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

How to get into University of Illinois Law School starts with two numbers. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports an LSAT median of 166, with a wide middle 50% of 160 to 168, and a GPA median of 3.81, spanning 3.55 to 3.92. A 166 and a 3.81 sit at both medians, and the wide LSAT band rewards a strong transcript.

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 admissions figure on this page comes from Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, every employment figure from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and the rest from the University of Illinois College of Law's own pages.

Illinois Law's most distinctive trait is that it is the strongest large-firm feeder in this series, essentially a Chicago pipeline. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 45.3% of Illinois Law graduates took jobs at firms of 101 or more lawyers, the highest large-firm share among the schools profiled here, and 99.0% of graduates were employed at ten months, also the highest here. Illinois alone absorbed 66.5% of the class. On the way in, Illinois Law is reverse-splitter friendly, meaning a strong GPA can offset a lower LSAT, and 99% of students receive a grant. The thesis of this page is that Illinois Law offers the surest large-firm outcome of any school in this series, concentrated in Chicago, and rewards the high-GPA applicant, though its near-universal aid stops short of full-tuition rides.

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

Illinois Law is a Chicago-anchored flagship with the strongest large-firm placement in this series. According to Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, the fall 2025 class posted a 166 LSAT median, a 3.81 GPA median, and a 32.93% acceptance rate. Full-time tuition and fees are $39,904 for residents and $49,904 for nonresidents, and 99% of students receive a grant.

MetricIllinois Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)160 / 166 / 168GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.55 / 3.81 / 3.92Acceptance rate32.93%Applications2,153Offers of admission709Matriculants from the pool188First-year class188Full-time tuition and feesResident $39,904 / nonresident $49,904Living expenses$20,620Share receiving grants99%Median grant$32,000Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage95.0% (Illinois, 2024 exam year)Employed at ten months99.0% (201 of 203)

Source: Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, Illinois Law's ABA bar-passage report, and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024. Tuition and living expenses are printed as separate lines in the 509, which does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, and the tuition line is split into a resident and a nonresident figure.

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

You realistically need a 166 LSAT and a 3.81 GPA to sit at the center of Illinois Law's class. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure puts the LSAT middle at 160 to 168 and the GPA middle at 3.55 to 3.92. Both are the medians, but the wide LSAT band means a strong GPA can carry an applicant with a lower score.

Illinois Law reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 160, 166, and 168, and a GPA spread of 3.55, 3.81, and 3.92, in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The University of Illinois law LSAT median of 166 and the University of Illinois law GPA median of 3.81 anchor a strong class, but the LSAT band is the wide part of the story. It runs eight points from the 25th to the 75th percentile, and six of those points sit below the median, so a 160 reaches the bottom quarter of the class rather than falling out of range.

That width shapes University of Illinois law requirements in a specific direction. A 166 LSAT and a 3.81 GPA place an applicant exactly at both medians, per Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, which is the center of the class at a 32.93% acceptance rate. Below the 160 LSAT or the 3.55 GPA, an applicant needs a clear compensating strength on the other number. A 159 LSAT applicant realistically wants a GPA at or near the 3.92 upper quartile, while a 3.4 GPA applicant leans on an LSAT closer to the 168 top quartile to stay comfortably in range at Illinois Law.

On the splitter question, Illinois Law is reverse-splitter friendly. The GPA spread from the 25th percentile to the median is 0.26 and the LSAT spread is six points, per Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, so the school tolerates a lower LSAT when the GPA is high. A splitter-friendly school forgives a low GPA paired with a strong test score; a reverse-splitter-friendly school forgives a low LSAT paired with a strong GPA. Illinois Law leans firmly toward the second pattern, so an applicant carrying a 3.9 GPA with an LSAT in the low 160s has a genuinely realistic path. University of Illinois law admissions is one of the friendlier landing spots for the high-GPA applicant whose test score lags.

Is Illinois Law harder to get into than its reputation?

Somewhat harder than its moderate admit rate suggests, once you compare it only to schools at its level. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports a 32.93% acceptance rate, yet among the 23 schools clustered around its 166 LSAT median, Illinois Law ranks 8th most selective, in the upper third of its band.

To size up Illinois Law's selectivity fairly, compare it only against schools with a similar academic profile. Among the 23 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of Illinois Law's 166, that is a median of 164 to 168, ranked by acceptance rate, Illinois Law is the 8th most selective, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Seven schools in that band admit a smaller share of applicants and fifteen admit a larger share, which places Illinois Law in the more selective third of a strong cluster.

Here is the honest read on the University of Illinois law acceptance rate. The headline 32.93% looks moderate, but it understates how Illinois Law stacks up against genuine peers, where it sits 8th of 23. Part of why the raw rate is not lower is an offer-heavy approach: Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure shows 709 offers against a first-year class of 188, nearly four offers for every seat, which lifts the acceptance rate even though the enrolled class posts a 166 median. So Illinois Law is a little more selective than its reputation as a solid flagship implies, especially measured against schools at its academic level, and an applicant should treat it as a real target rather than a safety.

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

Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $39,904 for residents and $49,904 for nonresidents, with living expenses of $20,620 and no combined cost-of-attendance total printed. Illinois Law awards grants to 99% of students, the widest reach in this series, though it reports no full-tuition awards, so the aid is broad rather than deep at the top.

Start with the sticker, which comes in two versions at a public school. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $39,904 for Illinois residents and $49,904 for nonresidents, and separately lists living expenses of $20,620, the lowest living line among the schools profiled in this series. That 509 does not print a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page will not manufacture one, and it reports the resident and nonresident tuition lines exactly as the school files them.

Now the aid, where Illinois Law has a distinctive shape. According to its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, 99% of students receive a grant, the widest reach among the schools profiled here, so almost no one at Illinois Law pays full sticker. The grant quartiles are $13,125, $32,000, and $46,500. The honest caveat sits at the top of the scale: the same disclosure reports 0 full-tuition awards and only 10 awards above full tuition, so while nearly every student gets a discount, Illinois Law does not hand out full rides through its grant program. The aid is broad and reaches almost everyone, but it stops short of covering the whole bill.

The net math depends on residency. For a nonresident, the packet arithmetic works from the $49,904 sticker: a nonresident receiving Illinois Law's median grant of $32,000 nets about $17,904 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. For a resident, the same $32,000 median grant covers the large majority of the $39,904 resident tuition line, leaving a smaller balance before living costs. In both cases the discount is real, but a student should plan on paying some tuition at Illinois Law rather than none.

One fact protects the applicant. Illinois Law reports that its scholarships are not conditional, per the same disclosure, so an award cannot be reduced or revoked if a student lands in the bottom of the class curve, and the award quoted at admission is the award kept for all three years. Because Illinois Law awards merit-influenced aid and is reverse-splitter friendly, a strong GPA in particular improves both the odds of admission and the size of the grant, even though a full ride is not on the table.

What are your real chances off the Illinois Law waitlist?

Live. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure records 709 offers and 188 matriculants from the pool, an implied yield of 26.5%. No ABA disclosure publishes waitlist admits, so that low yield is the honest proxy: a school keeping only about a quarter of its offers leans on later rounds to fill the class.

Here is the reasoning in full. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports 709 offers of admission and 188 matriculants drawn from that applicant pool, which works out to an implied yield of 26.5%. No ABA disclosure, Illinois Law's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted off the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest stand-in for waitlist movement. When a school converts only about a quarter of its offers into enrollments, it is sending nearly four offers for every seat and planning for most admitted students to enroll elsewhere.

That low yield keeps a waitlist spot at Illinois Law meaningfully alive. Because Illinois Law keeps only 26.5% of its admits, it routinely loses cross-admits to higher-ranked or lower-cost rivals and may return to its waitlist to reach the class target. An applicant held on the Illinois Law waitlist therefore has legitimate reason to send a concise letter of continued interest and stay engaged through the late spring and summer.

One clean note on the class figures. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure lists 188 matriculants from the applicant pool and a first-year class of 188, so the two figures match exactly and there is no deferral gap to explain this cycle. The 26.5% implied yield is computed from the 188 pool matriculants against the 709 offers, which is the correct comparison for reasoning about this cycle's waitlist odds at Illinois Law.

Where do Illinois Law graduates actually work?

In Illinois, and in large firms more than anywhere else in this series. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Illinois took 66.5% of Illinois Law graduates and the top three markets 77.3%. Firms of 101 or more lawyers hired 45.3%, the highest large-firm share among the schools profiled here, and federal clerkships took 3.9%.

The most useful fact about Illinois Law's employment outcomes is that they combine a strong home-state base with the highest large-firm share in this series. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Illinois Law placed 135 graduates in Illinois, 13 in California, and 9 in Texas, its three largest markets. Illinois alone absorbed 66.5% of the class, and the top three markets together took 77.3%, so most Illinois Law graduates build careers at home, led by Chicago, while a smaller group heads to the coasts and Texas.

By employer type, Illinois Law is the clearest large-firm feeder profiled here. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 45.3% of Illinois Law graduates taking jobs at firms of 101 or more lawyers, the highest large-firm share in this series and a rate that rivals schools ranked well above it. For an applicant whose goal is large-firm practice in Chicago, Illinois Law is a direct and efficient route into that market.

Clerkships round out the picture. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 3.9% of Illinois Law graduates went into federal clerkships, a modest share consistent with a program whose center of gravity is firm practice rather than the bench.

Overall placement is the best in this series. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 201 of 203 Illinois Law graduates employed at the ten-month mark, a 99.0% employment rate, the highest among the schools profiled here, and Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports first-year academic attrition of 0.0%, meaning no member of the entering class washed out academically in the first year. An applicant who wants the surest large-firm outcome in this group, is drawn to the Chicago market, and values near-total employment is buying exactly what Illinois Law reliably delivers.

When are Illinois Law's application deadlines?

Illinois Law runs a rolling admissions cycle, and its specific Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. Because application timelines and any binding Early Decision mechanics shift from year to year, confirm the current deadlines and Early Decision rules directly on the University of Illinois College of Law's admissions site before you rely on them.

This page dates what it states. As verified in August 2026, the deadline and Early Decision specifics for Illinois Law were not among the figures pulled from primary disclosures for this profile, so this page does not print a fixed application date or claim a particular Early Decision structure. That is a deliberate choice consistent with the rest of the page: where a term was not verified from a primary source, it is left out rather than guessed.

What an applicant can act on now is the strategy that Illinois Law's data implies. Because Illinois Law rewards a strong GPA with both admission and scholarship, and because its 26.5% yield means the class is not locked early, applying earlier in a rolling cycle generally helps. For the exact opening date, the regular deadline, and whether Illinois Law offers a binding Early Decision option in the current cycle, check the school's own admissions pages, which are the authoritative source for dates this profile intentionally does not invent.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Illinois Law

Is a 166 LSAT good enough for Illinois Law?

A 166 is exactly Illinois Law's LSAT median in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, so it places an applicant at the center of the class. Half of the fall 2025 class scored 166 or higher, inside a wide 160 to 168 middle range. At a 32.93% acceptance rate, a 166 applicant to Illinois Law with a solid GPA is well positioned to compete for an offer.

What GPA do you need for Illinois Law?

Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports a GPA median of 3.81, a 25th percentile of 3.55, and a 75th percentile of 3.92. The middle half of Illinois Law's class sits in that 3.55 to 3.92 band. Because Illinois Law is reverse-splitter friendly, a strong GPA near or above 3.92 can offset an LSAT in the low 160s and keep an applicant genuinely competitive.

What is Illinois Law's acceptance rate?

Illinois Law's acceptance rate is 32.93%, computed as 709 offers against 2,153 applications in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Though moderate on its face, that rate ranks Illinois Law 8th most selective of the 23 schools within two LSAT points of its 166 median, in the upper third. The raw rate is lifted by an offer-heavy strategy rather than any weakness in the enrolled class at Illinois Law.

How many people apply to Illinois Law?

Illinois Law received 2,153 applications for its fall 2025 entering class, according to its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. From that pool, Illinois Law extended 709 offers and enrolled 188 matriculants, building a first-year class of 188. The large offer count relative to the small class is what produces both the 32.93% acceptance rate and the low 26.5% yield at Illinois Law.

How much does Illinois Law cost?

Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $39,904 for residents and $49,904 for nonresidents, plus living expenses of $20,620. Illinois Law does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page will not quote one. A nonresident receiving Illinois Law's median grant of $32,000 nets about $17,904 in tuition and fees before living costs.

Does Illinois Law give scholarships?

Yes, to nearly everyone, but not full rides. Illinois Law awards grants to 99% of students, the widest reach in this series, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, with quartiles of $13,125, $32,000, and $46,500. The same disclosure reports 0 full-tuition and only 10 above-full-tuition awards, so Illinois Law spreads partial aid widely rather than covering the whole bill. The scholarships are not conditional.

What is Illinois Law's bar passage rate?

Illinois Law's ABA bar-passage report shows a first-time pass rate of 95.0% for the 2024 exam year, with Illinois as the largest jurisdiction. The ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, is 98.41%. So the large majority of Illinois Law graduates pass on the first attempt, and nearly all pass within two years of finishing the degree.

Where do Illinois Law graduates work?

Most Illinois Law graduates work in Illinois. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Illinois taking 135 graduates (66.5%), California 13, and Texas 9, so the top three markets account for 77.3% of the class. Illinois Law is a Chicago-anchored flagship whose graduates concentrate at home while a smaller group reaches the coasts and Texas.

Do Illinois Law graduates get large-firm jobs?

Yes, more than at any school in this series. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, 45.3% of Illinois Law graduates took jobs at firms of 101 or more lawyers, the highest large-firm share among the schools profiled here. That makes Illinois Law a direct pipeline into large-firm practice, concentrated in the Chicago market, for applicants who want that outcome.

Is Illinois Law a good choice for practicing in Chicago?

Yes, it is one of the most direct routes. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Illinois took 66.5% of Illinois Law graduates as the largest market, and 45.3% of the class went to firms of 101 or more lawyers, the highest large-firm share in this series. For an applicant set on Chicago large-firm practice, Illinois Law places graduates into exactly that market at a strong rate.

Can a splitter get into Illinois Law?

A reverse splitter can, comfortably. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 and an LSAT spread of six points, which makes it reverse-splitter friendly. An applicant with a high GPA and a lower LSAT has a realistic path at Illinois Law, since a strong transcript can offset a sub-median test score in this class.

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

Illinois Law is the 8th most selective of 23 schools in its LSAT band, in the upper third. Among ABA law schools with a median LSAT within two points of Illinois Law's 166, ranked by acceptance rate, its 32.93% is more selective than most of the cluster, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. By admit rate against genuine peers, Illinois Law is a real target, not a safety.

Is Illinois Law worth it?

For an applicant aiming at Chicago large-firm work, often yes. Against a resident tuition and fees sticker of $39,904 in Illinois Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, 99% of students receive a grant, and the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 99.0% of Illinois Law graduates employed at ten months, with 45.3% in large firms. The best outcomes in this series make the cost defensible.

Does Illinois Law have high first-year attrition?

No. Illinois Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure reports first-year academic attrition of 0.0%, meaning no member of the fall entering class was dismissed for academic reasons in the first year. Combined with a 99.0% employment rate in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, the highest in this series, that pattern suggests students who enroll at Illinois Law reliably progress toward the degree.

Does Illinois Law offer Early Decision?

Illinois Law's specific Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle, so this profile does not state whether Illinois Law runs a binding Early Decision round or when it closes. As verified in August 2026, applicants should confirm Early Decision availability and all application deadlines directly on the University of Illinois College of Law's own admissions site, which is the authoritative source for current dates.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at an Illinois Law scholarship?

Strong numbers, with a strong GPA carrying extra weight. Because Illinois Law awards merit-influenced aid and is reverse-splitter friendly, a GPA above 3.81 and an LSAT above 166, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, improve both admission and grant size. Note, though, that Illinois Law reports no full-tuition awards, so strong numbers buy a larger partial grant at Illinois Law rather than a full ride.

Sources

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

Illinois Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=44&year=2025

Illinois Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=44&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=44&year=2024

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