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

The honest answer to how to get into UCLA School of Law starts with two numbers. According to UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 entering class posted an LSAT median of 171 (166 to 172) and a GPA median of 3.95 (3.73 to 4.0). Hit both and you are competitive, not admitted.

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 figure on this page comes from UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and UCLA Law's own admissions pages.

UCLA Law is the default choice for California law, and its numbers are built around that identity. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 282 of 372 graduates, 75.8%, stayed in California, and 87.4% landed in the top three markets, the most concentrated in-state pipeline in this comparison. In UCLA Law's own Early Decision terms, the binding option costs an admit all merit-scholarship eligibility. The thesis of this page is that UCLA Law is the surest on-ramp to California practice, with a genuinely selective 12.05% acceptance rate and an Early Decision program that applicants should approach with real caution.

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

Here is the UCLA law snapshot. According to UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class posted an LSAT of 166, 171, and 172 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, a GPA of 3.73, 3.95, and 4.0, and a 12.05% acceptance rate. Cost, grants, bar passage, and jobs sit below.

MetricUCLA Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)166 / 171 / 172GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.73 / 3.95 / 4.0Acceptance rate12.05%Applications8,623Offers of admission1,039Matriculants from the pool328First-year class328Full-time tuition and feesResident $61,862; nonresident $74,107Living expenses$40,046Share receiving grants83% (825 students)Median grant$24,456Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage96.65% (exam year 2025)Employed at ten months97.3% (362 of 372)

Source: UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class) for admissions, cost, and grants; the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 for jobs; and UCLA Law's ABA bar-passage report for the bar. Tuition and living expenses are printed separately in the 509, which does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total. Verified August 2026.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into UCLA Law?

You really need a 171 LSAT and a 3.95 GPA to sit at the center of UCLA Law's class. UCLA Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure puts the LSAT middle at 166 to 172 and the GPA middle at 3.73 to 4.0. Below either 25th percentile, the other number must clearly compensate.

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure sets the realistic UCLA law LSAT median at 171 and the UCLA law GPA median at 3.95 for the fall 2025 entering class. The median is the line where half the enrolled students scored higher and half lower, so a 171 LSAT and a 3.95 GPA make an applicant typical at UCLA, which is the target. The 75th percentiles, a 172 LSAT and a perfect 4.0 GPA, mark where a file becomes strong, and the 25th percentiles, a 166 LSAT and a 3.73 GPA, mark the soft floor.

Two features of UCLA Law's distribution stand out. First, UCLA Law is strongly reverse-splitter friendly: the GPA spread from the 3.73 twenty-fifth percentile to the 3.95 median is 0.22, the widest in this comparison, and the LSAT spread from 166 to 171 is a full five points, per UCLA Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Splitter friendly means a school forgives a lower GPA for a high LSAT; reverse-splitter friendly means it forgives a lower LSAT for a high GPA. UCLA Law leans hard the second way. Second, the LSAT band is oddly top-narrow: the 75th percentile of 172 sits just one point above the 171 median, which tells you UCLA Law does not stockpile very high test scores, and a 172 already clears the top quarter of the class.

For UCLA law requirements, that shape points to a clear strategy. The single most valuable number an applicant can bring to UCLA Law is a high GPA, ideally at or near the 4.0 that marks the 75th percentile. An applicant below the 166 LSAT can still be competitive with a GPA above the 3.95 median, because the wide LSAT band shows UCLA Law regularly enrolls students under its median test score. An applicant below the 3.73 GPA faces the steeper climb and needs a 172 LSAT plus a strong explanation, since the GPA floor is where UCLA Law is least flexible.

Is UCLA Law harder to get into than its reputation?

Yes, if anything. UCLA Law is genuinely selective for its LSAT level. Among the 26 leading schools with a median LSAT within two points of UCLA's 171, UCLA Law's 12.05% acceptance rate ranks 8th most selective, in the top third. UCLA Law is at least as hard as its reputation, and by acceptance rate harder than most peers.

UCLA Law is often filed under strong regional school, and that framing sells its admissions short. Among the 26 leading national law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of UCLA Law's 171, from 169 to 173, ranked by the UCLA law acceptance rate against its peers, UCLA Law's 12.05% rate is the 8th most selective. That places UCLA Law in the top third of a deep band, ahead of many schools with louder national reputations.

Consider who UCLA Law out-selects. Ranked from most to least selective by acceptance rate, the band opens with Stanford University at 6.1%, the University of Pennsylvania (Carey) at 8.1%, the University of Michigan at 8.6%, the University of Virginia at 10.2%, the University of Southern California at 11.0% and its Gould figure at 11.2%, and Columbia University at 11.8%, then UCLA at its exact 12.05%, essentially tied with Boston University at 12.1% and Texas A&M University at 12.1%. Behind UCLA Law come Northwestern University (Pritzker) at 12.3%, the University of Georgia at 12.7%, Duke University at 12.9%, Vanderbilt University at 13.3%, New York University at 13.4%, the University of Texas at Austin at 14.0%, UC Berkeley at 14.8%, Georgetown University at 15.8%, the University of Notre Dame at 16.1%, and Cornell University at 18.2%. UCLA Law admits a smaller share of applicants than Duke, NYU, Georgetown, Cornell, and even UC Berkeley.

So the honest answer to whether UCLA Law is harder than its reputation is yes, if anything. UCLA Law is at least as hard as its billing and, measured by the one metric that captures how difficult it is to secure an offer, harder than most schools at its LSAT level. The 8,623 applications UCLA Law drew for the fall 2025 class, the largest pool in this comparison, are part of the reason: a big, self-selected applicant pool competing for 328 seats produces a genuinely selective 12.05% rate. An applicant who treats UCLA law admissions as a safety because UCLA is a public school is misreading the numbers.

Does UCLA Law have Early Decision, and is it binding?

Yes, and it comes with a steep catch. UCLA Law offers a binding Early Decision with a priority deadline of November 16 and rolling review thereafter, per UCLA Law's Early Decision page. If admitted, you must withdraw every other law school application and start no new ones. Critically, ED admits get no merit scholarships, though need-based aid remains possible.

UCLA Law's Early Decision page states that UCLA offers a binding Early Decision plan with a priority deadline of November 16 and rolling review thereafter. Binding here is strict: if UCLA Law admits an applicant through Early Decision, that applicant must withdraw every other law school application and start no new ones. That is a total commitment to UCLA Law, enforced by the withdrawal requirement, not merely a promise to enroll if admitted.

The part that should stop most applicants is the money. UCLA Law makes Early Decision admits ineligible for merit scholarships; only need-based aid remains available to them, according to UCLA Law's Early Decision page. This matters enormously at UCLA Law specifically, because UCLA Law is generous with merit at the top: its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports 62 full-tuition awards and 25 above-full-tuition awards. Choosing binding Early Decision means voluntarily surrendering any shot at that merit pool, which for a strong applicant can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Put the pieces together and the stance is clear. UCLA Law's binding Early Decision is a poor deal for most applicants, and an especially poor deal for the strong candidates most likely to be admitted, because those are exactly the applicants who would otherwise compete for UCLA Law's full-tuition and above-full-tuition awards. The narrow case where UCLA Law's Early Decision makes sense is an applicant who is certain UCLA is the first choice, would attend at close to sticker price, and either expects little merit aid or qualifies for enough need-based aid to make the point moot. Everyone else should apply to UCLA Law in the regular pool, keep merit eligibility intact, and preserve the ability to compare offers. This is the single most important strategic warning on this page.

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

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees of $61,862 for residents and $74,107 for nonresidents, plus $40,046 in living expenses, with no single cost-of-attendance total printed. 83% of students receive grants, the median grant is $24,456, and a typical recipient nets about $49,651 in nonresident tuition.

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure prints the cost in parts. Full-time tuition and fees are $61,862 for California residents and $74,107 for nonresidents, and living expenses are listed separately at $40,046. That 509 does not print a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in UCLA law figure quoted elsewhere is someone's arithmetic, not a number UCLA Law reports, and this page will not invent one. Residency is a meaningful lever: the in-state discount is more than $12,000 a year in tuition and fees.

The grant picture at UCLA Law is a barbell. UCLA Law reports that 83% of students receive grants, with award quartiles of $15,000 at the 25th percentile, $24,456 at the median, and $43,333 at the 75th, per its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Those middle numbers are the lowest in this comparison, which means the typical UCLA Law grant recipient gets less than a typical recipient at Berkeley or Cornell. But the top of the distribution is generous: UCLA Law made 62 full-tuition awards and 25 above-full-tuition awards, so the biggest money is concentrated among the strongest admits. UCLA Law grants blend merit and need aid, unlike the need-only schools such as Yale, Harvard, and Stanford, which award no merit money and instead meet demonstrated need.

The net math for a median recipient is straightforward. A student receiving UCLA Law's median grant of $24,456 nets about $49,651 in nonresident tuition and fees, before living costs, using figures from UCLA Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. None of UCLA Law's scholarships are conditional on class rank or GPA, so an award is kept regardless of first-year grades. The barbell shape connects directly to the Early Decision warning above: because UCLA Law's real money lives in the merit pool, and binding Early Decision forfeits merit eligibility, an ED admit gives up access to exactly the awards that make UCLA Law affordable for top applicants.

What are your real chances off the UCLA Law waitlist?

Moderate. No ABA disclosure publishes waitlist admits, so the honest proxy is implied yield: matriculants divided by offers. For UCLA Law's fall 2025 class, 328 enrolled from 1,039 offers, a 31.6% yield. That is a middle figure, so UCLA Law relies on its waitlist more than a high-yield school but less than the most offer-heavy ones.

No ABA disclosure, UCLA Law's included, publishes how many applicants a school admits off its waitlist, so precise waitlist odds do not exist in the public data. The honest proxy is implied yield: the share of admitted students who enroll, computed as matriculants divided by offers. For the fall 2025 class, UCLA Law enrolled 328 students from 1,039 offers, an implied yield of 31.6%, per UCLA Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure.

That 31.6% is a middle figure, sitting between the higher-yield and lower-yield schools in this comparison. To fill a class of 328, UCLA Law extends 1,039 offers, expecting roughly two in three admits to enroll elsewhere. A middle yield means UCLA Law leans on its waitlist to a moderate degree: more than a high-yield school that fills its class on the first round, less than the most offer-heavy schools whose yields sit in the mid-twenties. Waitlist movement at UCLA Law is plausible in a given cycle but not something to count on.

For a waitlisted applicant, the practical plan is the standard one, calibrated to a moderate yield. Place a deposit at another school to protect your seat, then send UCLA Law a concise letter of continued interest that adds genuinely new information, whether an updated LSAT, a strong fall semester, or a specific reason UCLA is the right fit. UCLA Law's 31.6% yield says the waitlist is a real but uncertain path, more active than at a school yielding in the high thirties but less active than at the lowest-yield schools in this set.

Where do UCLA Law graduates actually work?

UCLA Law is the most California-concentrated school in this set. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 282 of 372 graduates, 75.8%, took California jobs, and the top three markets held 87.4%. Large firms of 101-plus lawyers hired 215 graduates, 57.8%, and federal clerkships took 19, or 5.1%.

UCLA Law's employment outcomes are the most California-concentrated in this comparison, and that concentration is the heart of the fit decision. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, UCLA Law reported 372 graduates with 362 employed at ten months, a 97.3% employment rate. That rate is strong, though it is the lowest of the three schools compared here, and as always the headline number matters less than the geography beneath it.

California is the whole story. Of 372 graduates, 282, or 75.8%, took jobs in California, with New York a distant second at 37 and Washington third at 6, per the same ABA Employment Summary. The top three markets held 87.4% of the class, the most concentrated in-state pipeline of any school in this set. UCLA Law is, in the truest sense, the default choice for California law: three of every four graduates stay in the state, and the school's alumni network, on-campus recruiting, and regional reputation are all densest exactly there. For an applicant who wants Los Angeles or the broader California market, that concentration is the single strongest argument for UCLA Law. For an applicant hoping to practice on the East Coast, UCLA Law's thin out-of-state placement, just 37 graduates in New York, is a real limitation.

On employer type, UCLA Law sent 215 graduates, 57.8%, to firms of 101-plus lawyers, and 188, or 50.5%, to firms of 501-plus lawyers, per the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024. That is a solid large-firm pipeline, comparable to Berkeley Law's but well short of Cornell Law School's 79.6% share. Federal clerkships took 19 graduates, 5.1%, the lowest clerkship share of the three schools here. The composite read is that UCLA Law is a California-market school first, a large-firm school second, and a clerkship school a distant third. Fit at UCLA Law is decided by whether you want to practice in California.

When are UCLA Law's application deadlines?

As of August 2026, the dated deadline in this UCLA Law profile is the binding Early Decision priority date of November 16, with rolling review thereafter, from UCLA Law's Early Decision page. This profile does not carry a separate regular decision deadline. Cycle dates shift, so confirm the current deadline on UCLA Law's site.

Timing at UCLA Law runs off one published date and one honest gap. UCLA Law's Early Decision page gives a binding Early Decision priority deadline of November 16, with rolling review thereafter, and as of August 2026 that is the dated deadline this profile can state with confidence. Because UCLA Law reviews on a rolling basis after the priority date, applying earlier in the cycle generally helps, since a rolling process fills seats as it goes and later applicants compete for fewer of them.

For the regular pool, honesty beats a confident-sounding date. This profile does not carry a separate fixed regular decision deadline for UCLA law, and law school cycle dates move from year to year, so quoting a specific date here would risk sending a stale number. The correct step is to confirm the current regular deadline directly on UCLA Law's admissions site before planning a submission.

The strategic point ties the timing back to the Early Decision warning. The November 16 priority date is the calendar anchor for anyone considering the binding option at UCLA Law, but for most applicants the better plan is to apply early in the regular, rolling pool. That way an applicant captures the timing benefit of a rolling process without forfeiting the merit-scholarship eligibility that binding Early Decision surrenders at UCLA Law. Finish the LSAT, assemble a strong file, submit early in the cycle, and confirm every date on UCLA Law's site before relying on it.

Frequently asked questions about getting into UCLA Law

Is a 171 LSAT good enough for UCLA Law?

A 171 is exactly UCLA Law's median LSAT in UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, so it is competitive, not a lock. It also nearly clears the top of the class, since UCLA Law's 75th percentile is only 172. Pair a 171 with a GPA near the 3.95 median and it is strong; because UCLA Law is reverse-splitter friendly, a high GPA helps most of all.

What GPA do you need to get into UCLA Law?

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a GPA median of 3.95, with a 3.73 twenty-fifth percentile and a perfect 4.0 seventy-fifth percentile. Aim for 3.95 or higher to sit at or above the median. Because UCLA Law is strongly reverse-splitter friendly, a high GPA is the most powerful number you can bring, and a 3.73 can work with a 171-plus LSAT.

What is UCLA Law's acceptance rate?

UCLA Law's acceptance rate is 12.05% for the fall 2025 cycle, computed from 1,039 offers against 8,623 applications in UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That is genuinely selective: among schools at its 171 LSAT level, UCLA Law ranks 8th most selective of 26. UCLA Law draws the largest applicant pool in this comparison, which sharpens its selectivity.

How many people apply to UCLA Law each year?

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 8,623 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, from which UCLA Law made 1,039 offers and enrolled 328 students. That 8,623 is the largest applicant pool among the schools compared here. The gap between 8,623 applicants and 328 seats produces UCLA Law's selective 12.05% acceptance rate.

Does UCLA Law have binding Early Decision?

Yes, and it is unusually costly. UCLA Law offers a binding Early Decision with a November 16 priority deadline, per UCLA Law's Early Decision page. If admitted, you must withdraw every other law school application and start no new ones. The catch: UCLA Law makes ED admits ineligible for merit scholarships, though need-based aid stays available.

How much does UCLA Law cost per year?

UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees of $61,862 for California residents and $74,107 for nonresidents, plus $40,046 in living expenses. The 509 does not print a single cost-of-attendance total, so UCLA Law does not publish one figure. Grants cut the sticker for most: 83% receive aid, with a median grant of $24,456.

Does UCLA Law give merit scholarships?

Yes, and generously at the top. UCLA Law grants include merit and need aid, per UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. 83% of students receive grants, with quartiles of $15,000, $24,456, and $43,333, and UCLA Law made 62 full-tuition and 25 above-full-tuition awards. None are conditional on grades. Note that binding Early Decision admits forfeit merit eligibility entirely at UCLA Law.

What is UCLA Law's bar passage rate?

UCLA Law's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time passage rate of 96.65% for exam year 2025, with 96.07% in California, its largest jurisdiction. The ultimate passage rate, measured two years out for the 2023 cohort, is 96.15%. First-year academic attrition at UCLA Law is 1.0%, so nearly everyone who starts the program goes on to finish it.

Do UCLA Law graduates get large-firm (BigLaw) jobs?

Yes. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 215 of 372 UCLA Law graduates, 57.8%, took jobs at firms of 101-plus lawyers, and 188, or 50.5%, went to firms of 501-plus lawyers. That is a solid large-firm pipeline, though below Cornell Law School's 79.6% share. Federal clerkships took a smaller 19 graduates, 5.1%, at UCLA Law.

Where do most UCLA Law graduates work?

California, overwhelmingly. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 282 of 372 UCLA Law graduates, 75.8%, working in California, with New York next at 37 and Washington at 6. The top three markets held 87.4% of the class, the most concentrated in-state pipeline in this set. UCLA Law is the default choice for California practice.

Can a splitter get into UCLA Law?

UCLA Law is strongly reverse-splitter friendly, so a high-GPA, lower-LSAT applicant has the best odds. UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a wide 0.22 GPA spread from 3.73 to 3.95 and a five-point LSAT spread from 166 to 171. That means UCLA Law forgives a lower LSAT when the GPA is high more readily than it forgives a low GPA when the LSAT is high.

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

Among the 26 leading schools whose median LSAT is within two points of UCLA Law's 171, UCLA Law's 12.05% acceptance rate ranks 8th most selective, in the top third of the band. UCLA Law admits a smaller share than Duke, NYU, Georgetown, Cornell, and even UC Berkeley. By acceptance rate, UCLA Law is harder than most schools at its LSAT level.

Is UCLA Law worth the cost?

For students committed to California practice, yes. UCLA Law keeps 75.8% of graduates in California and sends 57.8% to firms of 101-plus lawyers, per the Class of 2024 ABA Employment Summary. With a resident tuition of $61,862 and a median grant of $24,456 cutting nonresident tuition to about $49,651, UCLA Law is a strong value for a future California lawyer, especially an in-state resident.

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

UCLA Law concentrates its biggest money at the top: 62 full-tuition and 25 above-full-tuition awards, per UCLA Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Clear the 172 LSAT and 4.0 GPA seventy-fifth percentiles to compete for those awards. One warning: do not apply through binding Early Decision if you want merit money, because UCLA Law makes ED admits ineligible for it.

Sources

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

UCLA Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=9&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://law.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/Careers/Class_of_2024_ABA_Employment_Summary.pdf

UCLA Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=9&year=2025

UCLA Law Early Decision program page: https://law.ucla.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/early-decision-program

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