Law Schools in Massachusetts + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

Massachusetts has eight ABA-approved law schools, from Harvard University at the top to the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) at the accessible end. Their median LSAT scores span 152 to 174 in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures, one of the widest ranges of any state, so what score you need in Massachusetts depends heavily on which school you target.

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 school-level figure on this page comes from each Massachusetts school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, with in-state retention from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data and bar-exam status from the NCBE.

Massachusetts is one of the deepest legal-education states in the country. Eight ABA law schools sit within the state, most of them clustered in and around Boston, and together they cover almost the entire LSAT spectrum: three schools with medians of 168 or higher, a middle option in the mid-160s, and a cluster in the low-to-mid 150s. That range is a real advantage for applicants, because a Massachusetts candidate at almost any competitive score has an in-state school where they are a realistic admit. This guide covers all eight schools, explains what a given score opens across the Massachusetts field, and works through the state's move to the NextGen bar exam.

What law schools are in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has eight ABA-approved law schools. Harvard University leads at a 174 median LSAT, followed by Boston University at 170 and Boston College at 168, the state's elite tier. Northeastern University sits in the mid-160s at a 164 median. The accessible tier runs from Suffolk University at 155 down through New England Law | Boston and Western New England University, both at 153, to the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) at 152, the state's public and lowest-median option. Most of these schools are in Greater Boston, with Western New England in Springfield and UMass in Dartmouth.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionHarvard University1749.2%$77,100Boston University17012.1%$69,870Boston College1688.5%$72,380Northeastern University16424.2%$65,652Suffolk University15561.9%$62,610New England Law | Boston15361.3%$62,896Western New England University15351.9%$50,320University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth)15252.2%$31,766

Source: each figure in the table is drawn from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, published through the ABA required disclosures portal. The median LSAT is the fiftieth percentile of each Massachusetts school's enrolled class, the acceptance rate is offers divided by applications, and the tuition figure is the full-time annual rate each Massachusetts school reports in its 509.

Two structural facts stand out for Massachusetts. First, the elite tier is genuinely selective: Boston College admits just 8.5% of applicants and Harvard 9.2% in the 2025 ABA 509, with Boston University at 12.1%, so a Massachusetts applicant aiming at the top faces national-level competition. Second, cost varies enormously. Harvard's full-time tuition of $77,100 is among the highest in the country, most of the private schools sit in the $50,000 to $73,000 range, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), the state's public school, is the clear price outlier at $31,766. For a Massachusetts applicant, the field spans from national reach schools to an affordable in-state public option.

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

In-state median LSATs in Massachusetts run 152 to 174, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, the widest practical range you will find. Harvard University sits at the top at 174, with Boston University at 170 and Boston College at 168. The most accessible schools by median are the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) at 152 and the pair of New England Law | Boston and Western New England University at 153, while Suffolk University posts the highest acceptance rate at 61.9%.

Because the range is so wide, it helps to think in tiers. A median is a target, not a cutoff, so read each number as the center of a school's admitted class rather than a wall. At the top, a 174 puts you at the Harvard median, a 170 at Boston University's, and a 168 at Boston College's, and clearing those medians is what a competitive elite-tier file looks like in Massachusetts. Northeastern University's 164 median marks a strong mid-160s target for a school that is meaningfully more open, at a 24.2% acceptance rate in the 2025 ABA 509, than the three schools above it.

The accessible tier is where most of the state's flexibility lives. Suffolk University, at a 155 median and a 61.9% acceptance rate, admits the majority of its applicants, as does New England Law | Boston at a 153 median and 61.3% acceptance. Western New England University, also at a 153 median, admits 51.9%, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), at a 152 median and 52.2% acceptance, is the state's lowest-median and lowest-cost option. The practical reading: a Massachusetts applicant in the low-to-mid 150s has four in-state schools where they are a realistic admit, so a score below the Boston elite tier does not close the state.

Now map your own score. A 168 or higher makes the elite Boston tier realistic and every other Massachusetts school a strong bet. A mid-160s score centers on Northeastern and clears the accessible tier comfortably. A mid-150s score is competitive at Suffolk, New England Law, Western New England, and UMass Dartmouth, and worth a reach at Northeastern with a strong GPA. A low-150s score points primarily to the four accessible schools, where applicants at that number are routinely admitted per the 2025 ABA 509. GPA is the other half of the file, and Massachusetts is unusually varied in how its schools weigh the two numbers, which is the subject of the next section.

Which Massachusetts law schools are splitter friendly?

Massachusetts has both splitter-friendly and reverse-splitter-friendly schools in the 2025 ABA 509 spreads, which makes it a good state for an imbalanced file. Boston University and Boston College both read as reverse-splitter friendly, with an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 6, meaning a high GPA can offset a lower LSAT. Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and Western New England University read as splitter friendly, forgiving a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong, with Western New England the most forgiving at a 0.43 GPA spread.

Definitions first. A splitter has a high LSAT and a lower GPA, and a splitter-friendly school forgives the weaker GPA. A reverse splitter has a high GPA and a lower LSAT, and a reverse-splitter-friendly school forgives the weaker LSAT. The tell for reverse-splitter friendliness is a wide LSAT band, where the school enrolls students whose LSATs sit well below the median because their transcripts are strong; the tell for splitter friendliness is a wide GPA band.

On the reverse-splitter side, Boston University and Boston College each show an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 6 points in the 2025 ABA 509, which is wide for the LSAT. That means a Massachusetts applicant with a high GPA and an LSAT several points below these schools' 170 and 168 medians has a genuine path at Boston University and Boston College, more so than at a school that holds a tight LSAT band. If your GPA is your strength, these two elite Boston schools are the ones most likely to reward it.

On the splitter side, Western New England University is the most GPA-forgiving school in the state, with a 0.43 GPA 25th-to-median spread, followed by Suffolk University at 0.21 and Northeastern University at 0.16. A high-LSAT, lower-GPA applicant is a familiar admit at these three Massachusetts schools, and Western New England especially so. The packet's splitter reads do not flag Harvard University, New England Law | Boston, or the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) as notably splitter or reverse-splitter friendly, so this page does not claim a lean for those three; treat them as schools where a balanced file is the safer assumption in Massachusetts.

What is the legal job market like in Massachusetts?

Boston is the dominant legal market in Massachusetts, and most of the state's schools feed into it, though their in-state retention varies widely in the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. Suffolk University keeps the largest share in state at 75%, followed by Boston College at 59%, Western New England University at 57%, Boston University at 50%, and Northeastern University at 49%. Greater Boston anchors the market, with Springfield and the South Coast as smaller regional centers.

Read the retention numbers as a map of each school's center of gravity within Massachusetts. Suffolk University's 75% in-state share in the ABA Class of 2024 data marks it as the most Massachusetts-focused of the schools with data here, a Boston school whose network runs deep in the local bar. Boston College at 59% and Western New England at 57% keep clear majorities in state, while Boston University at 50% and Northeastern at 49% split closer to evenly between Massachusetts and the national markets their degrees also reach, which is consistent with their higher medians and broader reputations.

The packet behind this guide does not include in-state retention figures for Harvard University, New England Law | Boston, or the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), so this page does not state one for those three. Harvard in particular is a national school whose graduates disperse across the country, and the honest position is that its Massachusetts retention is simply not in this data set rather than a number to guess at. For any of the eight schools, the authoritative source for where graduates actually landed is that school's ABA Employment Summary, which breaks down first jobs by geography, employer type, and firm size.

For an applicant, the strategic reading is that Boston is where Massachusetts legal careers concentrate, and the schools with the highest in-state retention, led by Suffolk, are the most directly plugged into that local market. This page does not publish salary figures for Massachusetts, because the packet behind it does not include verified salary data, and a primary-source guide should not manufacture one. If a specific in-state share or salary matters to your decision, read the relevant school's ABA Employment Summary rather than relying on a market generalization.

Does Massachusetts use the NextGen bar exam?

Massachusetts has adopted the NextGen bar exam, and its first NextGen administration is scheduled for July 2028, according to the NCBE. Massachusetts currently administers the Uniform Bar Exam, so candidates sitting before the transition take the UBE, and those sitting from July 2028 onward take NextGen. The legacy UBE and Multistate Bar Exam end nationally after the February 2028 administration.

Here is what that timeline means for a Massachusetts candidate. If you sit for the bar before July 2028, you take the Uniform Bar Exam that Massachusetts currently administers, a portable score you can transfer to other UBE jurisdictions within their rules. If you graduate into the July 2028 cycle or later, you sit for the NextGen exam Massachusetts is adopting, the NCBE's redesigned test built to emphasize integrated legal skills alongside doctrine. Because Massachusetts has committed to the transition, students entering now should plan on NextGen as the exam they will actually face.

The national timeline lines up cleanly here. The NCBE has said the legacy UBE and MBE end after the February 2028 administration, and Massachusetts begins NextGen in July 2028, so the February 2028 sitting is effectively the last legacy exam for Massachusetts candidates and July 2028 is the first NextGen one. For anyone mapping a study plan, the safe reading is that Massachusetts bar-takers from July 2028 forward prepare for NextGen, and the window before that runs on the UBE. Confirm your specific sitting with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners, since these transitions are administered at the state level even when the format is national.

Where can you take the LSAT in Massachusetts?

LSAT test centers are available in Massachusetts's major metros, principally the Greater Boston area, along with Worcester in the center of the state and Springfield in the west, with the test also offered as a remotely proctored exam. Specific test-center locations and the mix of in-person and remote seats change every testing cycle, so the reliable step is to check LSAC's official test-center list on lsac.org rather than rely on a fixed address that can go out of date between Massachusetts test dates.

A few practical notes for Massachusetts test-takers. Because the LSAT is offered both at physical centers and as a remotely proctored exam from home, a Massachusetts applicant outside Greater Boston is not limited by distance alone. Boston, as the state's largest metro and the home of most of its law schools, is the most reliable place to find in-person Massachusetts seats, with Worcester and Springfield serving the center and west. Since seats fill as each registration deadline nears, registering early for a Massachusetts test date is the best way to secure the location and format you prefer.

Whichever format you choose in Massachusetts, the score is the same instrument all eight schools report as their medians in the 2025 ABA 509, so there is no in-state version of the test. Plan your Massachusetts test date around your application timeline, leave room for a possible retake, and treat LSAC's official list as the single source of truth for where and how you can sit in Massachusetts this cycle.

Which Massachusetts universities feed law school?

Massachusetts has one of the densest concentrations of undergraduate feeders in the country. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the state flagship and a natural pipeline into law school, and the state's major private universities, including Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, Tufts, and Brandeis, along with the elite liberal arts colleges such as Williams, Amherst College, and the College of the Holy Cross, all commonly send pre-law students forward.

Those institutions are named here as common pre-law feeders based on their size and standing in Massachusetts, not on a specific placement statistic, because the packet behind this guide does not attribute a verified feeder-to-law-school number and this page will not invent one. In practice, strong pre-law preparation in Massachusetts is less about the specific undergraduate name and more about a rigorous major, a high GPA, and disciplined LSAT preparation, since the state's eight law schools admit primarily on the LSAT and GPA numbers they report in their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures.

If you are a Massachusetts undergraduate aiming at an in-state law school, the useful mindset is that your major and your LSAT do more work than your college's brand. A political science, history, philosophy, or economics track builds the reading and reasoning the LSAT rewards, but so does any demanding program, and Massachusetts admissions offices, from the elite Boston tier to the accessible schools, are reading for the numbers and the writing far more than for the name of the feeder school.

Frequently asked questions about law school in Massachusetts

How many law schools are in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has eight ABA-approved law schools: Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, New England Law | Boston, Western New England University, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth). Most are in Greater Boston, with Western New England in Springfield and UMass in Dartmouth, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures that report each school's admissions figures.

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

By acceptance rate, Suffolk University is the most open, admitting 61.9% of applicants at a 155 median LSAT in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, with New England Law | Boston close behind at 61.3%. By median, the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) is the lowest at 152. These accessible Massachusetts schools are where a low-to-mid 150s applicant is most likely to be admitted.

What is the best law school in Massachusetts?

On admissions selectivity, Harvard University leads Massachusetts with a 174 median LSAT and a 9.2% acceptance rate in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, though Boston College is marginally more selective by rate at 8.5%. Best depends on your goal, but Harvard sits at the top of the Massachusetts field by median and is one of the most selective law schools in the country.

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

Massachusetts medians run 152 to 174 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, the widest range of any state. A 168 or higher makes the elite Boston tier realistic, a mid-160s score centers on Northeastern University, and a low-to-mid 150s score is competitive at Suffolk, New England Law, Western New England, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth), so nearly every competitive score has a Massachusetts home.

How much does law school cost in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts full-time tuition ranges widely, from $31,766 at the public University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) to $77,100 at Harvard University, per each school's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Most of the private schools fall between roughly $50,000 and $73,000, so UMass Dartmouth is the clear affordable outlier and Harvard among the most expensive in the country.

Does Massachusetts use the NextGen bar exam?

Massachusetts has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with a first administration scheduled for July 2028, according to the NCBE. Massachusetts currently administers the Uniform Bar Exam, so candidates before that date take the UBE and those from July 2028 onward take NextGen. The legacy UBE and MBE end nationally after the February 2028 administration.

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

Yes. A graduate of any ABA-approved law school may sit for the Massachusetts bar, not only graduates of the state's eight schools. Massachusetts currently administers the Uniform Bar Exam and transitions to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE, so an out-of-state graduate takes the same Massachusetts exam as an in-state one. Confirm eligibility with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners.

Which Massachusetts law school has the best bar passage?

The packet behind this guide does not include school-level bar-passage rates for the Massachusetts schools, so this page will not state one it cannot verify. Each school's ABA bar-passage report is the authoritative source for its first-time and ultimate pass rates, and an applicant comparing Massachusetts schools should read those reports directly rather than rely on reputation.

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

The packet behind this guide does not confirm part-time or evening program formats at the Massachusetts schools, so this page will not assert one. Program formats are best verified on each Massachusetts school's admissions pages, several of which have historically offered flexible tracks, but the current-cycle detail should come from the schools themselves rather than from an unverified claim here.

Where can you take the LSAT in Massachusetts?

LSAT test centers are available in Massachusetts's major metros, principally Greater Boston, along with Worcester and Springfield, and the test is also offered as a remotely proctored exam. Because specific center locations change each cycle, check LSAC's official test-center list on lsac.org for the current Massachusetts options rather than relying on a fixed address that may no longer be active.

Which Massachusetts law schools are splitter friendly?

Massachusetts has both types. Boston University and Boston College are reverse-splitter friendly, with a 6-point LSAT 25th-to-median spread, so a high GPA can offset a lower LSAT. Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and Western New England University are splitter friendly, forgiving a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong, with Western New England the most forgiving at a 0.43 GPA spread, per the 2025 ABA 509.

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

No. To practice in Massachusetts you must be admitted to the Massachusetts bar, which requires an ABA-approved law degree and a passing bar score, but that degree can come from any ABA-approved school in any state. Massachusetts currently uses the Uniform Bar Exam and moves to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE, so out-of-state graduates can and do qualify for Massachusetts practice.

Which Massachusetts law school keeps the most graduates in state?

Suffolk University, on the retention data. The ABA Class of 2024 employment data show Suffolk keeping 75% of its class in Massachusetts, ahead of Boston College at 59%, Western New England University at 57%, Boston University at 50%, and Northeastern University at 49%. Suffolk is the most Massachusetts-focused of the schools with retention data in this build.

Is a mid-150s LSAT good enough for law school in Massachusetts?

Yes, for the accessible tier. A mid-150s score sits at or above the medians of Suffolk University at 155, New England Law | Boston and Western New England University at 153, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) at 152, per the 2025 ABA 509. It is below the Boston elite tier, but it opens four realistic in-state Massachusetts options.

Sources

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

ABA required disclosures portal, 2025 Standard 509 Information Reports for Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, New England Law | Boston, Western New England University, and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) (fall 2025 entering class): https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

National Conference of Bar Examiners, NextGen bar exam adoption and jurisdiction status for Massachusetts: https://www.ncbex.org/

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