Law Schools in Minnesota + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

Minnesota has three ABA-accredited law schools, and their median LSATs span 154 to 171 in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures. The range runs from the University of Minnesota at the top to Mitchell Hamline School of Law at the most accessible end, so applicants across a broad score band have a realistic path to law school in Minnesota.

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 each Minnesota school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, the in-state retention figures from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data, and the bar-exam status from the NCBE.

What law schools are in Minnesota?

There are three ABA-accredited law schools in Minnesota: one public flagship program and two private schools, all in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. That is a small set for a state of Minnesota's population, which makes the choice among them relatively focused. The table below lists every Minnesota law school with its median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition, each figure drawn from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionUniversity of Minnesota17126.7%$51,440University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)15957.6%$50,998Mitchell Hamline School of Law15451.4%$55,300

Source: every median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition figure in this table is taken from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, published through the ABA disclosure portal.

The University of Minnesota anchors the state at the top. It reports a 171 median LSAT and a 26.7 percent acceptance rate in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, which makes it comfortably the most selective law school in Minnesota and a nationally regarded public program. The two private schools sit lower on selectivity and admit larger shares of applicants: the University of St. Thomas reports a 159 median and a 57.6 percent acceptance rate, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law reports a 154 median and a 51.4 percent acceptance rate, both per the 2025 ABA 509 data.

On cost, the three Minnesota schools are closely bunched. Full-time tuition runs from $50,998 at the University of St. Thomas to $51,440 at the University of Minnesota to $55,300 at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, according to the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Unlike states with a wide public-versus-private cost gap, Minnesota's sticker prices sit within a few thousand dollars of one another, so scholarship aid rather than published tuition is likely to be the bigger factor in the net cost of law school in Minnesota. Because all three programs are located in the Twin Cities, the choice among them is less about geography within the state and more about selectivity, class profile, and the aid each school offers.

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

Across Minnesota, median LSATs run from 154 to 171 in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures, so the score you need depends heavily on which of the three schools you are targeting. There is no single statewide cutoff for law school in Minnesota, and the gap between the top and the most accessible program is wide enough that very different profiles can succeed in the state.

The University of Minnesota sits at the top with a 171 median LSAT, so a score in the low 170s is competitive there, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. That is the number to aim for if the flagship is your target. The University of St. Thomas reports a 159 median, so a high-150s score lines up with that program, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law reports a 154 median, so a mid-150s score matches there, according to the same 2025 ABA 509 data. A score anywhere in the mid-150s therefore keeps two of Minnesota's three schools clearly in range.

Accessibility is a real feature of the Minnesota market. The University of St. Thomas admits 57.6 percent of applicants and Mitchell Hamline admits 51.4 percent, both in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so more than half of applicants are offered a seat at each. A score at or below the mid-150s is exactly where these Minnesota schools admit students, so an applicant in that range has genuine options and should not conclude that the state is closed to them. A higher score simply widens the choice and strengthens the case for scholarship aid at St. Thomas and Mitchell Hamline while bringing the University of Minnesota into play.

Because Minnesota has only three law schools, application strategy in the state is unusually clear. An applicant in the high 150s can treat the University of St. Thomas as a strong match and Mitchell Hamline School of Law as a safety at their respective 159 and 154 medians, while using a strong LSAT as leverage for scholarship at both, according to the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. An applicant in the mid to high 160s who is aiming at the University of Minnesota should still apply to St. Thomas and Mitchell Hamline, where a score above the median strengthens the case for aid. With so few schools, most Minnesota applicants can and should apply to all three, then let admission and scholarship offers decide, rather than narrowing prematurely.

On GPA, this statewide roll-up reports each Minnesota school's median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition rather than a single GPA figure, so the precise GPA medians are not stated here and should be confirmed on each school's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. What the data does show is how much flexibility exists on the transcript side at the two schools flagged in the splitter section below. As a working rule for Minnesota, treat the LSAT as the number you can most move before applying, aim to reach or beat the median LSAT of your target school, and present the strongest GPA your record supports.

Which Minnesota law schools are splitter friendly?

A splitter is an applicant with a high LSAT but a lower GPA, and a reverse splitter is the opposite, a strong GPA paired with a lower LSAT. In Minnesota, the splitter reads point in one direction: toward schools that will forgive a lower GPA when the LSAT is strong. These reads come from the 25th-to-median spreads in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures.

Two of Minnesota's three schools read as splitter friendly. The University of Minnesota shows a 0.26 gap between its 25th percentile GPA and its median, and the University of St. Thomas shows the same 0.26 GPA spread, according to the 2025 ABA 509 data. A wider GPA band means the school admits a meaningful share of students whose transcripts sit below the class median, which is good news for an applicant whose LSAT is the stronger of the two numbers. If your LSAT is high and your GPA lags, those two Minnesota schools are the ones where that profile plays best.

Mitchell Hamline School of Law is not flagged as splitter or reverse-splitter friendly in this data, so its spreads are not called out here, and an applicant should read its class profile directly from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure rather than assume a lean in either direction. The broader takeaway for Minnesota is that the state does not surface a clear reverse-splitter haven, where a strong GPA offsets a weak LSAT, in this roll-up. That makes the LSAT especially important in Minnesota: because the flagged flexibility is on the GPA side, the applicant who invests in a strong LSAT gains the most room across the state's schools.

What is the legal job market like in Minnesota?

The Minnesota legal market is centered on the Twin Cities, the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area that dominates the state's economy and holds the great majority of its law firms, corporate legal departments, and courts. Because all three law schools sit in that metro, their graduates largely feed the same market. The clearest signal in the data is how much of each school's class stays to practice in Minnesota, drawn here from the ABA Class of 2024 employment data.

Retention in Minnesota is high at the schools reported. The University of St. Thomas keeps 80 percent of its class in Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota keeps 62 percent, according to the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. The University of Minnesota's somewhat lower share reflects its national reach: as the state's most selective program, it sends a meaningful portion of graduates to markets outside Minnesota, while still keeping most of the class in state. The University of St. Thomas, by contrast, is strongly Minnesota-focused, with four in five graduates practicing in the state.

One honest gap: Mitchell Hamline School of Law is not reported with an in-state retention figure in this roll-up, so its class-retention share is not stated here and should be checked against its own ABA employment summary. As a general matter, all three Minnesota schools are located in and oriented toward the Twin Cities, so an applicant whose goal is to practice in Minnesota, and especially in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, is well served by any of them. This page does not quote salary figures for the Minnesota market, because the packet behind it does not include them.

The concentration of all three schools in the Twin Cities has a practical upside for applicants: Minnesota functions as a single, integrated legal market rather than several regional ones. The employers, courts, and firms that hire from the University of Minnesota also hire from the University of St. Thomas and Mitchell Hamline School of Law, so the alumni networks overlap in the same metro. For a student who intends to build a career in Minnesota, that concentration means the choice of school is less about which regional market it opens and more about the credential, the class profile, and the cost, since all three lead into the same Twin Cities-centered market.

Does Minnesota use the NextGen bar exam?

Minnesota has adopted the NextGen bar exam, and its first NextGen administration is scheduled for July 2027, according to the NCBE. That makes Minnesota one of the earlier states to move to the new format. Until that point, Minnesota remains a Uniform Bar Examination jurisdiction, so candidates sitting for the Minnesota bar before the transition take the current UBE.

The timing is worth building into a study plan for law school in Minnesota. The NCBE reports that the legacy UBE and its Multistate Bar Examination component end nationally after the February 2028 administration, and Minnesota is set to switch to NextGen even earlier, at the July 2027 sitting. In practical terms, a student who graduates and sits for the Minnesota bar before July 2027 will take the UBE, while those testing at or after that date will take the NextGen exam. If your Minnesota timeline is close to that changeover, confirm which format applies to your intended sitting with the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners, since the NCBE sets the national framework but each jurisdiction runs its own transition.

Where can you take the LSAT in Minnesota?

LSAT test centers are available in Minnesota's major metros, concentrated in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, the state's largest population center and the hub of its legal community. Because the specific list of centers and the mix of in-person and remote seats change every testing cycle, the reliable step is to check LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register rather than relying on a fixed address.

Outside the Twin Cities, applicants across Minnesota can generally find testing options serving other population centers such as the Rochester and Duluth areas, though exact availability shifts from cycle to cycle. LSAC also offers a remote-proctored option that lets many Minnesota candidates test from home, which is worth comparing against an in-person seat, especially for applicants outside the metro. Whichever you choose, register early: the most convenient dates and locations in Minnesota tend to fill first, and securing a seat near you is easier well ahead of the deadline. Building in time for a possible retake also matters, because a score that clears the University of Minnesota's 171 median rather than sitting a few points under it can be the difference between a reach and a match at the state's most selective program.

Which Minnesota universities feed law school?

Minnesota has a strong set of universities and colleges that regularly send graduates into law school. The flagship, the University of Minnesota, is a leading pre-law feeder in the state, and its private counterparts, including the University of St. Thomas, contribute steadily as well. The state's well-known liberal arts colleges, among them Carleton College, Macalester College, and St. Olaf College, along with the broader Minnesota State system, round out the common feeders across Minnesota.

These schools are named as typical pre-law pipelines based on their size and prominence in Minnesota rather than any specific placement statistic, which this roll-up does not carry. A strong pre-law path in Minnesota depends far more on the LSAT score and GPA you assemble than on the name of your undergraduate institution, so an applicant from any Minnesota college can compete for the three schools in the table above by focusing on those two numbers. The state's flagship, private universities, and selective liberal arts colleges simply serve as convenient starting points because of their advising resources and their track records of sending students on to law school. Applicants who studied outside Minnesota are on equal footing: the three Minnesota law schools evaluate the LSAT and GPA on the same terms regardless of where the undergraduate degree was earned, so a competitive score and transcript matter far more than an in-state undergraduate pedigree when applying to law school in Minnesota.

Frequently asked questions about law school in Minnesota

How many law schools are in Minnesota?

Minnesota has three ABA-accredited law schools, according to the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures compiled for this guide: the University of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law. All three are located in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. That makes Minnesota a small, focused market for legal education, with one selective public flagship and two more accessible private schools.

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

By acceptance rate, the University of St. Thomas is the most accessible law school in Minnesota at 57.6 percent, with a 159 median LSAT, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Mitchell Hamline School of Law follows closely at 51.4 percent with a 154 median. Both admit more than half of applicants, so a mid-150s file has a genuine path at these Minnesota schools even without a top score.

What is the best law school in Minnesota?

By the 2025 ABA 509 numbers, the University of Minnesota is the most selective law school in Minnesota, with a 171 median LSAT and a 26.7 percent acceptance rate, and it is a nationally regarded public program. Best always depends on fit, cost, and career goals, but for applicants seeking the strongest credentials and broadest reach from a Minnesota school, the University of Minnesota is the clear front-runner in the state.

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

It depends on your target. Median LSATs in Minnesota run 154 to 171 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so a low-170s score is competitive at the University of Minnesota, a high-150s score at the University of St. Thomas, and a mid-150s score at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. A score in the mid-150s keeps two of Minnesota's three schools clearly in range, and higher scores widen your options and aid prospects.

How much does law school cost in Minnesota?

Full-time tuition in Minnesota is closely grouped, from $50,998 at the University of St. Thomas to $51,440 at the University of Minnesota to $55,300 at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, according to the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Because the sticker prices sit within a few thousand dollars, scholarship aid rather than published tuition is likely to drive the real cost difference among Minnesota law schools.

Does Minnesota use the NextGen bar exam?

Yes. Minnesota has adopted the NextGen bar exam and is scheduled to give its first NextGen administration in July 2027, according to the NCBE, making it an early adopter. Until then, Minnesota remains a Uniform Bar Examination jurisdiction. The NCBE reports that the legacy UBE and its Multistate Bar Examination component end after the February 2028 administration, so Minnesota candidates testing at or after July 2027 will take NextGen.

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

Yes. A JD from any ABA-accredited law school qualifies you to sit for the Minnesota bar, so you do not have to attend one of the three law schools in Minnesota to be admitted to practice there. This reflects standard national practice rather than a figure from the packet. Applicants should confirm the current Minnesota admission requirements, including character and fitness, with the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners.

Which Minnesota law school has the best bar passage?

This statewide roll-up reports median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition for each Minnesota school but does not include school-by-school first-time bar-passage rates, so it would be inventing a figure to name a single leader. To compare bar passage across Minnesota law schools, consult each school's ABA bar-passage report through the ABA disclosure portal, where first-time and ultimate pass rates for every Minnesota program are published.

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

This guide focuses on the 2025 ABA 509 admissions figures for Minnesota and does not enumerate which schools run part-time, evening, or hybrid divisions, so it will not attribute specific program formats that were not provided. Program format is a real point of difference among Minnesota schools, so confirm the current part-time, evening, and blended options directly with each Minnesota law school you are considering before you apply.

Where can you take the LSAT in Minnesota?

LSAT test centers operate in Minnesota's major metros, concentrated in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area and serving other population centers such as Rochester and Duluth. Because specific centers change each cycle, check LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register. A remote-proctored option also lets many Minnesota candidates test from home, so weigh that against an in-person seat and register early for the best availability in Minnesota.

Which Minnesota law schools are splitter friendly?

The University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas both read as splitter friendly, each showing a 0.26 gap between its 25th percentile GPA and its median in the 2025 ABA 509 data, meaning a strong LSAT can offset a lower GPA at those Minnesota schools. Mitchell Hamline School of Law is not flagged in either direction, so read its class profile directly from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure.

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

No. You can earn a JD from an ABA-accredited school in any state and then sit for the Minnesota bar to practice in Minnesota, so attending an in-state school is not required. Many Minnesota attorneys studied elsewhere and returned. Confirm current admission rules, including any admission on motion for licensed attorneys, with the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners, since those rules sit outside the 509 data used here.

Is a 160 LSAT good in Minnesota?

Yes. A 160 sits above the medians at both the University of St. Thomas (159) and Mitchell Hamline School of Law (154), per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so it is a strong number at two of Minnesota's three schools and positions you well for scholarship consideration there. It falls below the University of Minnesota's 171 median, so the flagship would be a reach, but a 160 is a genuinely competitive score in Minnesota overall.

Which Minnesota law school is the cheapest?

The University of St. Thomas reports the lowest full-time tuition among Minnesota law schools at $50,998, narrowly below the University of Minnesota at $51,440 and Mitchell Hamline School of Law at $55,300, according to the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. The three sit within a few thousand dollars of one another, so an applicant weighing cost in Minnesota should compare net price after scholarships rather than sticker tuition alone.

Can a 154 LSAT get you into law school in Minnesota?

Yes. A 154 is exactly the median LSAT at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, which admits 51.4 percent of applicants, and it is within reach at the University of St. Thomas, whose 159 median pairs with a 57.6 percent acceptance rate, both per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. A 154 opens real doors in Minnesota, so treat it as a workable starting point, while a higher score would bring the University of Minnesota into consideration.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from primary disclosures, listed here so readers can verify each one directly for Minnesota.

ABA Standard 509 Information Reports (2025), for each Minnesota law school's median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition, through the ABA disclosure portal: https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

NCBE, for Minnesota bar-exam status and the NextGen transition timeline: https://www.ncbex.org/

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