How to Get Into University of Chicago Law School: LSAT, GPA & Admissions (2026)

The short answer to how to get into University of Chicago Law School is to match its medians. According to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class posted a 174 LSAT median (171 to 176) and a 3.97 GPA median (3.87 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 University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class), the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and University of Chicago Law School's own admissions and early-decision pages.

University of Chicago Law School's calling card is what happens after graduation. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 99.0% of University of Chicago Law School graduates were employed at ten months, the highest ten-month employment rate among the leading law schools in Lovare's dataset, and 28.1% took federal clerkships, the highest clerkship share of any school outside Yale, Harvard, and Stanford. That outcome is the product of a rigorous, small program: according to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, a first-year class of 204 admitted at a 9.74% rate. The catch sits in the calendar. University of Chicago Law School's binding Early Decision, due December 1, asks admitted applicants to commit and withdraw every other application before the scholarship decision arrives, typically in mid-March. This page reads University of Chicago Law School through that trade: elite outcomes paired with an early-commitment path that runs ahead of the money.

University of Chicago Law School at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

University of Chicago Law School is one of the most selective law schools in the country. According to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class had a 174 LSAT median, a 3.97 GPA median, and a 9.74% acceptance rate. Full-time tuition and fees run $83,316. The table below collects the core numbers for quick reference.

MetricUniversity of Chicago Law School (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)171 / 174 / 176GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.87 / 3.97 / 4.0Acceptance rate9.74%Applications6,581Offers of admission641Matriculants from the pool191First-year class204Full-time tuition and fees$83,316Living expenses$35,418Share receiving grants78% (485 of 620)Median grant$15,000Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage97.42%Employed at ten months99.0% (197 of 199)

Source: University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class) for admissions, cost, and grant figures; University of Chicago Law School's ABA bar-passage report for first-time passage; and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 for the employment figure. 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 University of Chicago Law School?

You effectively need to match both medians to get into University of Chicago Law School. According to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, a 174 LSAT and a 3.97 GPA sit exactly at the medians, inside a 171 to 176 LSAT band and a 3.87 to 4.0 GPA band. Below either 25th percentile, one number must carry the other.

Start with the spread. According to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 entering class posted an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 171, 174, and 176, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.87, 3.97, and 4.0. The median is the number to internalize: a 174 LSAT and a 3.97 GPA place an applicant at the exact center of University of Chicago Law School's admitted class, which is competitive rather than comfortable. Roughly a quarter of enrolled students scored 176 or higher on the LSAT, and a quarter carried a 4.0 or all but a 4.0.

The University of Chicago Law GPA band is the tighter gate of the two. A 25th percentile of 3.87 means three-quarters of the class earned better than a 3.87, which leaves little room for a soft transcript. On the splitter question, University of Chicago Law School reads as balanced rather than splitter friendly or reverse-splitter friendly: the GPA 25th-to-median spread is only 0.1 and the LSAT 25th-to-median spread is 3 points, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. 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. University of Chicago Law School does neither dramatically, though the slightly wider LSAT band means the test is where an applicant has marginally more room to stand out or to fall short.

So what offsets a below-median number at University of Chicago Law School? If a GPA sits under the 3.87 floor, an applicant realistically needs an LSAT at or above the 176 upper quartile to signal that the transcript understates the candidate, plus a genuine explanation such as an upward grade trend or a demanding major. If the LSAT sits under 171, a near-perfect GPA helps but rarely rescues the file on its own, because University of Chicago Law School's LSAT band is already so high. The University of Chicago Law requirements are not a checklist; they are two medians an applicant is expected to meet or beat, after which University of Chicago Law School's readers use the essays, recommendations, and record to choose among a large pool of numerically qualified candidates.

Is University of Chicago Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

About as hard as its reputation, which is to say very. University of Chicago Law School's 9.74% acceptance rate, from its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, makes it the fifth most selective school in its LSAT band per Lovare's band-peer analysis, a hair behind Harvard and clear of everything below it. The elite reputation is earned.

To size up University of Chicago Law School's selectivity fairly, compare it only against schools with a similar academic profile. Lovare's band-peer analysis takes the leading national law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of University of Chicago Law School's 174, a median of 172 to 176, and ranks them by acceptance rate using each school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Among the 12 schools in that band, University of Chicago Law School is the fifth most selective.

Ranked from most to least selective by acceptance rate, the band runs as follows: Yale University at 4.1%, Stanford University at 6.1%, the University of Pennsylvania (Carey) at 8.1%, Harvard University at 9.2%, the University of Chicago at 9.74%, the University of Virginia at 10.2%, Columbia University at 11.8%, Northwestern University (Pritzker) at 12.3%, New York University at 13.4%, the University of Texas at Austin at 14.0%, Cornell University at 18.2%, and Washington University in St. Louis at 19.0%. University of Chicago Law School's 9.74% sits just above Harvard University's 9.2% and comfortably below the University of Virginia's 10.2%, so it holds the fifth spot in the band with real daylight between it and the schools beneath it.

One entry needs an asterisk. Boston College reports an 8.5% acceptance rate that would slot near the top of this band, but Boston College reports its offers on a narrower basis than the other schools, so it is not a true selectivity peer and is left out of the ranking above. That caveat aside, the verdict on reputation is straightforward. University of Chicago Law School is popularly treated as a top-three or top-four school, and its admit rate almost exactly matches that billing: only Yale, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard admit a smaller share of applicants. The mild surprise is that the University of Pennsylvania, ranked lower than University of Chicago Law School in the popular hierarchy, posts a lower acceptance rate at 8.1%, a reminder that admit rate and ranking are not the same thing. University of Chicago Law School is neither harder nor easier than its reputation; it is right where you would expect.

Does University of Chicago Law School have Early Decision, and is it binding?

Yes, and it is binding. According to University of Chicago Law School's own early-decision page, its Early Decision deadline is December 1, and on admission you must withdraw all other applications and start no new ones. University of Chicago Law School considers ED admits for scholarships, but you must confirm enrollment before the aid decision arrives, typically in mid-March.

Here is the mechanic that matters, stated precisely. According to University of Chicago Law School's own early-decision page, Early Decision at University of Chicago Law School is binding: apply by December 1, and if admitted you are required to withdraw every other law school application and to start no new ones. In exchange, you signal total commitment, which can help a strong-but-not-certain file at the margin. University of Chicago Law School does consider Early Decision admits for scholarships with no separate application, so the binding track is not a bar to aid.

The timing, though, is the honest catch, and it is the crux of this page. Under University of Chicago Law School's own early-decision terms, an admitted Early Decision applicant must confirm enrollment before the scholarship decision arrives, which typically lands in mid-March. In plain terms, University of Chicago Law School's binding Early Decision asks you to commit and give up every other option before you see how much money University of Chicago Law School will offer you. That is a very different bargain from a non-binding round. It suits an applicant for whom University of Chicago Law School is a clear first choice at nearly any price, and it is risky for an applicant who needs to compare aid offers before deciding, because by the time University of Chicago Law School's number arrives, the other doors are already closed.

How much does University of Chicago Law School cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $83,316 and living expenses at $35,418, with no single cost-of-attendance total printed. University of Chicago Law School's grants include both merit and need aid: 78% of students receive something, but the median grant is a modest $15,000 against a high sticker.

Start with the sticker. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $83,316 and separately lists living expenses at $35,418. That 509 does not print a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in annual figure quoted elsewhere is someone's arithmetic, not a number University of Chicago Law School reports, and Lovare will not invent one.

Now the aid, and here the distribution matters more than the headline. According to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, 78% of students receive grant aid (485 of 620), a high share, but the grant amounts at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles are $10,000, $15,000, and $30,000. In other words, University of Chicago Law School spreads a lot of comparatively small awards: even at the 75th percentile a grant is $30,000, well under half of the $83,316 sticker. University of Chicago Law School's grants include merit as well as need aid, which means, unlike at the need-only schools, a stronger LSAT and GPA can improve both admission odds and merit-scholarship odds.

The very top of the range is concentrated. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports zero full-tuition awards but 58 above-full-tuition awards, so the largest grants, the ones that exceed tuition and reach into living costs, are held by a limited set of students rather than distributed broadly. For the median recipient the picture is far more modest: against the $83,316 sticker, a student receiving University of Chicago Law School's median grant of $15,000 nets about $68,316 in tuition and fees before living costs. That is a small discount on a large number, and it is the single most important cost fact for a typical admit to internalize.

One protection is worth naming. University of Chicago Law School reports no conditional scholarships, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, meaning a grant cannot be cut or revoked for landing on the wrong side of a class-rank or GPA line. Given University of Chicago Law School's famously rigorous curve, that guarantee is meaningful: the award an admitted student is quoted is the award they keep for all three years.

What are your real chances off the University of Chicago Law School waitlist?

Better than at the highest-yield peers, and the math shows why. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows 641 offers and 191 matriculants from the pool, an implied yield of 29.8%. No ABA disclosure publishes waitlist admits, but a yield that low means University of Chicago Law School over-admits and reaches further into its waitlist to fill the class.

Here is the reasoning in full. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 641 offers of admission and 191 matriculants drawn from that applicant pool, which is an implied yield of 29.8%. No ABA disclosure, University of Chicago Law School's included, publishes how many applicants are offered spots off the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for waitlist movement. The logic runs the opposite way from a high-yield school: when a school enrolls fewer than a third of the students it admits, it must extend many more offers than it has seats, and it commonly returns to its waitlist late in the cycle when accepted offers fall short.

Put plainly, a 29.8% yield is on the lower end for a top law school, and for a waitlisted applicant to University of Chicago Law School that is relatively good news. It signals a school that leans on its waitlist more than the highest-yield schools, which keep roughly half or more of their admits. Part of what depresses University of Chicago Law School's implied yield is cross-admit competition: many students admitted to University of Chicago Law School are also admitted to the handful of schools above it in its LSAT band and enroll there instead, so University of Chicago Law School must over-admit and backfill. A University of Chicago Law School waitlist spot is therefore a genuine, if uncertain, possibility rather than a near-dead end, and staying actively on the list is worthwhile.

One honest note on the class figures. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists 191 matriculants from the applicant pool but a first-year class of 204. The gap reflects students who arrive through paths other than this single cycle's pool, such as admitted students who deferred enrollment from a prior year. The 29.8% implied yield is computed from the 191 pool matriculants against the 641 offers, which is the correct comparison for reasoning about this cycle's waitlist odds at University of Chicago Law School.

Where do University of Chicago Law School graduates actually work?

Everywhere the top firms and the federal courts are. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Illinois took 24.1% of University of Chicago Law School graduates and the top three markets took 61.8%. Large firms of 101-plus lawyers hired 56.8%, and 28.1% took federal clerkships, the highest clerkship share of any school outside Yale, Harvard, and Stanford.

Concentration is the right lens, and University of Chicago Law School's is unusually balanced for a top school. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, University of Chicago Law School placed 48 graduates in Illinois, 41 in New York, and 34 in California, its three largest markets. Illinois, the home market, took only 24.1% of the class, a comparatively low home-market share, and the top three markets together took 61.8%. That distribution tells you University of Chicago Law School is not a one-city feeder: its graduates spread across Chicago, New York, and California in roughly comparable numbers, giving it genuine national reach rather than a single dominant corridor.

Why weigh University of Chicago Law School on concentration rather than the raw rate? Because at this tier every school clears the mid-90s on employment, so the rate does not separate schools; where and into what kind of work graduates go does. University of Chicago Law School's answer is distinctive on both counts. By employer type, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 113 University of Chicago Law School graduates, or 56.8%, at large firms of 101 or more lawyers, and 97 of those, 48.7% of the class, at the very largest firms of 501 or more lawyers. That is a heavy BigLaw share by any measure.

What sets University of Chicago Law School apart is that the BigLaw pipeline coexists with an exceptional clerkship pipeline. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 56 University of Chicago Law School graduates, 28.1% of the class, took federal clerkships, the highest such share of any school outside Yale, Harvard, and Stanford. Overall, 197 of 199 University of Chicago Law School graduates were employed at ten months, a 99.0% rate that is the highest among the leading law schools in Lovare's dataset, and University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports first-year academic attrition of 0.0%. The combination, near-total employment, a dominant BigLaw share, and a clerkship rate rivaled only by the very top three, is the concrete case for University of Chicago Law School's outcomes.

When are University of Chicago Law School's application deadlines?

University of Chicago Law School's binding Early Decision deadline is December 1, according to its own early-decision page. The sourced data behind this page does not include a separate regular-decision deadline for University of Chicago Law School, so this page does not state one. Cycle dates shift from year to year; confirm the current deadlines on University of Chicago Law School's site. This reflects the 2025 to 2026 cycle.

The one date this page can state from source is the Early Decision deadline. According to University of Chicago Law School's own early-decision page, binding Early Decision applications are due December 1, and admitted Early Decision candidates must then withdraw all other applications. That December 1 date is the fixed early milestone for applicants who intend to commit to University of Chicago Law School as a clear first choice.

Honesty requires stating what is not here. The primary-source data compiled for this page gives University of Chicago Law School's Early Decision deadline but not a separate regular-decision deadline, so Lovare will not print a regular deadline it cannot cite. Applicants planning a regular-round application to University of Chicago Law School should confirm the current regular-decision deadline directly on University of Chicago Law School's admissions site. As with every date on this page, cycle dates shift from year to year; the December 1 Early Decision date reflects the 2025 to 2026 cycle as verified in August 2026, and a page like this one is a planning aid, not the registrar of record.

Frequently asked questions about getting into University of Chicago Law School

Is a 174 LSAT good enough for University of Chicago Law School?

A 174 is exactly University of Chicago Law School's LSAT median, per University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, so it is good enough to be competitive but not good enough to feel safe. Half of the fall 2025 class scored at or above 174 and half below, inside a 171 to 176 middle range. At a 9.74% acceptance rate, a 174 applicant to University of Chicago Law School still needs a GPA near the 3.97 median and a distinctive file to convert.

What GPA do you need to get into University of Chicago Law School?

University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a GPA median of 3.97, with a 25th percentile of 3.87 and a 75th percentile of a perfect 4.0. That band is extraordinarily tight and high: the entire middle half of University of Chicago Law School's class sits between 3.87 and 4.0. Realistically you want a GPA of at least 3.87, and anything below it needs an LSAT near the 176 upper quartile to offset at University of Chicago Law School.

What is University of Chicago Law School's acceptance rate?

University of Chicago Law School's acceptance rate is 9.74%, computed as 641 offers against 6,581 applications in University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That makes University of Chicago Law School the fifth most selective school among the leading national schools clustered at its LSAT level, just behind Harvard. Fewer than ten applicants in every hundred receive an offer from University of Chicago Law School in a given cycle.

How many people apply to University of Chicago Law School each year?

University of Chicago Law School received 6,581 applications for its fall 2025 entering class, according to University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. From that pool, University of Chicago Law School extended 641 offers of admission and enrolled 191 matriculants, building a first-year class of 204. The distance between 6,581 applications and 641 offers is what produces the 9.74% University of Chicago Law acceptance rate.

Does University of Chicago Law School have binding Early Decision?

Yes. According to University of Chicago Law School's own early-decision page, University of Chicago Law School runs a binding Early Decision program with a December 1 deadline. On admission, you must withdraw all other applications and start no new ones. University of Chicago Law School considers Early Decision admits for scholarships, but you must confirm enrollment before the aid decision arrives, typically in mid-March, so you commit before you see the money.

How much does University of Chicago Law School cost per year?

University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $83,316 and living expenses at $35,418 for the year. University of Chicago Law School does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total in that 509, so this page will not quote one. A student receiving University of Chicago Law School's median grant of $15,000 nets about $68,316 in tuition and fees before living costs are added.

Does University of Chicago Law School give merit scholarships?

Yes. Unlike the need-only schools, University of Chicago Law School's grants include merit as well as need aid, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, so a stronger LSAT and GPA can improve scholarship odds. That said, 78% of students receive grants (485 of 620) with a median of just $15,000, and University of Chicago Law School reports zero full-tuition awards and 58 above-full-tuition awards, so the largest merit money is concentrated among a limited group.

What is University of Chicago Law School's bar passage rate?

University of Chicago Law School's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time pass rate of 97.42% for the 2024 exam year, with a 96.72% rate in its largest jurisdiction, Illinois. The ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, is 99.53%, per the same report. In short, nearly every University of Chicago Law School graduate who sits for a bar exam passes, consistent with the school's 0.0% first-year academic attrition.

Do University of Chicago Law School graduates get large-firm (BigLaw) jobs?

Yes, at a high rate. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 113 University of Chicago Law School graduates (56.8%) took jobs at firms of 101 or more lawyers, and 97 of those (48.7% of the class) landed at firms of 501 or more lawyers. Large-firm practice is the single most common destination for University of Chicago Law School graduates, alongside an unusually strong federal-clerkship flow.

Where do most University of Chicago Law School graduates work?

University of Chicago Law School graduates spread across three markets more evenly than most top schools. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Illinois taking 48 graduates (24.1%), New York 41, and California 34, so the top three markets account for 61.8% of the class. With its home market at just 24.1%, University of Chicago Law School has genuine national reach rather than a single dominant corridor.

Can a splitter get into University of Chicago Law School?

It is difficult, because University of Chicago Law School is balanced rather than splitter friendly. University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of just 0.1 and an LSAT spread of 3 points, so neither number forgives a weak other number dramatically. A splitter with a high LSAT and a lower GPA can still be admitted to University of Chicago Law School, but the LSAT should reach the 176 upper quartile and the GPA should stay near the 3.87 floor.

How selective is University of Chicago Law School compared with schools at the same LSAT?

University of Chicago Law School is the fifth most selective school in its LSAT band. Among the 12 leading national schools with a median LSAT within two points of University of Chicago Law School's 174, ranked by acceptance rate, University of Chicago Law School's 9.74% sits just behind Harvard University at 9.2% and ahead of the University of Virginia at 10.2%, per Lovare's band-peer analysis of 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosures. Only four schools in the band admit a smaller share.

Is University of Chicago Law School worth the cost?

For most admitted students, yes. Against an $83,316 tuition and fees sticker in University of Chicago Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 99.0% of University of Chicago Law School graduates employed at ten months, with 56.8% in large firms and 28.1% in federal clerkships. Those are exceptional combined outcomes, which makes University of Chicago Law School's cost defensible even with a modest median grant.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a University of Chicago Law School scholarship?

Numbers at or above the medians. Because University of Chicago Law School's grants include merit aid, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an LSAT above the 174 median and a GPA above the 3.97 median improve merit-scholarship odds, not just admission odds. Still, the median grant is only $15,000 and the above-full-tuition awards number just 58, so the largest University of Chicago Law School money goes to applicants well clear of the medians.

Sources

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

University of Chicago Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=50&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/employment-data

University of Chicago Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=50&year=2025

University of Chicago Law School early-decision page: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/jdfaq/earlydecision

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