How to Get Into Loyola University Chicago Law School: LSAT, GPA & Admissions (2026)

The short answer to how to get into Loyola University Chicago Law School is to hit the medians from the school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 161 LSAT and a 3.7 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 159 to 163 on the LSAT and 3.55 to 3.83 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 Loyola University Chicago School of Law'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 the school's ABA bar-passage report, together with its own published pages.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a Chicago-market workhorse and, for its band, a real large-firm feeder. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 71.4 percent of Loyola Chicago graduates went to work in Illinois and 24.3 percent joined large firms of 101 or more lawyers, a strong big-firm share for a school at its level. It is also harder to get into than its 28.18 percent acceptance rate suggests: Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Loyola Chicago 11th most selective of the 38 ABA law schools within two points of its 161 median, in the top third of its group. The thesis of this page is that Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the school to target if you want the Chicago legal market, provided you also plan for its Illinois bar exam, where its first-time pass rate runs below its ultimate rate.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

Loyola University Chicago School of Law posts a 161 LSAT median, a 3.7 GPA median, and a 28.18 percent acceptance rate in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees are $59,666. The table below gathers the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for Loyola Chicago.

MetricLoyola University Chicago School of Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)159 / 161 / 163GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.55 / 3.7 / 3.83Acceptance rate28.18%Applications4,244Offers of admission1,196Matriculants from the applicant pool291First-year class296 (256 full-time, 40 part-time)Full-time tuition and fees$59,666Living expenses$32,658Share receiving grants94%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$22,000 / $30,000 / $35,000Full-tuition awards18 full-tuition, 2 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage80.0% (exam year 2024, Illinois)Employed at ten months93.1% (326 of 350)

Source: Loyola University Chicago School of Law'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 the school's ABA bar-passage report. 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 invent one.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into Loyola University Chicago School of Law?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law reports an LSAT spread of 159 to 163 and a GPA spread of 3.55 to 3.83 in its 2025 ABA 509. A 161 and a 3.7 sit at both medians. Below the 159 LSAT or the 3.55 GPA, you need a clear compensating strength on the other number to keep a Loyola Chicago file competitive.

Loyola Chicago reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 159, 161, and 163, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.55, 3.7, and 3.83 for the fall 2025 entering class, per Loyola University Chicago School of Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 161 on the LSAT and above 3.7 in GPA, and half scored below. Both bands are tight, so at Loyola Chicago the medians describe a fairly narrow center of gravity, and files far from them in either direction are less common.

The realistic read at Loyola University Chicago School of Law is that a 161 LSAT and a 3.7 GPA make you a solid competitor, and that the school's narrow ranges reward hitting the medians rather than counting on a single high number to rescue a low one. A 159 LSAT, the 25th percentile, is inside the class but wants a GPA at or above 3.7, and a 3.55 GPA, likewise the bottom quartile, wants an LSAT at or above 161. Because Loyola Chicago is comparatively selective for its band, a file below both 25th percentiles at once faces real resistance, so lift at least one number toward the median before applying.

On splitter behavior, Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a nuanced case. Lovare reads Loyola Chicago as splitter friendly, but both bands are narrow, with a GPA 25th-to-median spread of just 0.15 and an LSAT spread of just 2 points in the 2025 ABA 509. 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. Loyola Chicago leans splitter, so a high LSAT helps offset a softer GPA, but the tight ranges mean its tolerance on either axis is modest. The practical lesson is that Loyola Chicago prefers balanced files near both medians and gives a splitter only a limited edge.

Is Loyola University Chicago School of Law harder to get into than its reputation?

Yes, modestly. Loyola University Chicago School of Law is more selective than its 28.18 percent acceptance rate might suggest. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Loyola Chicago 11th most selective of the 38 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 161, placing it in the top third of its band rather than the middle.

Reputation places Loyola University Chicago School of Law as a well-regarded Chicago private law school with a strong regional profile. To test that reputation against selectivity, Lovare built a peer band of the 38 ABA law schools whose median LSAT lands within two points of Loyola Chicago's 161, that is, a median of 159 to 163, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Loyola Chicago comes in 11th most selective of the 38, which places it comfortably in the top third of a competitive group.

That ranking reframes the headline number. A 28.18 percent acceptance rate, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, can read as unremarkable in isolation, but against its true peers it is on the selective side: Loyola Chicago drew 4,244 applications, one of the larger pools among the schools on this page, and made only 1,196 offers to fill a first-year class of 296. A large pool paired with disciplined offers is what pushes it into the top third of its band. For an applicant, the message is to respect the medians and not assume a 28 percent rate means an easy admit, because Loyola Chicago is harder to enter than most schools posting the same 161 median.

The honest verdict is that Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a genuinely selective option within its tier, with its selectivity slightly ahead of its national name recognition. It is not an elite reach, but it is not a safety either. Treat Loyola Chicago as a target that rewards a file at or above the 161 and 3.7 medians, and give it the same care you would give a school one step up the ladder.

How much does Loyola University Chicago School of Law cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law charges $59,666 in full-time tuition and fees, per its 2025 ABA 509, plus $32,658 in living expenses. Ninety-four percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $30,000. A median-grant recipient nets about $29,666 in tuition and fees before living costs, and the awards are not conditional, so they cannot be cut for grades.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a private school, and its sticker sits in the middle of the private range. Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $59,666, plus $32,658 in living expenses, the latter reflecting the cost of living in Chicago. 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 Loyola Chicago reports, and this page will not invent one.

Aid at Loyola University Chicago School of Law is nearly universal. According to the same 509, 94 percent of Loyola Chicago students receive grant aid, one of the highest grant-reach figures you will find, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $22,000, $30,000, and $35,000. Loyola Chicago reports 18 full-tuition awards and 2 awards above full tuition. The grants blend merit and need-based aid, but the practical reality is that almost every admitted student who enrolls receives a meaningful discount, and the effective price is best understood net of that discount rather than at sticker.

For a typical recipient the math is clean. Against the $59,666 sticker, a student receiving Loyola University Chicago School of Law's median grant of $30,000 nets about $29,666 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Just as important, Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure 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. The grant Loyola Chicago quotes at admission is the grant you keep for all three years, which makes the net-price figure a number you can actually budget around.

The combination is what makes Loyola University Chicago School of Law reasonable on cost for a Chicago-market school: a mid-range sticker, a 94 percent grant reach, a $30,000 median award, and stable, non-conditional aid. To improve on the median, push your scores above the 161 and 3.7 medians, since Loyola Chicago concentrates its largest awards, including the 18 full-tuition packages, on the strongest files.

What are your real chances off the Loyola University Chicago School of Law waitlist?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 291 matriculants against 1,196 offers is a 24.3 percent yield in Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA 509. That is a lower yield, so Loyola Chicago spreads a wide set of offers and its waitlist can move in some cycles.

Here is the reasoning in full. Loyola University Chicago School of Law enrolled 291 matriculants from 1,196 offers in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 24.3 percent. No ABA disclosure, Loyola Chicago'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 only about a quarter of admitted students enroll, a school makes a broad set of offers and is less able to predict its class exactly, which leaves room for the waitlist to fill late gaps.

A 24.3 percent yield is on the lower side, and that tilts a waitlisted applicant's outlook at Loyola University Chicago School of Law toward cautious hope. Lower yield means most admitted students choose other schools, so Loyola Chicago relies on volume and may reach into its waitlist when its first-round yield runs light in a given cycle. That is not a guarantee, since the school can simply extend more offers up front, but it does mean a Loyola Chicago waitlist spot is worth working rather than dismissing.

If you land on the Loyola University Chicago School of Law waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Loyola Chicago as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand as your plan of record. Given the lower yield, treat a Loyola Chicago waitlist spot as a live possibility, but secure a seat elsewhere while you wait.

Where do Loyola University Chicago School of Law graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Loyola University Chicago School of Law placed 71.4 percent of graduates in Illinois and 77.7 percent across its top three markets. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 24.3 percent, a strong share for its band, and 0.9 percent won federal clerkships. Loyola Chicago is a concentrated Chicago-market feeder with real big-firm reach.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a Chicago school, and the employment data confirms it. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Loyola Chicago placed 250 of its graduates in Illinois, 13 in California, and 9 in Indiana. That is a 71.4 percent top-market share and a 77.7 percent top-three share, so roughly seven in ten graduates stay in Illinois, overwhelmingly in the Chicago metro, and the next markets are small by comparison. If Chicago is your target, Loyola Chicago sits at the center of that market.

What distinguishes Loyola University Chicago School of Law from many regional peers is its large-firm placement. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 24.3 percent of Loyola Chicago graduates entering large firms of 101 or more lawyers, nearly one in four, which is a strong big-firm share for a school at its median and a meaningful step above the regional norm. Paired with a 93.1 percent overall employment rate, 326 of 350 graduates employed at ten months in the same summary, the picture is of a school that channels a large minority of its class into Chicago BigLaw while placing most of the rest across the city's firms, companies, and government offices.

Federal clerkships are the one thin spot. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 0.9 percent of Loyola University Chicago School of Law graduates entering federal clerkships, a small share, so an applicant focused on a federal clerkship should calibrate expectations accordingly. The honest summary is that Loyola Chicago is built for the Chicago legal market and for large-firm and in-house careers there, rather than for a clerkship track or for practice outside Illinois, and that concentration is exactly what makes it valuable to a Chicago-bound applicant.

When are Loyola University Chicago School of Law's application deadlines?

This page's sources do not publish Loyola University Chicago School of Law's application calendar, and the school's Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. Confirm the current regular deadlines and any Early Decision terms directly on Loyola Chicago'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 Loyola Chicago'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 Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 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 on Loyola Chicago's own admissions page before you rely on them.

As general practice across law schools rather than a published Loyola Chicago rule, applying earlier in a cycle tends to help, because seats and scholarship money are more available before a class fills. That principle carries weight at a selective, high-volume school like Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where an early, complete file with a strong LSAT competes best for both admission and one of the larger awards. Take your strongest LSAT before you apply, and treat Loyola Chicago's admissions page as the authority on the exact dates, verified as of August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Is a 161 LSAT good enough for Loyola University Chicago School of Law?

A 161 is exactly the LSAT median at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, per Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 159 to 163. A 161 puts you at the fiftieth percentile, competitive but not a lock, especially since Loyola Chicago is selective for its band. Pair it with a GPA at or above the 3.7 median to make the file strong.

What GPA do you need for Loyola University Chicago School of Law?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law reports a GPA median of 3.7, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.55 to 3.83, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.7 or higher. Because Loyola Chicago holds a narrow GPA band, a transcript near the median matters, though a strong LSAT can help offset a GPA that sits toward the 3.55 quartile at Loyola Chicago.

What is Loyola University Chicago School of Law's acceptance rate?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law admitted 28.18 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 1,196 offers against 4,244 applications, according to Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Lovare's analysis ranks Loyola Chicago 11th most selective of the 38 schools within two points of its 161 median, so it is more selective than that rate alone suggests.

How many people apply to Loyola University Chicago School of Law?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law received 4,244 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 1,196 offers, and enrolled 291 matriculants from the pool for a first-year class of 296, which includes 256 full-time and 40 part-time students, per Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA 509. That large pool relative to offers is what drives the school's selective 28.18 percent rate.

How much does Loyola University Chicago School of Law cost?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law lists full-time tuition and fees of $59,666, plus $32,658 in living expenses, in its 2025 ABA 509. Loyola Chicago does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total in the 509, so tuition and living are best read separately. A median grant of $30,000 brings tuition and fees to about $29,666 before living costs at Loyola Chicago.

Does Loyola University Chicago School of Law give scholarships?

Yes, very broadly. Loyola University Chicago School of Law reports that 94 percent of students receive grants, with awards of $22,000, $30,000, and $35,000 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles and 18 full-tuition awards, per Loyola Chicago's 2025 ABA 509. The awards are not conditional, so a Loyola Chicago grant cannot be cut if your first-year grades fall, which makes the net price stable.

What is Loyola University Chicago School of Law's bar passage rate?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law posted an 80.0 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with Illinois as the largest jurisdiction, according to Loyola Chicago's ABA bar-passage report. That first-time figure is on the lower side, but its ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, was 91.57 percent, so most Loyola Chicago graduates who initially fall short eventually pass.

Where do Loyola University Chicago School of Law graduates work?

Overwhelmingly in Illinois. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Loyola University Chicago School of Law placed 250 graduates in Illinois, 13 in California, and 9 in Indiana, a 71.4 percent top-market share and 77.7 percent across the top three. Loyola Chicago is a concentrated Chicago-market feeder, ideal for applicants who want to practice in the city and its region.

Can a splitter get into Loyola University Chicago School of Law?

A splitter gets a limited edge. Lovare reads Loyola University Chicago School of Law as splitter friendly, but both bands are narrow, with a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.15 and an LSAT spread of 2 points in the 2025 ABA 509. So a high LSAT can offset a softer GPA at Loyola Chicago, but the tight ranges mean the school prefers balanced files near both medians.

How selective is Loyola University Chicago School of Law compared with schools at the same LSAT?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law is in the top third of its band. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Loyola Chicago 11th most selective of the 38 schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 161. In plain terms, most schools posting the same 161 median admit a larger share of applicants, so Loyola Chicago is a comparatively selective admit for its scores.

Is Loyola University Chicago School of Law worth it?

For a Chicago career, the case is strong. Loyola University Chicago School of Law pairs a $59,666 sticker with 94 percent grant reach and a $30,000 median award, and in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 it sent 24.3 percent of graduates to large firms and employed 93.1 percent at ten months. For a Chicago-bound applicant, Loyola Chicago's market position and stable aid make the return favorable.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a Loyola University Chicago School of Law scholarship?

Scores above the medians. Because Loyola University Chicago School of Law concentrates its largest awards on the strongest files, an LSAT above the 161 median toward the 163 upper quartile, paired with a GPA above 3.7 toward the 3.83 quartile, positions you for the top of Loyola Chicago's grant range, where the 75th-percentile award reaches $35,000 and 18 packages cover full tuition.

Why is Loyola University Chicago School of Law's first-time bar rate lower?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law posted an 80.0 percent first-time bar rate for exam year 2024 on the Illinois exam, per Loyola Chicago's ABA bar-passage report, below its 91.57 percent ultimate rate for the 2022 cohort. The gap means a share of graduates do not pass on the first attempt but succeed on a later one. Plan a serious, full-time bar-prep effort after Loyola Chicago to clear it on the first try.

Do Loyola University Chicago School of Law graduates get large-firm jobs?

A strong minority do. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 24.3 percent of Loyola University Chicago School of Law graduates entered large firms of 101 or more lawyers, nearly one in four and a high share for the school's band. Most of those jobs are in Chicago, so Loyola Chicago is a genuine, if regionally focused, large-firm feeder within the Illinois market.

Sources

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

Loyola University Chicago School of Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=48&year=2025

Loyola University Chicago School of Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=48&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=48&year=2024

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