this page does not print individual Colorado test-center addresses, which would go stale quickly and could send you to a site that is no longer active. Instead, check LSAC's official test-center list when you register, filter it to Colorado, and choose the location or the remote option that fits your schedule.

The practical Colorado takeaway is that access to the LSAT is solid across the Front Range. Between the in-person centers that appear around Denver and Colorado's other metros each cycle and the remote-proctored option, an applicant anywhere in Colorado has a workable way to test. Book your date early, because seats at the most convenient Colorado locations fill first, and confirm the current list on LSAC's site rather than relying on last year's centers.

Which Colorado universities feed law school?

Colorado's flagship public university, the University of Colorado Boulder, is the state's largest single source of pre-law undergraduates, and its graduates are common applicants to law schools in Colorado and beyond. Its programs in political science, history, and economics, along with its size, make it a natural pipeline into legal education for Colorado residents.

Beyond the flagship, several other Colorado institutions regularly send graduates to law school. Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the University of Denver, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and Colorado College all contribute Colorado applicants to law programs. This section names these Colorado universities as common feeders based on their size and prominence in the state, and it deliberately does not attribute a specific placement statistic to any of them, because the packet behind this page does not include per-university placement data for Colorado.

Colorado's growing population and its cluster of strong undergraduate institutions mean the pool of in-state pre-law students has expanded, and both the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm) draw applicants from these feeders as well as from out of state. Because the packet does not include placement counts by undergraduate institution, this page names these Colorado feeders by prominence only and leaves specific numbers to the schools themselves.

Frequently asked questions about law school in Colorado

How many law schools are in Colorado?

Colorado has two ABA accredited law schools: the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm). Their median LSATs are 164 and 160 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. That makes Colorado a small state for legal education, but the two schools cover distinct roles, one a more selective public flagship, the other a more accessible private school, both feeding the Denver market.

What is the easiest law school to get into in Colorado?

By the 2025 ABA 509 numbers, the University of Denver (Sturm) is the more accessible law school in Colorado, with a 41.3% acceptance rate and a 160 median LSAT, compared with 27.6% and a 164 median at the University of Colorado Boulder. A Colorado applicant in the low 160s belongs squarely in the University of Denver (Sturm) entering class.

What is the best law school in Colorado?

By selectivity and cost, the University of Colorado Boulder leads Colorado, with the higher median LSAT at 164, the lower acceptance rate at 27.6%, and lower public tuition of $35,992, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. The University of Denver (Sturm) counters with slightly higher in-state retention at 75%. The best Colorado school depends on whether you weigh selectivity, price, or fit most.

What LSAT score do you need for law school in Colorado?

Median LSATs in Colorado run 160 to 164, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. A 164 or higher is competitive at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a 160 sits at the University of Denver (Sturm) median. Because the Colorado range is narrow, a score in the low 160s puts both schools within reach, so a low 160s applicant has genuine in-state options.

How much does law school cost in Colorado?

Full-time tuition in Colorado is $35,992 at the University of Colorado Boulder, a public school, and $63,390 at the University of Denver (Sturm), a private school, according to their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. That gap makes the University of Colorado Boulder the lower-cost option. The 509 disclosures report tuition separately from living costs, so this page does not sum them into a single Colorado figure.

Does Colorado use the NextGen bar exam?

Colorado is currently a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction and has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with a transition set for July 2028, according to the NCBE. The legacy UBE and Multistate Bar Exam end nationally after the February 2028 administration, so a Colorado applicant starting law school now should expect to sit the NextGen exam by the time they graduate.

Can you take the bar in Colorado with an out-of-state degree?

Graduating from an ABA accredited law school in any state is the standard threshold to sit for a state bar, so an out-of-state ABA degree generally lets you take the Colorado bar. Colorado gives the UBE today and moves to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE. Because each jurisdiction sets its own admission details, confirm the current requirements directly with the Colorado bar authorities.

Which Colorado law school has the best bar passage?

The disclosures behind this page cover median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition for the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm), but they do not include each Colorado school's first-time bar passage rate, so this page does not rank the two on bar passage. First-time bar results by school are published in each school's ABA bar-passage report, the right place to compare them for Colorado.

Are there part-time or evening law programs in Colorado?

The figures on this page report full-time medians and full-time tuition for the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm) and do not itemize part-time or evening divisions, so this page cannot confirm those programs from its sources. If a part-time or evening schedule is essential to your Colorado plan, confirm the current offerings directly with each school's admissions office.

Where can you take the LSAT in Colorado?

LSAT test centers appear in Colorado's major metros along the Front Range, chiefly Denver, along with Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, and Boulder, and a remote-proctored option is available from home. Because specific Colorado centers and seats change each cycle, check LSAC's official test-center list when you register rather than relying on a fixed address, and book early to secure the most convenient location.

Which Colorado law schools are splitter friendly?

Both Colorado law schools read as splitter friendly in the 2025 ABA 509 data, so a high LSAT can carry a lower GPA at each. The University of Denver (Sturm) is the more forgiving, with a 0.30 GPA spread from its 25th percentile to its median, while the University of Colorado Boulder has a narrower 0.19 spread. Neither Colorado school is flagged as reverse-splitter friendly.

Do you have to go to law school in Colorado to practice there?

No. You do not have to attend a Colorado law school to practice in Colorado. An ABA accredited J.D. from any state generally qualifies you to sit for the Colorado bar, which gives the UBE today and moves to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE. That said, both in-state schools keep about three quarters of their classes in Colorado, so studying in the state helps build Denver connections. Confirm admission rules with the Colorado bar authorities.

Is a 162 LSAT good for law school in Colorado?

A 162 is a strong score for Colorado. It sits above the University of Denver (Sturm) median of 160 and within two points of the University of Colorado Boulder median of 164, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Because Colorado is a low 160s state, a 162 makes you competitive at one school and a live target at the other, especially paired with a solid GPA.

What GPA do you need for law school in Colorado?

The 2025 ABA 509 disclosures report LSAT and GPA separately for the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Denver (Sturm) and do not publish a single GPA cutoff, so this page will not invent one for Colorado. Because both schools read as splitter friendly, a GPA below the median is workable when the LSAT is strong, especially at the University of Denver (Sturm).

Do Colorado law schools offer scholarships?

The disclosures behind this page cover median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition for the two Colorado schools, but they do not include grant or scholarship data, so this page cannot quote scholarship figures for the University of Colorado Boulder or the University of Denver (Sturm). Confirm current aid directly with each Colorado school, since merit money often tracks how far your numbers exceed the medians.

Sources

Every figure on this page is drawn from primary disclosures for Colorado, listed here so readers can verify each one directly. School-level median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition are from each Colorado school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, available through the ABA disclosure portal.

ABA Required Disclosures portal (2025 Standard 509 reports): https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

NCBE, for Colorado's current UBE status, its NextGen transition in July 2028, and the national retirement of the legacy UBE and MBE after February 2028: https://www.ncbex.org/

LSAC, for the official and current Colorado LSAT test-center list: https://www.lsac.org/

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