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

How to get into Louisiana State Law School is as much a value question as a numbers one. According to LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 entering class posted a 157 LSAT median, inside a 155 to 160 middle range, and a 3.74 GPA median, inside a 3.48 to 3.93 range. Hit both numbers and you are competitive at Louisiana's flagship law school.

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 LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), the employment figures from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and the remaining detail from LSU Law's own pages.

The single most distinctive fact about LSU Law is how little it can cost the students who get in. According to LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, resident full-time tuition and fees run $23,665, 78% of students receive a grant, and the school reports 126 full-tuition awards and 46 awards above full tuition. Very few law schools discount that deeply against a resident sticker that low. That combination, a modest in-state price and aid that reaches full-tuition territory for a meaningful part of the class, is the thesis this page returns to: LSU Law is the value flagship of Louisiana, and its admissions numbers, its scholarship depth, and its in-state career pipeline all read most clearly through that lens.

Louisiana State University (LSU) law admissions at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

LSU Law is a flagship public school that pairs mid-range selectivity with an unusually low resident price. According to LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class posted a 157 LSAT median, a 3.74 GPA median, and a 38.55% acceptance rate. Resident tuition and fees run $23,665 and nonresident $39,105, with living expenses listed separately at $27,034. The table below collects the core numbers.

MetricLSU Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)155 / 157 / 160GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.48 / 3.74 / 3.93Acceptance rate38.55%Applications1,253Offers of admission483Matriculants from the pool230First-year class230Full-time tuition and feesResident $23,665 / nonresident $39,105Living expenses$27,034Share receiving grants78% of studentsMedian grant$19,750Conditional scholarshipsYes (an award can be cut if grades fall below the school's threshold)First-time bar passage84.35%Employed at ten months88.5% (185 of 209)

Source: LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), LSU Law's ABA bar-passage report, and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024. Tuition 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 quote one.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into LSU Law?

You realistically need a 157 LSAT and a 3.74 GPA to sit at the center of LSU Law's class. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure puts the LSAT middle at 155 to 160 and the GPA middle at 3.48 to 3.93. Below either 25th percentile, the other number has to carry a clear compensating strength.

Take the two numbers one at a time. The Louisiana State University (LSU) law LSAT median is 157, with a 25th percentile of 155 and a 75th percentile of 160, per LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The band is compact at the bottom and wider at the top: only two points separate the median from the 155 bottom quarter, while three points separate it from the 160 top quarter. In practical terms a 160 reaches into the top of the admitted class, a 157 sits at the middle, and a 155 marks the bottom quarter yet stays comfortably inside the admitted range. Because LSU Law admits about 38.55% of applicants, an LSAT at or a little above 157 is a genuinely competitive position rather than a stretch.

The GPA band tells a similar story. The Louisiana State University (LSU) law GPA median is 3.74, with a 25th percentile of 3.48 and a 75th percentile of 3.93, according to the same disclosure. The distance from the 25th percentile to the median is 0.26 of a point, so LSU Law's admitted students cluster in the high 3.4s through the 3.9s, but a 3.48 remains a live number rather than a disqualifier, and the top quarter reaches an unusually high 3.93. That upper figure signals that a strong contingent of the class arrives with near-perfect undergraduate records.

So what does a realistic LSU Law profile look like? A 157 LSAT paired with a 3.74 GPA lands an applicant squarely at both medians, per LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, and against a 38.55% acceptance rate that is a comfortable, competitive position. Fall below the 155 LSAT or the 3.48 GPA and you need a clear compensating strength on the other number. On the splitter question, LSU Law is splitter friendly: its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 and an LSAT spread of 2 points, so the GPA band is more forgiving than the LSAT band. A splitter-friendly school forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a high-LSAT applicant with a GPA in the low 3.5s has a realistic path at LSU Law.

Is LSU Law harder to get into than its reputation?

Roughly in line with it, sitting in the middle of its academic band. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a 38.55% acceptance rate, which ranks it 21st most selective of the 57 schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 157. That places LSU Law just inside the more selective half of its own peer group.

To judge the Louisiana State University (LSU) law acceptance rate fairly, compare it only against schools with a similar academic profile. Among the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of LSU Law's 157, that is a median of 155 to 159, ranked by acceptance rate, LSU Law is the 21st most selective, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Twenty of the schools sharing its LSAT profile admit a smaller share of applicants than LSU Law's 38.55%, and thirty-six admit a larger share, so LSU Law sits just inside the more selective half of its band rather than at either extreme.

The practical reading is constructive. LSU Law carries the recognition of a state flagship, which can lead applicants to assume a tougher gate than the numbers show, but at 38.55% LSU Law admits nearly two applicants in five. Its 1,253 applications against 483 offers, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, describe a school that is competitive without being a lottery. The takeaway is not that LSU Law is easy, but that a file at or near the 157 and 3.74 medians has a realistic shot, and an applicant with numbers above the medians can approach LSU Law as a strong scholarship target rather than a reach.

How much does LSU Law cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists resident full-time tuition and fees at $23,665 and nonresident at $39,105, with living expenses of $27,034 printed separately and no single cost-of-attendance total. The aid is broad: 78% of LSU Law students receive a grant, with a median award of $19,750, though the scholarships are conditional on grades.

Start with the sticker. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists resident tuition and fees of $23,665, a genuinely low figure for an accredited flagship, and nonresident tuition and fees of $39,105. It lists living expenses separately at $27,034. That 509 does not print a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in annual number quoted elsewhere for LSU Law is someone's arithmetic rather than a figure the school reports, and this page will not invent one.

The aid picture is where LSU Law stands out. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports that 78% of students receive a grant, with grant amounts at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $9,937, $19,750, and $20,600. The same disclosure reports 126 full-tuition awards and 46 awards above full tuition. Measured against the low resident sticker, the median grant of $19,750 covers the large majority of resident tuition, and for a nonresident paying the $39,105 sticker, a student holding LSU Law's median grant nets about $19,355 in tuition and fees before living costs, per the same disclosure. Either way, the effective price at LSU Law lands well below what the headline tuition suggests.

One consumer-protective caution belongs in any honest read of LSU Law. According to LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, its scholarships are conditional, which means a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below the school's stated threshold. Before you count that money as guaranteed for all three years, ask the LSU Law admissions office in writing what grade or class-rank threshold applies and what share of students keep the full award into the second and third years. LSU Law's first-year academic attrition of 2.0%, reported in the same disclosure, is low, which is a reassuring signal that the curve is not being used to push students out, but the renewal terms on a conditional award are a separate question worth confirming.

The strategic read for LSU Law is that its low resident price and broad discounting reward strong numbers twice over. Because LSU Law admits nearly two in five applicants and awards grants to 78% of enrolled students, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, a candidate with an LSAT above the 157 median and a GPA above the 3.74 median is well positioned to compete for the full-tuition and above-full-tuition awards the school reports, turning an already modest resident sticker into one of the strongest value propositions in the region.

What are your real chances off the LSU Law waitlist?

Moderate to good. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure records 483 offers and 230 matriculants, an implied yield of 47.6%. No ABA disclosure publishes waitlist admits, so implied yield is the honest proxy: a 47.6% yield means LSU Law fills close to half its offers, so a good deal of the class arrives from first-round offers and the waitlist moves less than at a lower-yield school.

Here is the reasoning in full. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 483 offers of admission and 230 matriculants drawn from the applicant pool, which is an implied yield of 47.6%. No ABA disclosure, LSU Law's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted off the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest stand-in for waitlist movement. The logic is that when a school converts 47.6% of its offers into enrollments, it sends roughly two offers for every seat it fills, a relatively efficient class-building pattern that leaves less room for heavy waitlist activity than you would see at a school sending three or four offers per seat.

For a waitlisted applicant, the read is realistic rather than discouraging. A 47.6% implied yield at LSU Law is on the higher side for its band, consistent with a strong in-state pull: many admitted Louisiana residents choose the flagship and enroll. The honest limit is that LSU Law, like every school, does not publish year-to-year waitlist admit counts, so movement varies by cycle. If you are on the LSU Law waitlist, a concise letter of continued interest that names LSU Law as your first choice and reaffirms your ties to Louisiana is worth sending, because a school with a strong yield values applicants who signal they will actually enroll in Baton Rouge.

Where do LSU Law graduates actually work?

Overwhelmingly in Louisiana, with the best large-firm reach of its regional peers. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, LSU Law's top market, Louisiana, took 64.1% of graduates, and the top three markets together took 75.6%. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers hired 14.8% of the class, and federal clerkships took 2.9%.

The defining fact about LSU Law's outcomes is its concentration in the home state. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, LSU Law placed 134 graduates in Louisiana, 19 in Texas, and 5 in Florida, its three largest markets. Louisiana alone took 64.1% of the class, and the top three markets combined reached 75.6%, per the same summary. This is a school that dominates its home market: nearly two-thirds of the class launches inside Louisiana, and the neighboring Gulf and Texas markets absorb most of the rest. For an applicant who wants to practice in Louisiana, that concentration is a feature, because it reflects the deep local employer relationships a flagship builds over decades.

By employer type, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 14.8% of LSU Law graduates taking jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers, a strong large-firm share for a regional flagship and the highest among the Louisiana and Arkansas schools in this guide. Federal clerkships took 2.9% of the class, per the same summary. The picture is of a school whose graduates compete effectively for the biggest firm jobs in Louisiana and reach into Texas, rather than one confined to small-firm and solo practice.

The overall placement rate is solid. The same ABA Employment Summary shows 185 of 209 LSU Law graduates employed at ten months, an 88.5% rate, so 24 graduates were not yet placed at the ten-month mark, a gap an applicant should weigh alongside the school's strong in-state pipeline. LSU Law's ABA bar-passage report supports the outcomes picture with a first-time pass rate of 84.35% for the 2024 exam year in Louisiana, a solid result in a demanding civil-law jurisdiction, rising to a 93.64% ultimate rate for the 2022 cohort.

When are LSU Law's application deadlines?

LSU Law runs a J.D. admissions cycle, but this page does not print a specific deadline date because the packet behind it did not pull one. The honest instruction is to confirm LSU Law's current deadlines, and any early-decision terms, directly on the school's admissions site. This guidance is dated August 2026.

On early decision specifically, LSU Law's ED terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle, so rather than state a binding-or-not rule or a date that might be wrong, this page notes the absence plainly: if you are weighing an early application to LSU Law, confirm whether LSU Law offers an Early Decision round, whether it is binding, and what its deadline is, on the school's own admissions page before you rely on it. Application cycle dates shift from year to year, and a date that holds for one cycle can move in the next, so treat LSU Law's official site as the registrar of record. What this page can say with confidence, verified in August 2026, is that a strong LSU Law application benefits from being complete early, because with 78% of students receiving grants and conditional awards in play, the scholarship money is most plentiful earlier in the cycle.

Frequently asked questions about getting into LSU Law

Is a 157 LSAT good enough for LSU Law?

A 157 is exactly LSU Law's LSAT median, per LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, so it is good enough to be competitive, and against a 38.55% acceptance rate it is a comfortable position. Half of the fall 2025 class scored at or above 157 and half below, inside a 155 to 160 middle range. Paired with a GPA near the 3.74 median, a 157 places an LSU Law applicant at the center of the class.

What GPA do you need for LSU Law?

LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a GPA median of 3.74, with a 25th percentile of 3.48 and a 75th percentile of 3.93. Realistically you want a GPA of at least 3.48 to stay inside LSU Law's admitted band, and because LSU Law is splitter friendly, a strong LSAT at or above 157 can offset a GPA in the low 3.5s in the school's read of the file. The top quarter of the class reaches an unusually high 3.93.

What is LSU Law's acceptance rate?

LSU Law's acceptance rate is 38.55%, computed as 483 offers against 1,253 applications in LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That ranks LSU Law 21st most selective among the 57 schools within two LSAT points of its 157 median, just inside the more selective half of its academic band. About two applicants in five receive an offer from LSU Law in a given cycle.

How many people apply to LSU Law?

LSU Law received 1,253 applications for its fall 2025 entering class, according to LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. From that pool, LSU Law extended 483 offers of admission and enrolled 230 matriculants, building a first-year class of 230. That is a comparatively focused applicant pool for a state flagship, which helps explain why LSU Law's 38.55% acceptance rate sits in the middle of its LSAT band rather than at the selective end.

How much does LSU Law cost?

LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists resident tuition and fees at $23,665, nonresident at $39,105, and living expenses at $27,034. LSU Law does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page will not quote one. A nonresident holding LSU Law's median grant of $19,750 nets about $19,355 in tuition and fees before living costs, and for a resident the same median grant covers most of the $23,665 sticker.

Does LSU Law give scholarships?

Yes, broadly. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports that 78% of students receive a grant, with amounts of $9,937, $19,750, and $20,600 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 126 full-tuition awards and 46 awards above full tuition. Those scholarships are conditional at LSU Law, so a first-year award can be cut if your grades fall below the school's threshold, which is worth confirming in writing.

What is LSU Law's bar passage rate?

LSU Law's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time pass rate of 84.35% for the 2024 exam year, with Louisiana as the largest jurisdiction, a strong result in a civil-law bar that is among the more demanding in the country. The ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, rises to 93.64%, per the same report, so the large majority of LSU Law graduates who sit the exam ultimately pass.

Where do LSU Law graduates work?

Mostly in Louisiana. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Louisiana taking 134 LSU Law graduates (64.1%), Texas 19, and Florida 5, so the top three markets account for 75.6% of the class. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers hired 14.8% of LSU Law graduates, the strongest large-firm share among the Louisiana and Arkansas schools covered in this guide, and federal clerkships took 2.9%.

Can a splitter get into LSU Law?

Yes. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 and an LSAT spread of 2 points, so the GPA band is more forgiving than the LSAT band. That makes LSU Law splitter friendly: an applicant with a 157-or-better LSAT and a GPA in the low 3.5s fits the profile LSU Law admits, helped by the school's 38.55% acceptance rate and its willingness to reward a strong test score.

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

Middle of its band. Among the 57 schools with a median LSAT within two points of LSU Law's 157, ranked by acceptance rate, LSU Law is 21st most selective at 38.55%, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Twenty band peers admit a smaller share of applicants than LSU Law does, so LSU Law is neither the easiest nor the hardest admit at its academic level.

Is LSU Law worth it?

For a Louisiana-focused career, the value case is strong. Against a low resident sticker of $23,665 in LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, 78% of students receive grants with a $19,750 median, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 88.5% employed at ten months, and the first-time bar rate is 84.35%. For an applicant who wants to practice in Louisiana, LSU Law is one of the clearest value plays in the region.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at an LSU Law scholarship?

The highest you can post, because LSU Law reports full-tuition and above-full-tuition awards. Per LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, grants reach a $20,600 upper quartile, with 126 full-tuition awards recorded. An LSAT at or above the 160 upper quartile paired with a GPA near the 3.93 top quarter gives the strongest shot at the largest awards, and at LSU Law numbers above the 157 and 3.74 medians carry real weight in aid decisions.

How does LSU Law's yield compare with its acceptance rate?

LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows 483 offers against 1,253 applications, a 38.55% acceptance rate, and 230 of those admits enrolled, a 47.6% yield. That is a relatively high yield, consistent with a state flagship that many admitted Louisiana residents choose. The practical effect is that LSU Law fills much of its class from first-round offers, so its waitlist tends to move less than at a lower-yield school.

Are LSU Law scholarships conditional on grades?

Yes. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports that its scholarships are conditional, which means a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below the school's stated threshold. Before accepting an LSU Law offer, ask the admissions office what threshold applies and what share of students keep the full award, since a conditional grant carries a renewal risk that a guaranteed award does not.

Does LSU Law have high first-year attrition?

No. LSU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports first-year academic attrition of 2.0%, a low figure meaning very few members of the entering class were dismissed for grades in the first year. For an applicant that is a reassuring signal: once you are admitted to LSU Law and enroll, the school is not using the first-year curve to force students out, though a conditional scholarship can still be reduced short of dismissal.

Sources

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

LSU Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=62&year=2025

LSU Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=62&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=62&year=2024

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