Law Schools in Louisiana + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

Louisiana has four ABA-accredited law schools, and their median LSATs span 147 to 161 in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures. The range runs from Tulane University at the top to Southern University Law Center at the most accessible end, so applicants across a wide score band have a realistic path to law school in Louisiana.

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. The admissions figures on this page come from each Louisiana school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, the in-state retention figures from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data, and the bar-exam status from the NCBE.

What law schools are in Louisiana?

There are four ABA-accredited law schools in Louisiana, split between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and they cover an unusually wide range on both selectivity and cost. The list includes a national private university, the public state flagship, a private New Orleans university, and a public law center, which gives Louisiana applicants very different price points to weigh. The table below lists every Louisiana law school with its median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition, each figure drawn from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionTulane University16140.0%$69,578Louisiana State University (Hebert)15738.6%$19,750Loyola University New Orleans15450.9%$55,024Southern University Law Center14756.6%$11,338

Source: every median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition figure in this table is taken from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, published through the ABA disclosure portal.

Tulane University anchors the state at the top of the LSAT range with a 161 median and a 40.0 percent acceptance rate, according to its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, and it is a nationally oriented private program at the highest tuition in the state, $69,578. Just behind it on the LSAT scale, Louisiana State University (Hebert), the public flagship, posts a 157 median and the lowest acceptance rate in the state at 38.6 percent, per the 2025 ABA 509 data, which makes LSU the most selective Louisiana school by admit rate even though Tulane carries the higher median. Crucially, LSU charges just $19,750 in full-time tuition, a fraction of Tulane's sticker.

The other two Louisiana schools admit larger shares of applicants. Loyola University New Orleans reports a 154 median and a 50.9 percent acceptance rate at $55,024 in tuition, and Southern University Law Center reports a 147 median and a 56.6 percent acceptance rate at just $11,338, the lowest tuition in the state, both per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. The cost spread across Louisiana is therefore dramatic: from $11,338 at Southern University Law Center and $19,750 at LSU to $55,024 at Loyola and $69,578 at Tulane, a difference of more than $58,000 a year between the least and most expensive law schools in Louisiana. The two public options are among the most affordable ABA programs anywhere, which means a Louisiana applicant can pursue a full legal education at a small fraction of the debt load common at private schools, an advantage that shapes the entire calculus of law school in Louisiana.

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

Across Louisiana, median LSATs run from 147 to 161 in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures, so the score you need depends on which of the four schools you are targeting. There is no single statewide cutoff for law school in Louisiana, and the range is wide enough that both high scorers and applicants with more modest numbers have credible in-state options.

Tulane University sits at the top with a 161 median LSAT, so a low-160s score is competitive there, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Louisiana State University (Hebert) reports a 157 median, so a high-150s score lines up with the flagship, though because LSU also has the state's lowest acceptance rate at 38.6 percent, its seats are competitive relative to that median. Loyola University New Orleans reports a 154 median, so a mid-150s score matches there, and Southern University Law Center reports a 147 median, so a score in the high 140s is on target, all according to the same 2025 ABA 509 data.

Accessibility is a genuine feature of the Louisiana market. Southern University Law Center admits 56.6 percent of applicants and Loyola University New Orleans admits 50.9 percent, both in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so more than half of applicants are offered a seat at each. A score in the high 140s to mid 150s is exactly where these Louisiana schools admit students, so an applicant in that range has genuine options and should not conclude that the state is closed to them. A higher score widens the choice, strengthens the case for scholarship aid, and brings Tulane and LSU into play, with LSU offering that rare mix of selectivity and very low tuition.

Because Louisiana has only four law schools, application strategy in the state is relatively clear, and cost belongs at the center of it. An applicant in the high 150s to low 160s should treat Tulane University and Louisiana State University (Hebert) as the primary targets, while recognizing that LSU's very low $19,750 tuition and 38.6 percent acceptance rate make it both a value and a genuinely competitive seat, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. An applicant in the mid 150s or below can treat Loyola University New Orleans and Southern University Law Center as strong matches, with Southern's $11,338 tuition making it one of the most affordable ABA options in the country. With so few schools in Louisiana, most applicants can reasonably apply across the set and let admission, scholarship, and cost decide.

On GPA, this statewide roll-up reports each Louisiana school's median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition rather than a single GPA figure, so the precise GPA medians are not stated here and should be confirmed on each school's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. What the data does show is how much flexibility exists on the transcript side at the two schools flagged in the splitter section below. As a working rule for Louisiana, treat the LSAT as the number you can most improve before applying, aim to reach or beat the median LSAT of your target school, and present the strongest GPA your record supports.

Which Louisiana law schools are splitter friendly?

A splitter is an applicant with a high LSAT but a lower GPA, and a reverse splitter is the opposite, a strong GPA paired with a lower LSAT. In Louisiana, the splitter reads point toward the two private schools, both of which will forgive a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong. These reads come from the 25th-to-median spreads in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures.

Loyola University New Orleans reads as splitter friendly, showing a 0.25 gap between its 25th percentile GPA and its median, and Tulane University also reads as splitter friendly, with a 0.2 GPA spread, according to the 2025 ABA 509 data. A wider GPA band means each school admits a meaningful share of students whose transcripts sit below the class median, which is good news for an applicant whose LSAT is the stronger of the two numbers. If your LSAT is high and your GPA lags, those two Louisiana schools are the ones where that profile plays best.

Louisiana State University (Hebert) and Southern University Law Center are not flagged as splitter or reverse-splitter friendly in this data, so their spreads are not called out here, and an applicant should read each school's class profile directly from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure rather than assume a lean in either direction. The broader takeaway for Louisiana is that the state does not surface a clear reverse-splitter haven, where a strong GPA offsets a weak LSAT, in this roll-up. That makes the LSAT especially important in Louisiana: because the flagged flexibility is on the GPA side, the applicant who invests in a strong LSAT gains the most room across the state's schools.

What is the legal job market like in Louisiana?

The Louisiana legal market is centered on New Orleans, the state's largest city and its commercial and litigation hub, with the state capital in Baton Rouge adding a substantial base of government, legislative, and public-sector legal work. The state's civil-law tradition, discussed in the bar-exam section below, also shapes practice in Louisiana in ways that set it apart from every other state. The clearest signal in the data is how much of each school's class stays to practice in Louisiana, drawn here from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data.

Loyola University New Orleans keeps 65 percent of its class in Louisiana, while Tulane University keeps 33 percent, according to the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. Tulane's low in-state share reflects its national orientation: as a nationally recruited private school, it sends most of its graduates to markets across the country, while still placing a meaningful cohort in Louisiana. Loyola University New Orleans is far more Louisiana-focused, with roughly two in three graduates staying in the state, most of them in the New Orleans market.

Two honest gaps: Louisiana State University (Hebert) and Southern University Law Center are not reported with in-state retention figures in this roll-up, so their class-retention shares are not stated here and should be checked against each school's ABA employment summary. As public schools based in Baton Rouge, both are traditionally strong feeders into Louisiana practice, particularly in state government, the legislature, and the courts that cluster around the capital, but this page will not attribute a specific retention percentage that was not provided for either Louisiana school. This page also does not quote salary figures for the Louisiana market, because the packet behind it does not include them.

Does Louisiana use the NextGen bar exam?

No. Louisiana has not adopted the NextGen bar exam, according to the NCBE, and no first-administration date has been announced, so that date is currently unknown. Louisiana is also not a Uniform Bar Examination state. It administers its own bar examination built around its distinctive civil-law system, which is rooted in the French and Spanish legal tradition rather than the common law used in the other 49 states.

That civil-law foundation is the key reason Louisiana stands apart on licensing. Because the state tests Louisiana civil law rather than the standardized common-law material of the UBE, it has kept its own exam and has not announced a move to NextGen. The NCBE reports that the legacy UBE and its Multistate Bar Examination component end nationally after the February 2028 administration, but that national change does not automatically convert Louisiana, since Louisiana already sits outside the UBE system. For anyone planning around law school in Louisiana, the practical guidance is to prepare for the Louisiana bar examination in its current civil-law form and to confirm the exam's format and any future changes directly with the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions, since the NextGen timeline for the state is not yet set.

Where can you take the LSAT in Louisiana?

LSAT test centers are available in Louisiana's major metros, including the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas, the state's two largest population centers and the anchors of its legal community, with additional coverage typically serving markets such as Shreveport and Lafayette. Because the specific list of centers and the mix of in-person and remote seats change every testing cycle, the reliable step is to check LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register rather than relying on a fixed address.

New Orleans, home to two of the state's law schools, and Baton Rouge, home to the other two, are natural testing hubs in Louisiana, but availability shifts from cycle to cycle across all of these markets. LSAC also offers a remote-proctored option that lets many Louisiana candidates test from home, which is worth comparing against an in-person seat, especially for applicants outside the two largest metros. Whichever you choose, register early: the most convenient dates and locations in Louisiana tend to fill first, and securing a seat near you is easier well ahead of the deadline. Because the state's most affordable seats at Louisiana State University (Hebert) and Southern University Law Center draw strong interest, giving yourself room for a retake before applying can meaningfully improve both your admission odds and your scholarship position in Louisiana.

Which Louisiana universities feed law school?

Louisiana has a solid set of universities that regularly send graduates into law school. The flagship, Louisiana State University, is a leading pre-law feeder in the state, and Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans contribute steadily as well. Southern University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana Tech University round out the common feeders across Louisiana.

These schools are named as typical pre-law pipelines based on their size and prominence in Louisiana rather than any specific placement statistic, which this roll-up does not carry. A strong pre-law path in Louisiana depends far more on the LSAT score and GPA you assemble than on the name of your undergraduate institution, so an applicant from any Louisiana university can compete for the four schools in the table above by focusing on those two numbers. The state's flagship and its major public and private universities simply serve as convenient starting points because of their size and their pre-law advising resources. Applicants who studied outside Louisiana are on equal footing on the numbers, though the state's civil-law focus makes an early interest in Louisiana practice worth signaling.

Frequently asked questions about law school in Louisiana

How many law schools are in Louisiana?

Louisiana has four ABA-accredited law schools, according to the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures compiled for this guide: Tulane University, Louisiana State University (Hebert), Loyola University New Orleans, and Southern University Law Center. Two are in New Orleans and two are in Baton Rouge. Their medians range from 161 down to 147, and the state includes two of the most affordable public law programs in the country.

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

By acceptance rate, Southern University Law Center is the most accessible law school in Louisiana at 56.6 percent, with a 147 median LSAT, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Loyola University New Orleans follows at 50.9 percent with a 154 median. Both admit more than half of applicants, so a score in the high 140s to mid 150s gives an applicant a genuine path at these Louisiana schools even without a top LSAT.

What is the best law school in Louisiana?

By the 2025 ABA 509 numbers, Tulane University has the highest median LSAT in Louisiana at 161 and is the state's nationally recruited private program, while Louisiana State University (Hebert) has the lowest acceptance rate at 38.6 percent and pairs strong selectivity with very low $19,750 tuition. Best depends on goals and budget, but Tulane leads on national reach and LSU leads on value in Louisiana.

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

It depends on your target. Median LSATs in Louisiana run 147 to 161 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so a low-160s score is competitive at Tulane University, a high-150s score at Louisiana State University (Hebert), a mid-150s score at Loyola University New Orleans, and a high-140s score at Southern University Law Center. A score in the mid 150s keeps most of Louisiana's schools in range, and higher scores widen your options and aid.

How much does law school cost in Louisiana?

Full-time tuition in Louisiana spans a very wide range, from $11,338 at Southern University Law Center and $19,750 at Louisiana State University (Hebert) up to $55,024 at Loyola University New Orleans and $69,578 at Tulane University, according to the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. The two public schools are among the most affordable ABA programs in the country, so cost is a major differentiator among Louisiana law schools.

Does Louisiana use the NextGen bar exam?

No. Louisiana has not adopted the NextGen bar exam and no first-administration date has been announced, so that date is unknown, according to the NCBE. Louisiana is not a Uniform Bar Examination state; it administers its own exam based on its civil-law system. The NCBE reports the legacy UBE and Multistate Bar Examination end nationally after February 2028, but that does not convert Louisiana, which already sits outside the UBE.

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

Yes. A JD from any ABA-accredited law school qualifies you to sit for the Louisiana bar, so you do not have to attend one of the four law schools in Louisiana to be admitted to practice there. Because Louisiana tests its own civil law, however, applicants trained elsewhere should plan to study Louisiana-specific material and confirm current requirements with the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions.

Which Louisiana law school has the best bar passage?

This statewide roll-up reports median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition for each Louisiana school but does not include school-by-school first-time bar-passage rates, so it would be inventing a figure to name a single leader. To compare bar passage across Louisiana law schools, consult each school's ABA bar-passage report through the ABA disclosure portal, where first-time and ultimate pass rates for every Louisiana program are published.

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

This guide focuses on the 2025 ABA 509 admissions figures for Louisiana and does not enumerate which schools run part-time or evening divisions, so it will not attribute specific program formats that were not provided. Program format is a real point of difference among schools, so confirm the current part-time and evening options directly with each Louisiana law school you are considering before you apply.

Where can you take the LSAT in Louisiana?

LSAT test centers operate in Louisiana's major metros, concentrated in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas and typically serving markets such as Shreveport and Lafayette as well. Because specific centers change each cycle, check LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register. A remote-proctored option also lets many Louisiana candidates test from home, so weigh that against an in-person seat and register early for the best availability in Louisiana.

Which Louisiana law schools are splitter friendly?

Loyola University New Orleans and Tulane University both read as splitter friendly, showing GPA gaps of 0.25 and 0.2 respectively between their 25th percentile and median in the 2025 ABA 509 data, meaning a strong LSAT can offset a lower GPA at those Louisiana schools. Louisiana State University (Hebert) and Southern University Law Center are not flagged in either direction, so read their class profiles directly from their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures.

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

No. You can earn a JD from an ABA-accredited school in any state and then sit for the Louisiana bar to practice in Louisiana, so attending an in-state school is not required. Given Louisiana's civil-law system, however, many practitioners find that in-state training in Louisiana civil law is valuable preparation. Confirm current admission rules with the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions, since those rules sit outside the 509 data used here.

Why is Louisiana law school different from other states?

Louisiana is the only state with a civil-law legal system, rooted in French and Spanish tradition rather than the common law used elsewhere, which is why it administers its own bar exam rather than the Uniform Bar Examination, per the NCBE. Legal training in Louisiana includes civil-law subjects that other states do not test, so studying at a Louisiana law school offers targeted preparation for practicing in the state.

Which Louisiana law school is the best value?

Southern University Law Center posts the lowest full-time tuition in the state at $11,338, and Louisiana State University (Hebert) pairs a $19,750 sticker with the state's lowest acceptance rate of 38.6 percent and a 157 median, both per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. For applicants weighing cost, these two public Louisiana schools offer exceptional value, though value should still be measured net of any scholarship aid offered.

Is a 157 LSAT good in Louisiana?

Yes. A 157 is exactly the median at Louisiana State University (Hebert) and above the medians at Loyola University New Orleans (154) and Southern University Law Center (147), per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so it is competitive at three of Louisiana's four schools and strong for scholarship consideration. It sits just below Tulane University's 161 median, so Tulane would be a modest reach, but a 157 is a solid score in Louisiana.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from primary disclosures, listed here so readers can verify each one directly for Louisiana.

ABA Standard 509 Information Reports (2025), for each Louisiana law school's median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition, through the ABA disclosure portal: https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

NCBE, for Louisiana bar-exam status and the NextGen transition timeline: https://www.ncbex.org/

Get your free Louisiana law school profile evaluation