Law Schools in New York + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

New York has fifteen ABA accredited law schools, the deepest field in this group of states, from Columbia University to Touro University (Fuchsberg). Their median LSATs span 153 to 173 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so scores from the low 150s to the low 170s each open a real door somewhere in New York.

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 median, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition figure on this page comes from each New York school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, and the bar exam status comes from the NCBE.

What law schools are in New York?

New York has fifteen ABA accredited law schools, more than enough to give applicants an in-state option at nearly every level, from elite national schools to accessible regional ones. The top is anchored by Columbia University, Cornell University, and New York University, with Fordham University close behind, and the field extends through a broad middle and an accessible tier. The table below gathers the median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition for each New York law school, and every figure in it comes from that school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionColumbia University17311.8%$85,368Cornell University17318.2%$84,722New York University17213.4%$83,952Fordham University16816.2%$78,078Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University)16529.6%$74,438St. John's University16423.1%$75,170Brooklyn Law School16144.0%$75,496Albany Law School15837.5%$63,994Syracuse University15834.6%$64,650University at Buffalo (SUNY)15742.4%$26,430Hofstra University (Deane)15740.6%$73,344New York Law School15739.7%$71,052City University of New York (CUNY)15528.7%$15,450Pace University (Haub)15444.1%$56,648Touro University (Fuchsberg)15345.6%$61,000

Source: each figure above is from that New York school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class. Two facts stand out in the New York table. First, the public schools are dramatically cheaper: the City University of New York (CUNY) charges just $15,450 and the University at Buffalo (SUNY) $26,430 in full-time tuition, while most of the private schools run from the high $50,000s to the mid $80,000s, topped by Columbia University at $85,368. Second, the fifteen schools cover a twenty point LSAT range from 153 to 173, so New York serves applicants across nearly the entire scoring spectrum.

The acceptance rates run a similarly wide gamut. At the top, Columbia University admits 11.8%, New York University 13.4%, and Fordham University 16.2%, all highly selective, while the accessible tier opens to well over 40%, with Touro University (Fuchsberg) at 45.6%, Pace University (Haub) at 44.1%, Brooklyn Law School at 44.0%, and the University at Buffalo (SUNY) at 42.4%, all per their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. That range means a New York applicant can build a full list, from reach to likely admit, without ever leaving the state.

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

In-state median LSATs in New York run from 153 to 173 across the fifteen schools, according to their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. At the top, Columbia University and Cornell University share the state's highest median at 173, with New York University just behind at 172. At the accessible end, Touro University (Fuchsberg) posts the lowest median at 153 and the highest acceptance rate at 45.6%, with Pace University (Haub) and Brooklyn Law School close behind on acceptance at 44.1% and 44.0%.

The rule of thumb is that a score at or above a school's median is competitive there, and a score below it leans on the rest of your file. In New York, the medians cluster into recognizable tiers. The elite tier is Columbia University and Cornell University at 173 and New York University at 172, where a low 170s score is competitive but selectivity is fierce, with acceptance rates of 11.8%, 18.2%, and 13.4%. Fordham University at 168 sits just below. A mid 160s score tracks Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University) at 165 and St. John's University at 164, and a low 160s score tracks Brooklyn Law School at 161.

The heart of the New York range is a broad band of schools with medians from 153 to 158, which is where most applicants will find their strongest targets. Albany Law School and Syracuse University sit at 158, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), Hofstra University (Deane), and New York Law School at 157, the City University of New York (CUNY) at 155, Pace University (Haub) at 154, and Touro University (Fuchsberg) at 153, all per their 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. A mid 150s score is competitive across that entire band, so a New York applicant with a score in the mid 150s has many in-state options, not few. The 509 disclosures report LSAT and GPA separately and do not publish a single admissions index, so this page does not invent a combined cutoff for any New York school.

For a New York applicant building a list, the depth of the mid band is the single most useful feature of the state. Because Albany Law School, Syracuse University, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), Hofstra University (Deane), New York Law School, the City University of New York (CUNY), Pace University (Haub), and Touro University (Fuchsberg) all sit within a few points of one another in the low to mid 150s, a mid 150s applicant can apply to several genuine targets at once and add Brooklyn Law School or St. John's University as reaches. That density of options is rare, and it means a New York score in the 150s is a position of strength, not a fallback.

Which New York law schools are splitter friendly?

A splitter is an applicant with a high LSAT and a lower GPA, and a reverse splitter is the opposite: a strong GPA carrying a lower LSAT. A school is splitter friendly when it forgives a lower GPA for a high LSAT, and reverse-splitter friendly when it forgives a lower LSAT for a strong GPA. New York, with fifteen schools, offers both kinds of home in abundance, computed from the 2025 ABA 509 percentile spreads.

Three New York schools read as reverse-splitter friendly, favoring a strong GPA. St. John's University shows the widest LSAT spread of the three at eight points from its 25th percentile to its 164 median, while Cornell University shows a five point spread and Columbia University a four point spread, all in the 2025 ABA 509 data. If your GPA is strong but your LSAT sits a few points under the median, St. John's University in particular, along with Columbia University and Cornell University at the top of the range, are the New York schools whose numbers reach down for the transcript.

Most of the New York field reads as splitter friendly, favoring a strong LSAT over a lower GPA. Syracuse University has the widest GPA spread in the state at 0.42 from its 25th percentile to its median, followed by Albany Law School at 0.38, Hofstra University (Deane) and Touro University (Fuchsberg) at 0.30, the City University of New York (CUNY) at 0.28, Pace University (Haub) at 0.23, and Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University), Brooklyn Law School, and New York Law School all at 0.22, with Fordham University at 0.19 and the University at Buffalo (SUNY) at 0.20, all per the 2025 ABA 509 data. If your LSAT outruns your GPA, Syracuse University and Albany Law School are the most forgiving New York homes. New York University is not flagged as strongly splitter or reverse-splitter friendly in the packet's read, so treat its numbers as more balanced. Across the fifteen New York schools, almost every unbalanced profile has multiple in-state targets.

What is the legal job market like in New York?

The dominant legal market in New York is New York City, one of the largest legal markets in the world, home to major national and international firms, corporate legal departments, courts, and public-interest employers. Upstate markets in Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse add real depth, but New York City is the center of gravity, and it is large enough that even the most nationally oriented New York schools keep strong majorities of their graduates in the state.

The ABA Class of 2024 employment data shows just how local New York legal education is. The University at Buffalo (SUNY) keeps the largest share of its class in New York at 89%, followed closely by Hofstra University (Deane) at 88%, St. John's University at 86%, Albany Law School at 83%, Touro University (Fuchsberg) at 82%, and Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University) and Brooklyn Law School both at 81%. Fordham University keeps 84%, New York Law School 75%, and the City University of New York (CUNY) and New York University both 70%. Even the elite national schools keep strong majorities: Columbia University at 69% and Cornell University at 67%.

Two New York schools stand out for lower in-state retention. Syracuse University keeps 47% of its class in New York, the lowest in the state and the only school below a majority, and Pace University (Haub) keeps 64%, both per the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. Syracuse University's figure reflects a graduate base that spreads beyond New York more than its peers do. Read across all fifteen schools, the pattern is unmistakable: New York law schools feed the enormous New York City market and the state's upstate markets, so studying in New York is a strong path to practicing in New York. This page does not quote salary figures for New York, because the packet behind it does not include salary data.

Does New York use the NextGen bar exam?

New York is currently a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, and it has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with a transition to NextGen set for July 2028, according to the NCBE. So a New York applicant sitting the bar in the near term takes the UBE, while those graduating a bit later will take the NextGen exam.

The transition timing matters for New York. The NCBE has set the end of the legacy tests after the February 2028 administration, retiring the older Uniform Bar Exam and the Multistate Bar Exam nationwide, and New York's first NextGen administration follows in July 2028. That sequence means New York moves from the UBE it gives today to the NextGen exam, with the changeover in 2028. If you are entering a New York law school now, a standard three year J.D. would put your bar date at or after that transition, so plan on the NextGen exam being the format you sit.

For your study planning in New York, the practical message is to prepare for the exam in force when you graduate. The NextGen exam still tests core legal doctrine and lawyering skills, and a New York law school curriculum is built to prepare graduates for the bar. Because exam logistics and any transition rules are set by the state, confirm the current details with the New York Board of Law Examiners as you approach graduation, but expect NextGen to be the New York bar exam for anyone starting law school today.

Where can you take the LSAT in New York?

LSAT test centers are available in New York's major metros, so most New York applicants can test reasonably close to home. New York City is by far the largest metro and the densest cluster of testing activity, with additional centers of population upstate in Buffalo, Rochester, the state capital of Albany, and Syracuse. Those are the areas where in-person LSAT centers tend to appear in New York.

The important caveat is that specific test-center locations and their available seats change from one testing cycle to the next, and many LSAT administrations are now offered in a remote-proctored format you take from home. For that reason this page does not print individual New York test-center addresses, which would go stale quickly and could send you to a site that is no longer active. Instead, check LSAC's official test-center list when you register, filter it to New York, and choose the location or the remote option that fits your schedule.

The practical New York takeaway is that access to the LSAT is broad across the state. Between the many in-person centers that appear around New York City and the upstate metros each cycle and the remote-proctored option, an applicant anywhere in New York has a workable way to test. Book your date early, because seats at the most convenient New York locations, especially in New York City, fill first, and confirm the current list on LSAC's site rather than relying on last year's centers.

Which New York universities feed law school?

New York has an exceptionally deep set of pre-law feeder universities, both public and private. On the public side, the State University of New York system's university centers, including the University at Buffalo, Binghamton University, Stony Brook University, and the University at Albany, send large numbers of graduates to law school, as do the senior colleges of the City University of New York.

On the private side, Columbia University, New York University, Cornell University, and Fordham University are major sources of law school applicants, along with the many other private colleges across the state. This section names these New York universities as common feeders based on their size and prominence, and it deliberately does not attribute a specific placement statistic to any of them, because the packet behind this page does not include per-university placement data for New York. The breadth of strong undergraduate institutions is one reason New York supports fifteen law schools.

Frequently asked questions about law school in New York

How many law schools are in New York?

New York has fifteen ABA accredited law schools, the deepest field among these states, from Columbia University and Cornell University at the top to Touro University (Fuchsberg) at the accessible end. Their median LSATs run from 153 to 173 in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, so New York offers an in-state option at nearly every scoring level.

What is the easiest law school to get into in New York?

By the 2025 ABA 509 numbers, the most accessible New York schools are Touro University (Fuchsberg), with the lowest median at 153 and the highest acceptance rate at 45.6%, along with Pace University (Haub) at 44.1% and Brooklyn Law School at 44.0%. A New York applicant in the low to mid 150s belongs in these schools' entering classes rather than reaching for them.

What is the best law school in New York?

By selectivity, Columbia University leads New York, sharing the state's highest median at 173 with Cornell University while posting a lower 11.8% acceptance rate, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. New York University follows at a 172 median. All three are elite national schools, so the best New York school depends on fit, but these three sit at the top of the state.

What LSAT score do you need for law school in New York?

Median LSATs in New York run 153 to 173, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. A low 170s score is competitive at Columbia University, Cornell University, and New York University, a mid to high 160s score at Fordham University, Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University), or St. John's University, and a mid 150s score across a broad band including Albany Law School, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and Touro University (Fuchsberg).

How much does law school cost in New York?

Full-time tuition in New York ranges from $15,450 at the City University of New York (CUNY) and $26,430 at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), the two public schools, up to $85,368 at Columbia University, with most private schools in the $56,000 to $84,000 range, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. The 509 reports tuition separately from living costs, so this page does not sum them into one New York figure.

Does New York use the NextGen bar exam?

New York is currently a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction and has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with a transition set for July 2028, according to the NCBE. The legacy UBE and Multistate Bar Exam end nationally after the February 2028 administration, so a New York applicant starting law school now should expect to sit the NextGen exam by the time they graduate.

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

Graduating from an ABA accredited law school in any state is the standard threshold to sit for a state bar, so an out-of-state ABA degree generally lets you take the New York bar. New York gives the UBE today and moves to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE. Because each jurisdiction sets its own admission details, confirm the current requirements directly with the New York Board of Law Examiners.

Which New York law school has the best bar passage?

The disclosures behind this page cover median LSAT, acceptance rate, and tuition for New York's fifteen law schools, but they do not include each school's first-time bar passage rate, so this page does not rank New York schools on bar passage. First-time bar results by school are published in each school's ABA bar-passage report, which is the right place to compare them for New York.

Are there part-time or evening law programs in New York?

The figures on this page report full-time medians and full-time tuition for New York's fifteen schools and do not itemize part-time or evening divisions, so this page cannot confirm those programs from its sources. Because New York City has long supported working students, several schools have historically offered evening study, but confirm current part-time offerings directly with each New York school's admissions office.

Where can you take the LSAT in New York?

LSAT test centers appear in New York's major metros, chiefly New York City, along with Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse, and a remote-proctored option is available from home. Because specific New York centers and seats change each cycle, check LSAC's official test-center list when you register rather than relying on a fixed address, and book early to secure the most convenient location.

Which New York law schools are splitter friendly?

Most of the New York field reads as splitter friendly in the 2025 ABA 509 data, led by Syracuse University at a 0.42 GPA spread and Albany Law School at 0.38, so a high LSAT can carry a lower GPA at many schools. St. John's University, Cornell University, and Columbia University read as reverse-splitter friendly, with LSAT spreads of eight, five, and four points, favoring a strong GPA.

Do you have to go to law school in New York to practice there?

No. You do not have to attend a New York law school to practice in New York. An ABA accredited J.D. from any state generally qualifies you to sit for the New York bar, which gives the UBE today and moves to NextGen in July 2028, per the NCBE. That said, New York schools place heavily in the New York City market, so studying in the state helps build local connections. Confirm admission rules with the New York Board of Law Examiners.

What is the cheapest law school in New York?

By full-time tuition in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, the City University of New York (CUNY) is the least expensive law school in New York at $15,450, followed by the University at Buffalo (SUNY) at $26,430. Both are public schools and sit far below the private options, which run into the $70,000s and $80,000s. For a cost-conscious New York applicant, the two public schools are the clear value.

Which New York law school keeps the most graduates in the state?

The University at Buffalo (SUNY) keeps the largest share of its class in New York at 89%, followed by Hofstra University (Deane) at 88% and St. John's University at 86%, according to the ABA Class of 2024 employment data. Even the elite schools stay heavily local, with Columbia University at 69% and Cornell University at 67%. Syracuse University is lowest at 47%.

Is a 165 LSAT good for law school in New York?

A 165 is a strong New York score. It sits at the Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University) median, above St. John's University and the entire mid 150s band, and within reach of Fordham University at 168, per the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Only Columbia University, Cornell University, and New York University treat a 165 as well below their medians, so a 165 gives a New York applicant many competitive options.

Sources

Every figure on this page is drawn from primary disclosures for New York, listed here so readers can verify each one directly. School-level median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition are from each New York school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class, available through the ABA disclosure portal.

ABA Required Disclosures portal (2025 Standard 509 reports): https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

NCBE, for New York's current UBE status, its NextGen transition in July 2028, and the national retirement of the legacy UBE and MBE after February 2028: https://www.ncbex.org/

LSAC, for the official and current New York LSAT test-center list: https://www.lsac.org/

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