How to Get Into Lewis & Clark Law School: LSAT, GPA & Admissions (2026)

The short answer to how to get into Lewis & Clark Law School is to reach the medians reported in Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, a 161 LSAT and a 3.59 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 158 to 166 on the LSAT and 3.24 to 3.79 in GPA. Clear both and you are competitive.

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 Lewis & Clark Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, the employment figures from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and the bar-passage figures from Lewis & Clark's ABA bar-passage report, together with the school's own published pages.

The single most distinctive fact about Lewis & Clark Law School is that it is considerably easier to get into than its academic profile suggests. Lewis & Clark posts a 161 LSAT median, the highest in this Pacific Northwest set, yet Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks it 36th most selective of the 38 ABA law schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of that 161, and its own 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports a 54.72 percent acceptance rate. In other words, Lewis & Clark admits more than half of applicants despite carrying a respected median. Two supporting facts sharpen the case: Lewis & Clark posted the strongest first-time bar-passage rate in this group, 85.03 percent, and zero first-year academic attrition. The thesis of this page is that Lewis & Clark Law School is one of the most attainable routes to a strong-median Oregon JD, and that the real work here is winning scholarship money and choosing the school for the regional career it serves.

Lewis & Clark Law School at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

Lewis & Clark Law School posts a 161 LSAT median, a 3.59 GPA median, and a 54.72 percent acceptance rate in Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees are $61,484, and 95 percent of students receive grant aid. The table below gathers the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for Lewis & Clark.

MetricLewis & Clark Law School (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)158 / 161 / 166GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.24 / 3.59 / 3.79Acceptance rate54.72%Applications1,133Offers of admission620Matriculants from the applicant pool171First-year class176 (156 full-time, 20 part-time)Full-time tuition and fees$61,484Living expenses$28,370Share receiving grants95%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$19,000 / $26,000 / $36,000Full-tuition awards0 full-tuition, 2 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage85.03% (exam year 2024, Oregon)Employed at ten months88.1% (171 of 194)

Source: Lewis & Clark 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 Lewis & Clark's ABA bar-passage report. Tuition and fees and living expenses are printed separately in the 509, which does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page does not invent one.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into Lewis & Clark Law School?

Lewis & Clark Law School reports an LSAT spread of 158 to 166 and a GPA spread of 3.24 to 3.79 in its 2025 ABA 509. A 161 LSAT and a 3.59 GPA sit at both medians. Below the 158 LSAT or the 3.24 GPA you need a clear compensating strength on the other number, though Lewis & Clark's 54.72 percent acceptance rate widens the realistic range.

Lewis & Clark reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 158, 161, and 166, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.24, 3.59, and 3.79 for the fall 2025 entering class, per Lewis & Clark Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 161 on the LSAT and above 3.59 in GPA, and half scored below. Because Lewis & Clark admitted more than half of its applicants, those medians describe the center of the class rather than a wall, and applicants a point or two under them are admitted every cycle.

The realistic read at Lewis & Clark Law School is generous for a school with a 161 median. A 161 and a 3.59 place you at the center of the class, and the 25th percentiles of 158 and 3.24 are live numbers given the 54.72 percent admit rate. The honest caveat is that landing at or below both 25th percentiles at once weakens a file, so if your LSAT is 158 you want a GPA near or above the 3.59 median, and if your GPA is 3.24 you want an LSAT near or above 161. One especially notable feature is the top of the LSAT band: the 75th percentile is 166, a full five points above the median, which tells you Lewis & Clark enrolls a real contingent of high-LSAT students and rewards a strong test score.

The shape of the two bands makes Lewis & Clark Law School splitter friendly. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.35 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 3 points, and the overall LSAT band from 158 to 166 is unusually wide. A splitter-friendly school forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high; a reverse-splitter-friendly school forgives a lower LSAT when the GPA is high. Lewis & Clark leans splitter, so a strong LSAT can offset a transcript toward the 3.24 quartile. If your grades are uneven but your LSAT is strong, Lewis & Clark Law School is a program where that profile plays well, and a high LSAT can also pull you toward the top of the class for scholarship purposes.

Is Lewis & Clark Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

No. Lewis & Clark Law School is easier to get into than its academic reputation implies. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Lewis & Clark 36th most selective of the 38 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 161, and its acceptance rate is 54.72 percent. For an applicant near the medians, the gap between the school's respected profile and its forgiving admit rate is an opportunity.

To test reputation against selectivity, Lovare built a peer band of the 38 ABA law schools whose median LSAT lands within two points of Lewis & Clark's 161, that is, a median of 159 to 163, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Lewis & Clark Law School comes in 36th most selective of the 38, near the very bottom of the group. Only two schools posting a comparable median admit a larger share of their applicants than Lewis & Clark does, which is a striking result for a school whose 161 median is the highest in this Pacific Northwest set.

The acceptance-rate detail explains the gap. A 54.72 percent acceptance rate, from Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, means the school admitted more than half of everyone who applied, extending 620 offers against 1,133 applications to fill a first-year class of 176. The school makes a large number of offers relative to the seats it needs, which is why the admit rate stays above half even as the enrolled class posts a strong 161 median. For you, the practical effect is that a file at or slightly below the 161 and 3.59 medians has a genuinely favorable shot at a school whose median would, at a more selective peer, imply a much harder gate.

The honest verdict is that Lewis & Clark Law School is a case where academic reputation runs ahead of selectivity, and that is good news for applicants. The 161 median is respectable, the outcomes are solid, and the admit rate is forgiving. The real competition at Lewis & Clark is not for a seat but for scholarship money, which is where a score above the medians, especially an LSAT reaching toward the 166 upper quartile, pays off. Aim high on the LSAT to convert an attainable admit into a funded one.

How much does Lewis & Clark Law School cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

Lewis & Clark Law School charges $61,484 in full-time tuition and fees, the highest sticker in this group, per Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509, plus $28,370 in living expenses. Ninety-five percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $26,000. Against the sticker, a median-grant recipient nets about $35,484 in tuition and fees before living costs.

Lewis & Clark Law School carries the highest sticker in this Pacific Northwest set. Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $61,484 plus $28,370 in living expenses. 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 Lewis & Clark reports, and this page will not invent one.

Aid reaches nearly the whole class, which softens that high sticker. According to the same 509, 95 percent of Lewis & Clark Law School students receive grant aid, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $19,000, $26,000, and $36,000. One structural detail is worth naming plainly: Lewis & Clark reports zero full-tuition awards and only 2 awards above full tuition, so the full-ride path is essentially closed here. The school's aid model is broad, mid-five-figure discounting that reaches almost everyone rather than a set of full scholarships for a few, so plan to pay a meaningful share of tuition even with a strong award.

For a typical recipient the math works out as follows. Against the $61,484 sticker, a student receiving Lewis & Clark Law School's median grant of $26,000 nets about $35,484 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. One detail lowers the risk on the aid side: Lewis & Clark's 509 reports that the school does not use conditional scholarships, so an award is not tied to a first-year class-rank or GPA threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip during the first year. The grant Lewis & Clark quotes at admission is the grant you keep for all three years, which makes the number in your offer letter a figure you can budget around, even though full rides are not on the table.

What are your real chances off the Lewis & Clark Law School waitlist?

Lewis & Clark Law School does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 171 matriculants against 620 offers is a 27.6 percent yield in Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509. That is a moderate-to-low yield, so Lewis & Clark relies on a large offer volume and its waitlist can move in some cycles.

Here is the reasoning in full. Lewis & Clark Law School enrolled 171 matriculants from 620 offers in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 27.6 percent. No ABA disclosure, Lewis & Clark's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted from the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for waitlist movement. When fewer than three in ten admitted students enroll, a school is making a large volume of offers relative to its seats and cannot predict its class precisely, which leaves some room for late movement.

A 27.6 percent yield is on the lower side, and that shapes expectations for a waitlisted applicant to Lewis & Clark Law School with cautious optimism. Because most admitted students decline, Lewis & Clark leans on a large offer volume and, in cycles where its first-round yield runs light, may turn to the waitlist to fill remaining seats. That is not a promise, since the school can simply make more offers up front, but it does mean a Lewis & Clark waitlist spot carries more real hope than it would at a school that yields close to half its offers.

If you land on the Lewis & Clark Law School waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Lewis & Clark as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand. Given the moderate-to-low yield, a Lewis & Clark waitlist spot is worth working actively rather than writing off, because the school's own offer patterns leave the door meaningfully open.

Where do Lewis & Clark Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Lewis & Clark Law School concentrated its graduates in Oregon, which took 115 of 194 graduates, or 59.3 percent, with Washington and Alaska next. The top three markets accounted for 75.3 percent. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 5.2 percent, and 1.0 percent won federal clerkships. Lewis & Clark is an Oregon-anchored Pacific Northwest feeder.

Lewis & Clark Law School is a regional school, and the employment data shows both its home base and its northwestern reach. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Lewis & Clark placed 115 of its graduates in Oregon, 22 in Washington, and 9 in Alaska. That is a 59.3 percent top-market share and a 75.3 percent top-three share, so nearly six in ten graduates stay in Oregon and three in four land within the Oregon, Washington, and Alaska group. The Alaska placement is a distinctive touch, reflecting a genuine pipeline into the wider Pacific Northwest rather than a purely Portland-bound class. If you want to practice in Oregon or the greater Northwest, Lewis & Clark aims squarely there; if your target is the East Coast or the South, the 75.3 percent top-three concentration warns that its reach thins quickly outside the region.

Concentration matters more than the raw rate. Lewis & Clark Law School reported 171 of 194 graduates employed at ten months, or 88.1 percent, in the same ABA Employment Summary, a solid figure. The clearer signal is geographic: Lewis & Clark's network is strongest in Oregon and the surrounding Northwest, so an applicant whose goal is Portland or the broader region is buying into exactly the market this degree serves best.

On firm size and clerkships, Lewis & Clark Law School reads as a regional-practice, public-interest, and government school rather than a national BigLaw feeder. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 5.2 percent of Lewis & Clark graduates entering large firms of 101 or more lawyers and 1.0 percent entering federal clerkships. Those shares are modest, which is honest to name: most Lewis & Clark graduates build careers in small and midsize firms, government, and public-interest work across Oregon and the Northwest, not in national large-firm practice. Choose Lewis & Clark Law School for a regional or mission-driven career, and treat a large-firm job as the exception rather than the expectation.

When are Lewis & Clark Law School's application deadlines?

This page's sources do not publish Lewis & Clark Law School's application calendar, and Lewis & Clark's Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. Confirm the current regular deadlines and any Early Decision terms directly on the school's admissions site. The guidance here is dated: verified August 2026.

The primary sources behind this page, the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and Lewis & Clark's ABA bar-passage report, report admissions, cost, and outcome figures but not the cycle-by-cycle application calendar. For that reason this page does not state a specific regular-decision deadline for Lewis & Clark Law School, and it does not state specific Early Decision terms, because those terms are not confirmed here. The honest instruction is to verify the current deadlines and any binding Early Decision terms on Lewis & Clark's own admissions page before you rely on them, rather than trust a date this page cannot source.

As general practice across law schools rather than a published Lewis & Clark rule, applying earlier in a cycle tends to help, because more seats and more scholarship money are available before a class fills. That principle carries weight at a high-offer school like Lewis & Clark Law School, where an early, complete file with a strong LSAT is best positioned to win the largest awards, since full rides are scarce and the biggest discounts go to the strongest files. Take your strongest LSAT before you apply, and treat Lewis & Clark's admissions page as the authority on the exact dates, verified as of August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Lewis & Clark Law School

Is a 161 LSAT good enough for Lewis & Clark?

A 161 is exactly the LSAT median at Lewis & Clark Law School, per Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 158 to 166. Because Lewis & Clark admitted 54.72 percent of applicants, a 161 is more than good enough for a strong shot at admission. Pair it with a GPA near the 3.59 median and focus your energy on scholarship, not on getting in.

What GPA do you need for Lewis & Clark?

Lewis & Clark Law School reports a GPA median of 3.59, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.24 to 3.79, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.59 or higher, but the 3.24 quartile is a live number given Lewis & Clark's 54.72 percent acceptance rate. Because the school is splitter friendly, a strong LSAT can carry a GPA that sits toward the bottom of that range.

What is Lewis & Clark's acceptance rate?

Lewis & Clark Law School admitted 54.72 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 620 offers against 1,133 applications, according to Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Lovare's analysis ranks Lewis & Clark 36th most selective of the 38 schools within two points of its 161 median, so it is one of the most forgiving admits in a strong scoring band.

How many people apply to Lewis & Clark?

Lewis & Clark Law School received 1,133 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 620 offers, and enrolled 171 matriculants for a first-year class of 176 that splits into 156 full-time and 20 part-time students, per Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509. That large offer count against a small class is why Lewis & Clark's acceptance rate reaches 54.72 percent and its implied yield sits at 27.6 percent.

How much does Lewis & Clark cost?

Lewis & Clark Law School lists full-time tuition and fees of $61,484, the highest in this group, plus $28,370 in living expenses in its 2025 ABA 509. Lewis & Clark does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total in the 509, so tuition and living are best read separately. With a $26,000 median grant, a typical recipient nets about $35,484 in tuition and fees before living costs.

Does Lewis & Clark give scholarships?

Yes, broadly. Lewis & Clark Law School reports that 95 percent of students receive grants, with awards of $19,000, $26,000, and $36,000 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, per Lewis & Clark's 2025 ABA 509. Note that Lewis & Clark reports zero full-tuition awards and only 2 above full tuition, so its aid is broad mid-five-figure discounting rather than full rides.

What is Lewis & Clark's bar passage rate?

Lewis & Clark Law School posted an 85.03 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with Oregon as the largest jurisdiction, the strongest first-time rate in this group, according to Lewis & Clark's ABA bar-passage report. Its ultimate pass rate for the 2022 cohort was 86.06 percent. The close gap between the two shows most Lewis & Clark graduates pass on the first attempt.

Where do Lewis & Clark graduates work?

Most stay in Oregon. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Lewis & Clark Law School placed 115 of 194 graduates in Oregon, 22 in Washington, and 9 in Alaska, a 59.3 percent top-market share and 75.3 percent across the top three. Lewis & Clark is strongest for applicants who want to practice in Oregon and the greater Pacific Northwest.

Can a splitter get into Lewis & Clark?

A splitter has a real path. Lovare reads Lewis & Clark Law School as splitter friendly, with a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.35 and an unusually wide overall LSAT band from 158 to 166 in the 2025 ABA 509. That means Lewis & Clark forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a strong-LSAT applicant with a GPA toward the 3.24 quartile is a viable candidate, and the high acceptance rate helps further.

How selective is Lewis & Clark compared with schools at the same LSAT?

Lewis & Clark Law School is near the bottom of its band for selectivity. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Lewis & Clark 36th most selective of the 38 schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 161. In plain terms, almost every school posting the same 161 median admits a smaller share of applicants, so Lewis & Clark is among the most attainable admits for its scores.

Is Lewis & Clark worth it?

For a Pacific Northwest career, the case is strong. Lewis & Clark Law School reports 95 percent grant reach and a $26,000 median award in its 2025 ABA 509, an 85.03 percent first-time bar rate, zero first-year attrition, and an 88.1 percent employment rate in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024. The value case rests on winning aid and wanting to practice in the region.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a Lewis & Clark scholarship?

Scores above the medians, with the LSAT doing heavy lifting. Because Lewis & Clark Law School enrolls a real high-LSAT contingent up to a 166 upper quartile, an LSAT above the 161 median toward 166, paired with a GPA above 3.59 toward the 3.79 quartile, positions you for the top of Lewis & Clark's grant range, where the 75th-percentile award reaches $36,000. Full rides, though, are essentially unavailable here.

Is Lewis & Clark easy to get into?

By the standards of its band, yes. Lewis & Clark Law School admitted 54.72 percent of applicants in its 2025 ABA 509, and Lovare ranks it 36th most selective of the 38 schools within two points of its 161 median. That does not mean Lewis & Clark admits everyone, but a file at or near the 161 and 3.59 medians faces a genuinely favorable admissions gate for a school with such a strong median.

How is the first year at Lewis & Clark?

Lewis & Clark Law School reports first-year academic attrition of 0.0 percent in its 2025 ABA 509, meaning no first-year students left for academic reasons in the reported period. That is the best retention figure in this group and signals that students who start at Lewis & Clark reliably advance to the second year, a reassuring sign given the school's forgiving admissions gate.

Sources

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

Lewis & Clark Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=126&year=2025

Lewis & Clark Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=126&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=126&year=2024

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