UC Davis Law lists tuition at $53,600 per year, $160,800 over three years, about $220,800 once living costs are added. That is the sticker, and at this tier the sticker is unusually negotiable: schools in this band compete hard on price for above-median credentials, which makes your LSAT score the single biggest variable in what you will actually pay.

What UC Davis Law Costs

Line itemFigureNoteAnnual tuition$53,600Published rate, pre-awardThree-year tuition$160,800Sticker × 3Living expenses~$20,000 / yrDavis, CaliforniaThree-year cost of attendance~$220,800The real all-in numberMerit money opensLSAT 164+Where awards begin

How Much Does UC Davis Law Really Cost After Scholarships?

Less than the table says, if you bring leverage: merit awards open above an LSAT of 164 and scale from there, and they routinely cut the real cost well under the published figure. Sticker is what the unleveraged pay, treat it as a starting quote.

The Discount Machine: Why the Price Moves

Understand what a scholarship is from UC Davis Law’s side of the table: a purchase. The school buys the credentials its ranking requires, and the budget flows to applicants whose numbers defend the published medians. That is why awards cluster above the median, why they grow with distance from it, and why a written offer from a peer school changes the conversation, it puts a market price on you. Always negotiate in writing.

Withheld Tip: scholarship money is committed on a calendar, not a queue. By the time late applicants are admitted, the budget that would have funded them is already promised to the November pool. Early application is not diligence at this tier, it is, quite literally, money.

The Debt Math, Honestly

The only honest way to evaluate $220,800 is against income, before you deposit. Build the model: ($53,600 − award + $20,000 living) × three years, plus interest from disbursement. Then price the outcomes, $65 to 130K at regional firms, $55 to 90K in government, $215K in the BigLaw scenario. At sticker, this degree costs about 2.3 years of a regional first-year salary, the single most clarifying ratio in the decision. If the middle of that distribution cannot carry the debt comfortably, the award is too small or the school is wrong, and both of those are fixable before enrollment, not after.

One non-negotiable: never model on the assumption you will be the BigLaw outcome. Model on the middle of the distribution and let BigLaw be the upside case. Public-interest paths get their own check, verify the school’s current LRAP terms before relying on them, because loan-repayment assistance is a program detail, not a promise.

If You Only Do 3 Things

1. Build two or three peer-school applications specifically to generate written offers, they are your negotiating instruments.
2. Get the application in early; November money and March money are not the same money.
3. Price the degree honestly: modeled debt against median outcomes, in a spreadsheet, before any deposit leaves your account.

UC Davis Law Tuition: Quick Answers

How much is UC Davis Law per year?

The published rate is $53,600; the realistic annual budget is closer to $74,000 with living expenses. What you pay depends on the award that open above an LSAT of 164, which is to say, mostly on your LSAT.

Does UC Davis Law negotiate scholarships?

In practice, yes, documented peer offers move awards. Send the competing letter, ask directly for reconsideration, and keep everything in writing. Applicants who never ask reliably pay the most.

Is UC Davis Law worth $220,800?

That is the sticker question, and sticker is the wrong denominator. Worth is your scholarship-adjusted cost against the school’s real placement outcomes, a calculation that takes ten minutes and changes more decisions than any ranking.

Related Playbooks

• UC Davis Law LSAT Score: What You Need
• UC Davis Law Bar Passage Rate
• UC Davis Law Employment Outcomes
• Law School Scholarship Negotiation: The Full Guide
• The 12-Week LSAT Study Schedule
• Best Law Schools in California

Lovare’s Take

The most expensive sentence in legal education is “the price is the price.” It never is. UC Davis Law sells the same seat at different numbers depending on what the applicant brings to the table, so bring something: points above the median, written competition, and an early file. The discount is earned months before the offer arrives.