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

The short answer to how to get into Southwestern Law School is to reach the two medians in Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 157 LSAT and a 3.51 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 154 to 160 on the LSAT and 3.25 to 3.73 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 Southwestern 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. Southwestern Law is an independent law school in Los Angeles, California.

Southwestern Law School is a Los Angeles institution, and its outcomes are tied almost entirely to the California market. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Southwestern Law placed 76.6 percent of graduates in California, with Los Angeles at the center. The thesis of this page is that Southwestern is a genuine gateway into the Los Angeles legal market for an applicant in the mid-150s, and that it carries two honest tradeoffs an applicant must weigh directly: a 12.0 percent first-year academic attrition rate, which is high, and conditional scholarships that can be cut for grades. If your career is aimed at Los Angeles, Southwestern belongs on your list, but read the sections below on attrition, cost, and the bar before you commit.

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

Southwestern Law School posts a 157 LSAT median, a 3.51 GPA median, and a 36.47 percent acceptance rate in Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees are $63,160. The table below gathers the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for Southwestern Law.

MetricSouthwestern Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)154 / 157 / 160GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.25 / 3.51 / 3.73Acceptance rate36.47%Applications3,584Offers of admission1,307Matriculants from the applicant pool458First-year class459 (383 full-time, 76 part-time)Full-time tuition and fees$63,160Living expenses$38,033Share receiving grants72%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$12,500 / $29,166 / $42,372Full-tuition awards12 full-tuition, 17 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsYes (can be cut for grades)First-year academic attrition12.0%First-time bar passage64.93% (exam year 2024, California)Employed at ten months81.0% (235 of 290)

Source: Southwestern 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 Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School reports an LSAT spread of 154 to 160 and a GPA spread of 3.25 to 3.73 in Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509. A 157 LSAT and a 3.51 GPA sit at both medians. Below the 154 LSAT or the 3.25 GPA, you need a clear compensating strength on the other number to keep a Southwestern file competitive.

Southwestern Law reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 154, 157, and 160, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.25, 3.51, and 3.73 for the fall 2025 entering class, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 157 on the LSAT and above 3.51 in GPA, and half scored below. A median is a target rather than a hard cutoff, but at Southwestern Law School the two medians set the center of the class and are the numbers to aim for. If your LSAT sits in the mid-150s, Southwestern is a match rather than a reach, and the class is full of students with your numbers.

The realistic read at Southwestern Law School is that a 157 LSAT and a 3.51 GPA make you a solid competitor, with the 25th percentiles marking the edge of the comfortable range. A 154 LSAT, the bottom quartile, is a live admit number at Southwestern Law when paired with a GPA at or above the 3.51 median, and a 3.25 GPA, likewise the bottom quartile, wants an LSAT at or above 157. With a 36.47 percent acceptance rate, the school admits a meaningful share of applicants, so a file at or above both medians is in strong shape.

The shape of the two bands makes Southwestern Law School splitter friendly. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 3 points, so the GPA band runs comparatively wide. 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. Southwestern Law leans splitter, so a strong LSAT at or above 157 can carry a GPA that dips toward the 3.25 quartile. If your LSAT is your stronger number, Southwestern Law School is a school where that profile plays well.

Is Southwestern Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

Southwestern Law School is a bit more selective within its band than its 36.47 percent acceptance rate suggests. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Southwestern Law 7th most selective of the 24 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 157, in the upper third of that band, though in absolute terms it remains a fairly accessible school.

Reputation tends to file Southwestern Law School as a large, accessible Los Angeles program with deep local roots. To test that against its scoring peers, Lovare built a peer band of the 24 ABA law schools whose median LSAT lands within two points of Southwestern Law's 157, that is, a median of 155 to 159, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Southwestern Law comes in 7th most selective of the 24, in the upper third of the group.

The numbers behind that ranking are concrete. According to Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, the school drew 3,584 applications and made 1,307 offers to fill a first-year class of 459, an acceptance rate of 36.47 percent. That is a large class supported by a large applicant pool. Among schools that enroll students with the same mid-150s LSAT median, Southwestern admits a somewhat smaller share than the median peer, which is why it lands in the upper third of its band. For an applicant, the practical lesson is that Southwestern Law School is accessible but not a formality: a file at or above the medians is the way to compete.

The honest verdict is that Southwestern Law School is accessible on its face and moderately selective within its band. It is a Los Angeles school where a mid-150s applicant is competitive and where more than a third of applicants are admitted, yet it is not a rubber stamp. Hit the 157 and 3.51 medians and Southwestern is a strong match, with the real strategic questions falling on cost, attrition, and the bar-passage record discussed below.

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

Southwestern Law School charges $63,160 in full-time tuition and fees, per Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509, plus $38,033 in living expenses. Seventy-two percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $29,166. A median-grant recipient nets about $33,994 in tuition and fees before living costs. Southwestern uses conditional scholarships, and its 12.0 percent first-year attrition makes those conditions especially important.

Southwestern Law School carries a private-school sticker in an expensive city. Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $63,160, plus $38,033 in living expenses. 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 Southwestern reports, and this page will not invent one.

The scholarship story reaches most of the class. According to the same 509, 72 percent of Southwestern Law School students receive grant aid, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $12,500, $29,166, and $42,372. Southwestern Law reports 12 full-tuition awards and 17 awards above full tuition. Against the $63,160 sticker, a $29,166 median grant brings tuition and fees to about $33,994 before living costs, using figures from Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509. The honest caution is that the 25th-percentile award of $12,500 is modest, so a meaningful share of aided students receives only a small discount, and 28 percent of students receive no grant at all.

Now the warning every Southwestern Law School applicant needs to hear plainly, and it carries extra weight here. Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports that the school uses conditional scholarships, which means a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below the threshold the school sets. That risk is not theoretical at Southwestern, because the same 509 reports 12.0 percent first-year academic attrition, one of the higher figures among the schools on this list. When roughly one in eight first-year students leaves for academic reasons, the graded curve behind that attrition is the same curve that decides who keeps a conditional award. Before you accept a Southwestern offer, get the exact retention standard in writing, ask how many students held that scholarship last year, and ask how many kept it.

Put the pieces together and the cost calculus at Southwestern Law School demands care. Grants reach nearly three-quarters of students, but the awards vary widely, the aid is conditional on grades, and the 12.0 percent first-year attrition rate means the downside risk is real. Weigh a Southwestern grant against its retention terms and against the possibility of losing standing in a demanding first year, and treat the $33,994 net as a best case for a median-aided student rather than a certainty.

What are your real chances off the Southwestern Law School waitlist?

Southwestern Law School does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 458 matriculants against 1,307 offers is a 35.0 percent yield in Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA 509. That is a moderate yield, so Southwestern fills much of its large class from first-round offers while leaving some room for waitlist movement.

Here is the reasoning in full. Southwestern Law School enrolled 458 matriculants from 1,307 offers in Southwestern Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 35.0 percent. No ABA disclosure, Southwestern'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. A 35.0 percent yield is relatively healthy, which reflects a school that draws a committed local applicant pool in Los Angeles and fills much of its class from first-round offers.

A 35.0 percent yield is moderate to strong, which places Southwestern Law School toward the firmer end of the range. A school that yields better than a third of its offers depends less on its waitlist than a school that yields a quarter. For a waitlisted applicant to Southwestern Law, that means waitlist movement is possible but not something to count on, since the school fills a large share of seats from students who accept their first-round offers.

If you land on the Southwestern Law School waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Southwestern Law as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand as your plan of record. Treat a Southwestern waitlist spot as a live possibility rather than a plan, and secure a seat elsewhere while the moderate odds play out.

Where do Southwestern Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Southwestern Law School placed 76.6 percent of graduates in California and 77.9 percent across its top three markets. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 10.0 percent, and federal clerkships took 0.0 percent. Southwestern Law is a Los Angeles and California school, with big-firm and clerkship channels that are narrow.

Southwestern Law School is a Los Angeles school through and through, and the employment data confirms it. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Southwestern Law placed 222 of its graduates in California, 2 in Nevada, and 2 in Texas. That is a 76.6 percent top-market share and a 77.9 percent top-three share, so more than three-quarters of graduates work in California and out-of-state placement is minimal. This is a school whose outcomes are tied to the California legal market, especially Los Angeles, which suits an applicant aiming there and limits one aiming elsewhere.

On overall placement, the honest number is that Southwestern Law School reported 235 of 290 graduates employed at ten months, or 81.0 percent, in the same ABA Employment Summary. That leaves close to one in five graduates not employed at the ten-month mark, a real gap an applicant should weigh. Placement at Southwestern is solid but below the highest California performers, so plan on building experience and network early rather than assuming the degree places itself.

On firm size, Southwestern Law School sends one in ten graduates into big law. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 10.0 percent of Southwestern Law graduates entering large firms of 101 or more lawyers, a modest share concentrated in the Los Angeles market. Federal clerkships were 0.0 percent in the same summary, meaning the Class of 2024 reported no federal clerkships, so an applicant set on a clerkship should understand that Southwestern is not a clerkship feeder. The honest summary is that Southwestern Law School feeds small and midsize firms, government, entertainment and business roles across Los Angeles, with a narrow large-firm channel and no clerkship pipeline in the latest class.

When are Southwestern Law School's application deadlines?

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

As general practice across law schools rather than a published Southwestern rule, applying earlier in a cycle tends to help, because seats and scholarship money are more available before a class fills. That principle matters at Southwestern Law School, where the strongest awards are limited and the earliest strong files compete best for them. Take your strongest LSAT before you apply, confirm the exact deadlines on Southwestern Law's admissions page, and treat this guidance as verified August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Southwestern Law School

Is a 157 LSAT good enough for Southwestern Law?

A 157 is exactly the LSAT median at Southwestern Law, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 154 to 160. A 157 puts you right at the center of the class. Pair it with a GPA at or above the 3.51 median and you are a strong candidate at Southwestern Law School, and within the range that earns scholarship consideration.

What GPA do you need for Southwestern Law?

Southwestern Law reports a GPA median of 3.51, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.25 to 3.73, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.51 or higher. Because Southwestern Law School is splitter friendly, a strong LSAT can help carry a GPA toward the 3.25 quartile, but a transcript at or above the median keeps the file comfortably inside the class.

What is Southwestern Law's acceptance rate?

Southwestern Law admitted 36.47 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 1,307 offers against 3,584 applications, according to its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Lovare's analysis ranks Southwestern Law School 7th most selective of the 24 schools within two points of its 157 median, in the upper third of its band, so it is accessible but not a formality.

How many people apply to Southwestern Law?

Southwestern Law received 3,584 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 1,307 offers, and enrolled 458 matriculants from the pool for a first-year class of 459, which includes 383 full-time and 76 part-time students, per its 2025 ABA 509. That is one of the larger entering classes in California, and it supports Southwestern Law School's 36.47 percent acceptance rate.

How much does Southwestern Law cost?

Southwestern Law lists full-time tuition and fees of $63,160, plus $38,033 in living expenses, in its 2025 ABA 509. Southwestern Law School does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total in the 509, so tuition and living are best read separately. A median grant of $29,166 brings tuition and fees to about $33,994 before living costs.

Does Southwestern Law give scholarships?

Yes, to most students. Southwestern Law reports that 72 percent of students receive grants, with awards of $12,500, $29,166, and $42,372 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 12 full-tuition and 17 above-full-tuition awards, per its 2025 ABA 509. Those awards at Southwestern Law School are conditional, so a first-year grant can be cut if your grades fall below the school's threshold.

What is Southwestern Law's bar passage rate?

Southwestern Law posted a 64.93 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with California as the largest jurisdiction, according to its ABA bar-passage report. Its ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, was 87.83 percent. The first-time rate sits below the California average, so an applicant to Southwestern Law School should plan seriously for bar preparation, though the ultimate rate shows most graduates eventually pass.

Where do Southwestern Law graduates work?

Overwhelmingly in California. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Southwestern Law placed 222 graduates in California, 2 in Nevada, and 2 in Texas, a 76.6 percent top-market share and 77.9 percent across the top three. Southwestern Law School is a Los Angeles-focused school, with an overall 81.0 percent employment rate, so plan around that geography.

Can a splitter get into Southwestern Law?

A splitter has a real path. Lovare reads Southwestern Law as splitter friendly, with a wider GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 against an LSAT spread of 3 points in the 2025 ABA 509. That means Southwestern Law School forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a strong-LSAT applicant with a GPA toward the 3.25 quartile is a viable candidate.

How selective is Southwestern Law compared with schools at the same LSAT?

Southwestern Law is in the upper third of its band. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Southwestern Law School 7th most selective of the 24 schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 157. So while more than a third of applicants are admitted, Southwestern admits a somewhat smaller share than the typical peer at the same scores.

Is Southwestern Law worth it?

It depends on cost, career plan, and how you weigh the risks. Southwestern Law pairs a $63,160 sticker with an 81.0 percent employment rate, a 64.93 percent first-time bar rate, and a 12.0 percent first-year attrition rate in the latest data. For a Los Angeles-bound applicant who wins strong aid and performs in the first year, Southwestern Law School can be worth it, but the attrition and bar figures are serious considerations.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a Southwestern Law scholarship?

Scores above the medians. Because Southwestern Law reserves its largest awards for the strongest files, an LSAT above the 157 median toward the 160 upper quartile, paired with a GPA above 3.51 toward the 3.73 quartile, positions you for the top of Southwestern Law School's grant range, where the 75th-percentile award reaches $42,372 and some awards exceed full tuition. Higher scores also cushion you against the conditional retention threshold.

What is Southwestern Law's first-year attrition rate?

Southwestern Law reported 12.0 percent first-year academic attrition in its 2025 ABA 509, meaning roughly one in eight first-year students left for academic reasons. That is a high figure relative to peers and a genuine consumer warning. At Southwestern Law School the same first-year curve that drives this attrition also decides who keeps a conditional scholarship, so treat the first year as high stakes.

Can Southwestern Law take away my scholarship?

It can. Southwestern Law reports in its 2025 ABA 509 that it uses conditional scholarships, so a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below a set threshold. With a 12.0 percent first-year attrition rate, that risk is real at Southwestern Law School, so get the exact retention standard in writing and ask how many students kept the same award last year before you accept.

Sources

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

Southwestern Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=11&year=2025

Southwestern Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=11&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=11&year=2024

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