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

The honest answer to how to get into Michigan State Law School is two numbers. According to Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class posted a 162 LSAT median (158 to 164) and a 3.73 GPA median (3.47 to 3.87). Clear both and you are genuinely competitive at a strong Michigan value 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. Admissions figures on this page come from Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), employment figures from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and the remaining details from Michigan State Law School's own pages.

Michigan State Law School is one of the clearest value stories in legal education, and that is the lens this page uses. According to Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, effectively the entire entering class receives grant aid: the 509 prints the recipient share at 100%, the median grant is $42,682, and the school reports 285 full-tuition awards. Set that median grant against the nonresident sticker of $48,610 in the same disclosure and a median-grant recipient nets about $5,928 in tuition and fees before living costs. The median grant of $42,682 nearly covers even the lower resident tuition of $43,868. A school that discounts this deeply, while still sending most of its class into the Michigan legal market, deserves to be judged on value first and on its 26.02% admit rate second.

Michigan State Law School at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

Michigan State Law School is a moderately selective Michigan school with an exceptional grant profile. According to Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class had a 162 LSAT median, a 3.73 GPA median, and a 26.02% acceptance rate. Full-time tuition and fees run $43,868 for residents and $48,610 for nonresidents. The table below collects the core Michigan State University law numbers for quick reference.

MetricMichigan State Law School (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)158 / 162 / 164GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.47 / 3.73 / 3.87Acceptance rate26.02%Applications1,526Offers of admission397Matriculants from the pool150First-year class150Full-time tuition and feesResident $43,868 / nonresident $48,610Living expenses$27,152Share receiving grants100% (effectively the whole class)Median grant$42,682Full-tuition awards285Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage78.34% (2024 exam year, Michigan)Ultimate bar passage79.82% (2022 cohort)First-year academic attrition4.0%Employed at ten months92.3% (203 of 220)

Source: Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), Michigan State Law School'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 state one.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into Michigan State Law School?

You really want a 162 LSAT and a 3.73 GPA to sit at the center of Michigan State Law School's class. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure puts the LSAT middle at 158 to 164 and the GPA middle at 3.47 to 3.87. Below either 25th percentile, the other number has to compensate clearly.

Michigan State Law School reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 158, 162, and 164, and a GPA spread of 3.47, 3.73, and 3.87, in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. A 162 LSAT paired with a 3.73 GPA places an applicant exactly at both of Michigan State Law School's medians, which is the middle of the admitted class and a genuinely competitive position. Michigan State University law admissions are not a coin flip at those numbers: at a 26.02% acceptance rate, sitting at both medians makes an applicant likely rather than merely possible, though the rest of the file still matters.

The LSAT band gives useful room at the bottom. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure puts the 25th percentile LSAT at 158 and the 75th at 164, a six-point full range with four points between the 158 floor and the 162 median. A 158 already sits at the bottom quarter of Michigan State Law School's class, so an applicant in the high 150s is still inside the reported range, but should expect the GPA and the rest of the application to carry more weight. An LSAT below 158 starts to need a clearly compensating GPA at or near the 3.87 upper quartile to stay in contention at Michigan State Law School.

The GPA behaves similarly. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure puts the 25th percentile GPA at 3.47 and the median at 3.73, so a transcript in the low 3.5s is inside the reported range and not disqualifying. A number below 3.47 starts to need an LSAT at or above the 164 upper quartile to offset it, which is the arithmetic behind the Michigan State University law GPA question that applicants ask most often.

On the splitter question, Michigan State Law School is splitter friendly. In its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, the GPA spread from the 25th percentile to the median is 0.26 and the LSAT spread is four points, so the GPA band forgives more than the LSAT band does. Splitter friendly means Michigan State Law School will accept a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong; a reverse-splitter-friendly school does the opposite. The practical read for Michigan State Law School is that a high LSAT can rescue a middling GPA more readily than a high GPA can rescue a low LSAT, so an applicant deciding where to spend prep time should protect the test score first.

Is Michigan State Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

A little harder than a mid-pack school, but not an outlier. In Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, Michigan State Law School's 26.02% acceptance rate ranks 14th most selective of the 43 schools clustered at its 162 LSAT median. That places Michigan State Law School in the upper third of its own academic band.

To size up Michigan State Law School's selectivity fairly, the right comparison is against schools with a similar academic profile rather than against the whole national field. Among the 43 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of Michigan State Law School's 162, that is a median of 160 to 164, ranked by acceptance rate, Michigan State Law School is the 14th most selective of the group, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Being 14th of 43 puts Michigan State Law School in the upper third for difficulty among its true peers, so it is modestly harder to enter than a school sitting in the middle of the same band, though it is not one of the hardest admits at its LSAT level.

The practical takeaway is that Michigan State Law School's reputation and its selectivity line up reasonably well. It is a well-regarded regional and national school, and its admit rate is a touch tighter than the middle of its band rather than dramatically so. An applicant should treat Michigan State Law School as a school where median numbers make a strong case, but where numbers below both medians face real competition from the many applicants who clear them. The upper-third band position is the honest frame: Michigan State Law School is selective enough to reward strong numbers, but accessible enough that a well-built file at or near the medians has a real path.

How much does Michigan State Law School cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $43,868 for residents and $48,610 for nonresidents, with living expenses of $27,152 and no single cost-of-attendance total printed. The headline is the aid: effectively the whole class receives a grant, and the median grant is $42,682.

Start with the sticker. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $43,868 for Michigan residents and $48,610 for nonresidents, and separately lists living expenses at $27,152. That 509 does not print a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in annual figure quoted elsewhere is someone's arithmetic rather than a number Michigan State Law School reports, and this page will not invent one.

Now the aid, which is where Michigan State Law School stands out. According to Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, the recipient share for grants prints at 100%, meaning grant aid reaches effectively the entire class, with grant amounts at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $35,000, $42,682, and $47,424. Michigan State Law School also reports 285 full-tuition awards and zero awards above full tuition in the same disclosure, so the ceiling here is a full ride rather than a stipend on top of tuition. For a school at this price point, discounting that deep and that broad is unusual, and it is the core of the value case.

For a typical grant recipient, the math is striking. Against the $48,610 nonresident sticker for tuition and fees, a student receiving Michigan State Law School's median grant of $42,682 nets about $5,928 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. The median grant of $42,682 nearly covers even the lower resident tuition of $43,868 reported in the same disclosure, so a median-grant resident pays only a small share of tuition out of pocket. A top-quartile grant of $47,424 leaves very little tuition behind at all. Very few schools convert a mid-$40,000s sticker into a low-four-figure net for the typical grant recipient, and Michigan State Law School does.

One reassuring detail rounds out the cost picture. Michigan State Law School reports that its scholarships are not conditional, per the same 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, meaning a first-year award cannot be cut or revoked for missing a class-rank or GPA threshold. The grant an admitted Michigan State Law School student is quoted is the grant they keep for all three years, which removes the renewal gamble that some schools attach to their largest awards.

What are your real chances off the Michigan State Law School waitlist?

Modest but real. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure shows 397 offers and 150 matriculants, an implied yield of 37.8%. No ABA disclosure publishes waitlist admits, so implied yield is the honest proxy: a yield near 38% means Michigan State Law School fills much of its class from first-round offers while still leaving some room for waitlist movement.

Here is the reasoning in full. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 397 offers of admission and 150 matriculants, which is an implied yield of 37.8%, per Lovare's analysis of that disclosure. No ABA disclosure, Michigan State Law School'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. The logic runs like this: when a school converts about 38 of every 100 offers into enrollments, it is filling a solid share of its class from first-round offers, but it is also extending far more offers than it has seats, which leaves genuine but limited room to reach into a waitlist in a given year.

Put in context, a 37.8% yield sits in the middle for schools of Michigan State Law School's profile, higher than the yields at the least selective national schools and well below the 70-percent-plus yields of the elite programs. A waitlisted applicant to Michigan State Law School should neither count on movement nor write it off. The practical move is to stay in active contact, submit a concise letter of continued interest, and keep other options live, because the numbers say the Michigan State Law School waitlist is a real but uncertain lifeline rather than a near-certain one.

Where do Michigan State Law School graduates actually work?

In Michigan, first and foremost. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Michigan took 61.8% of Michigan State Law School graduates and the top three markets took 70.9%. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers hired 12.7%, and federal clerkships took 0.9%. This is a Michigan pipeline with a solid overall placement rate.

Start with concentration, because it defines the degree. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Michigan State Law School placed 136 graduates in Michigan, 13 in Illinois, and 7 in California, its three largest markets. Michigan alone absorbed 61.8% of the class, and the top three markets together took 70.9%, per the same ABA Employment Summary. A Michigan State Law School degree is a Michigan credential first: the plurality of graduates stay in state, with Chicago the most common out-of-state destination. An applicant who wants to practice in Michigan is buying exactly the network this school builds, while an applicant set on a distant market should weigh that the pipeline points home.

On employer type, Michigan State Law School places a meaningful minority into large firms. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 12.7% of Michigan State Law School graduates taking jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers. That is a respectable large-firm share for a school outside the national top tier, and it sits alongside a broad mix of smaller-firm, government, public-interest, and business roles that make up the rest of the class. Federal clerkships are a narrow channel: the same summary shows 0.9% of Michigan State Law School graduates in federal clerkships, so the school is a working-lawyer pipeline rather than a clerkship feeder.

Overall placement is solid. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 203 of 220 Michigan State Law School graduates employed at the ten-month mark, a 92.3% employment rate. Two honest caveats belong here. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports first-year academic attrition of 4.0%, so a small share of each entering class does not continue for academic reasons, and Michigan State Law School's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time pass rate of 78.34% for the 2024 exam year in Michigan, below the rates at the strongest programs. Both facts are worth weighing honestly alongside the strong employment number.

When are Michigan State Law School's application deadlines?

Michigan State Law School's specific application deadlines and Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle, so the dates and any binding terms should be confirmed directly on Michigan State Law School's admissions site. The guidance here is verified as of August 2026 and is meant as a planning aid, not as the registrar of record.

Because the exact calendar is not confirmed here, this page will not state a Michigan State Law School deadline or claim that the school does or does not offer a binding Early Decision round. What holds across law school admissions generally is that applying earlier in a cycle usually helps, since seats and scholarship dollars are more plentiful before a class fills, and a complete, polished file submitted early competes against a smaller applied pool than the same file submitted late. Treat that as general strategy rather than a Michigan State Law School specific rule.

The concrete step for a Michigan State Law School applicant is to open the school's admissions page, note the current regular deadline and any early-application or Early Decision option along with its binding terms, and build a timeline backward from there, leaving room for the LSAT score and letters to arrive. Everything stated on this page was verified in August 2026, and application dates shift from cycle to cycle, so confirm the current Michigan State Law School calendar before relying on any date.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Michigan State Law School

Is a 162 LSAT good enough for Michigan State Law School?

Yes. A 162 is exactly Michigan State Law School's LSAT median, per Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, which puts the middle range at 158 to 164. Paired with a GPA at or above the 3.47 floor, a median LSAT makes a Michigan State Law School applicant genuinely competitive at a 26.02% acceptance rate, though the rest of the file still matters. A 162 is solidly in range.

What GPA do you need for Michigan State Law School?

Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a GPA median of 3.73, with a 25th percentile of 3.47 and a 75th percentile of 3.87. The middle half of the Michigan State Law School class sits between 3.47 and 3.87. Realistically you want a GPA of at least 3.47, and anything below it needs an LSAT near the 164 upper quartile to offset at Michigan State Law School.

What is Michigan State Law School's acceptance rate?

Michigan State Law School's acceptance rate is 26.02%, computed as 397 offers against 1,526 applications in Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That is moderately selective and ranks 14th most selective of the 43 schools at its LSAT level. About one in every four applicants receives an offer from Michigan State Law School, so strong numbers convert reliably.

How many people apply to Michigan State Law School?

Michigan State Law School received 1,526 applications for its fall 2025 entering class, according to Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. From that pool, Michigan State Law School extended 397 offers of admission and enrolled 150 matriculants, building a first-year class of 150. The applied pool is moderate in size, which keeps the odds reasonable for applicants at or above the medians.

How much does Michigan State Law School cost?

Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $43,868 for residents and $48,610 for nonresidents, plus living expenses of $27,152. Michigan State Law School does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total in that 509, so this page will not quote one. A student receiving Michigan State Law School's median grant of $42,682 nets about $5,928 in nonresident tuition and fees before living costs.

Does Michigan State Law School give scholarships?

Yes, and very broadly. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure prints the grant recipient share at 100%, so effectively the whole class receives aid, with amounts of $35,000, $42,682, and $47,424 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. Michigan State Law School also reports 285 full-tuition awards, and its scholarships are not conditional, so an award cannot be cut for grades.

What is Michigan State Law School's bar passage rate?

Michigan State Law School's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time pass rate of 78.34% for the 2024 exam year, with Michigan as the largest jurisdiction. The ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, is 79.82%, per the same report. Both figures sit below the rates at the strongest programs, which is an honest point for a Michigan State Law School applicant to weigh.

Where do Michigan State Law School graduates work?

Mostly in Michigan. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Michigan taking 136 Michigan State Law School graduates (61.8%), Illinois taking 13, and California taking 7, so the top three markets account for 70.9% of the class. A Michigan State Law School degree is a Michigan credential first, with Chicago the most common out-of-state landing spot.

Can a splitter get into Michigan State Law School?

Yes. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 and an LSAT spread of four points, which makes Michigan State Law School splitter friendly: it forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong. A high LSAT paired with a GPA a bit below the 3.47 floor is exactly the profile Michigan State Law School tends to reward, so protect the test score.

How selective is Michigan State Law School compared with schools at the same LSAT?

Michigan State Law School is upper-third for selectivity in its LSAT band. Among the 43 schools with a median LSAT within two points of Michigan State Law School's 162, ranked by acceptance rate, its 26.02% ranks 14th most selective, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. So Michigan State Law School is a touch harder to enter than a mid-pack school at its academic level, but not an outlier.

Is Michigan State Law School worth it?

For a Michigan-focused applicant, the value case is strong. Against a nonresident sticker of $48,610 in Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, effectively the whole class receives a grant and the median award of $42,682 nets a median recipient to about $5,928 in tuition and fees. Paired with a 92.3% ten-month employment rate and a deep Michigan network, that low net cost is what makes Michigan State Law School worth it.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a Michigan State Law School scholarship?

Numbers above Michigan State Law School's medians give the best shot. A 164 LSAT at the 75th percentile paired with a GPA near 3.87 positions an applicant for the top of the grant range, which reaches $47,424 at the 75th percentile per Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, and for one of the 285 full-tuition awards the school reports. Even median numbers draw a grant, since aid reaches effectively the whole class.

What is Michigan State Law School's first-year attrition rate?

Michigan State Law School reports first-year academic attrition of 4.0%, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That means a small share of each entering class does not continue for academic reasons, a figure worth weighing honestly alongside the strong grant and employment numbers. It is moderate rather than alarming, but an admitted Michigan State Law School student should plan to treat the first year as academically serious from day one.

Does Michigan State Law School offer full-tuition scholarships?

Yes. Michigan State Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 285 full-tuition awards, alongside a 100% grant recipient share and a median grant of $42,682. It reports zero awards above full tuition, so the ceiling is a full ride rather than a stipend on top of tuition. Because Michigan State Law School's scholarships are not conditional, a full-tuition award cannot be cut for falling grades.

Does Michigan State Law School have Early Decision?

Michigan State Law School's Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle, so this page will not state whether the school runs a binding early round or what its terms are. An applicant considering an early application should confirm the current Early Decision or early-application options, and any binding commitment, directly on Michigan State Law School's admissions site. The guidance here was verified in August 2026 and is a planning aid only.

Sources

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

Michigan State Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=77&year=2025

Michigan State Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=77&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=77&year=2024

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