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

The short answer to how to get into University of Pittsburgh Law School is to reach the medians in Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 160 LSAT and a 3.54 GPA. The middle 50 percent of the fall 2025 class scored 158 to 163 on the LSAT and held a 3.26 to 3.74 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 University of Pittsburgh Law School'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 Pitt Law's ABA bar-passage report, alongside the school's own published admissions pages.

The single most distinctive fact about University of Pittsburgh Law School is how much room it gives an applicant whose numbers are uneven. Pitt Law's GPA band runs from 3.26 at the 25th percentile to 3.74 at the 75th, one of the widest GPA spreads you will find at this level, and its 34.87% acceptance rate is among the more accessible in its LSAT cluster. In practice, that means a 160 LSAT is genuinely competitive here, and a strong LSAT can carry a GPA well into the 3.2s. If your file is a splitter, University of Pittsburgh Law School is one of the places built to read it favorably, and it channels most of its graduates into the Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania market.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School posts a 160 LSAT median, a 3.54 GPA median, and a 34.87% acceptance rate in Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees run $41,633 for residents and $55,131 for nonresidents, with living expenses of $20,346 listed separately. The table below collects the headline numbers.

MetricUniversity of Pittsburgh Law School (fall 2025 entering class unless noted)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)158 / 160 / 163GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.26 / 3.54 / 3.74Acceptance rate34.87%Applications1,606Offers of admission560Matriculants from the applicant pool155First-year class155Full-time tuition and feesResident $41,633 / nonresident $55,131Living expenses$20,346Share receiving grants82%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$24,000 / $30,000 / $38,000Full-tuition awards5 full-tuition, plus 9 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage (2024, Pennsylvania)86.33%Ultimate bar passage (2022 cohort)91.8%First-year academic attrition1.0%Employed at ten months (Class of 2024)89.0% (129 of 145)Top market (Class of 2024)Pennsylvania, 68.3% of graduatesLarge firms, 101 or more lawyers (Class of 2024)22.1% of graduatesFederal clerkships (Class of 2024)3.4% of graduates

Source: University of Pittsburgh Law School'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 Pitt Law's ABA bar-passage report. The 509 prints resident and nonresident tuition and living expenses separately and does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page does not sum them into an all-in figure.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into University of Pittsburgh Law School?

University of Pittsburgh Law School reports an LSAT spread of 158 to 163 and a GPA spread of 3.26 to 3.74 in its 2025 ABA 509. A 160 LSAT and a 3.54 GPA sit at both medians and make you competitive. Below the 158 LSAT or the 3.26 GPA, you need a clear compensating strength on the other number.

University of Pittsburgh Law School reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 158, 160, and 163, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.26, 3.54, and 3.74 for the fall 2025 entering class, per Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of the enrolled class scored above 160 on the LSAT and above 3.54 in GPA, and half below. A median is a target rather than a cutoff, and at University of Pittsburgh Law School the numbers are within reach for a solid, non-elite applicant, which is much of the school's appeal.

A word on what these figures mean for access. A 160 LSAT is the national middle of the road, and University of Pittsburgh Law School is precisely the kind of school where a 160 is competitive rather than a long shot. Applicants sometimes assume a mid-range LSAT closes doors everywhere, but that is not true: a school with a 160 median is exactly where a 160 belongs, and Pitt Law's data confirms it. The same holds on the GPA side, where the 25th percentile of 3.26 shows that University of Pittsburgh Law School admits a real share of students with GPAs in the low 3.2s.

The bands themselves are informative. The LSAT interquartile range is narrow, from 158 to 163, a five-point span with only two points between the 25th and the median. The GPA range is far wider, from 3.26 to 3.74, a 0.48 span. Read together, University of Pittsburgh Law School holds a fairly tight line on the LSAT while accepting a broad range of transcripts, which is the classic profile of a school that will trade GPA for LSAT strength.

That shape makes University of Pittsburgh Law School splitter friendly. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.28 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of just two points, one of the widest GPA-to-LSAT gaps in this analysis. 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 Pittsburgh Law School leans strongly splitter friendly, so a 160-plus LSAT paired with a GPA in the low-to-mid 3.3s has a genuine path. If your transcript is your weaker number, Pitt Law is one of the better places to apply.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School sits about where its reputation places it. Pitt Law is a solid public school in the Pittsburgh market, and among the 42 schools clustered near its 160 LSAT median, it ranks 23rd most selective, close to the middle. Its 34.87% acceptance rate is accessible in absolute terms and typical for its band.

Reputation places University of Pittsburgh Law School among the established regional public schools, well known in western Pennsylvania and respected across the state. Its 160 LSAT median fits that standing. The admit rate largely confirms it. Lovare built a peer band of the 42 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of Pitt Law's 160, that is, a median of 158 to 162, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. By that ranking, University of Pittsburgh Law School is 23rd most selective of the 42, near the center of a large group.

Here is what a 23rd-of-42 placement means for an applicant. University of Pittsburgh Law School admits a share of applicants that is typical for schools at its LSAT level, so its 34.87% rate reflects a genuinely accessible school rather than one distorted by unusual reporting. In a band this large, a middle rank tells you the odds at Pitt Law are close to the median for a 160-LSAT school. For an applicant, that means a file matching the University of Pittsburgh Law School medians can treat it as a target, not a reach.

The honest verdict is that University of Pittsburgh Law School is as accessible as it looks, which for many applicants is the point. A candidate at or near the 158/160/163 LSAT and 3.26/3.54/3.74 GPA figures should treat Pitt Law as a realistic target and weigh it on cost and Pennsylvania outcomes. Its accessibility is a feature for a strong-LSAT applicant with an uneven transcript, because University of Pittsburgh Law School is precisely the kind of school where that profile competes well.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School charges $41,633 in resident full-time tuition and fees and $55,131 for nonresidents, per Pitt Law's 2025 ABA 509, plus $20,346 in living expenses. Eighty-two percent of students receive grants, with a $30,000 median award. On the nonresident sticker, a median-grant recipient nets about $25,131 in tuition and fees before living costs.

University of Pittsburgh Law School is a public school, and its price structure reflects that. Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees of $41,633 for Pennsylvania residents and $55,131 for nonresidents, plus $20,346 in living expenses. The 509 prints these figures separately and does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page will not sum them into an invented all-in number. The resident rate is the headline, and the living-expense figure of $20,346 is notably low, reflecting Pittsburgh's affordable cost of living relative to the coastal markets.

Aid then lowers the price. According to the same 509, 82% of University of Pittsburgh Law School students receive grant aid, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $24,000, $30,000, and $38,000. Pitt Law reports 5 full-tuition awards and 9 awards above full tuition, so the top of its aid distribution reaches the strongest applicants with grants that cover tuition in full or more. That combination of a low living cost and a meaningful full-tuition tier makes University of Pittsburgh Law School one of the more affordable paths to a Pennsylvania legal career.

For a typical recipient, the math is concrete. Against the $55,131 nonresident sticker, a student receiving University of Pittsburgh Law School's median grant of $30,000 nets about $25,131 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Pitt Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. A Pennsylvania resident starts from the far lower $41,633 base, so a resident receiving the median grant nets considerably less. Just as important, the aid is stable: University of Pittsburgh Law School does not use conditional scholarships, so an award is not tied to a first-year GPA or class-rank threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip. The grant Pitt Law quotes at admission is the grant you keep.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 155 matriculants against 560 offers is a 27.7% yield. That is a moderate-to-low yield, so Pitt Law extends well more offers than seats and is more likely than a high-yield school to return to its waitlist.

Here is the reasoning in full. University of Pittsburgh Law School enrolled 155 matriculants from 560 offers in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 27.7%. No ABA disclosure, Pitt Law's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted from the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for how much a waitlist moves. When a little over a quarter of admitted students enroll, a school extends far more offers than seats and refreshes the pool as admits decline elsewhere.

A 27.7% yield is moderate-to-low, which is encouraging for a waitlisted applicant to University of Pittsburgh Law School. A school that yields close to half of its offers barely touches its list, while Pitt Law, yielding closer to a quarter, is more likely to work its waitlist in a given cycle. That is not a guarantee, since yields move year to year, but it means a University of Pittsburgh Law School waitlist spot carries real rather than token hope.

If you land on the University of Pittsburgh Law School waitlist, the play is standard: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Pitt Law as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand as your floor. Do not build your plan around a University of Pittsburgh Law School waitlist spot, but do not write it off either, because the moderate-to-low yield keeps the door genuinely open.

One honest note on the class figures. University of Pittsburgh Law School's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure lists 155 matriculants from the applicant pool and a first-year class of 155, an exact match, which is unusual and means the entering class was filled entirely from this cycle's pool. The 27.7% implied yield is computed from those 155 matriculants against the 560 offers, which is the correct comparison for reasoning about this cycle's waitlist odds at Pitt Law.

Where do University of Pittsburgh Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, University of Pittsburgh Law School placed 68.3% of graduates in Pennsylvania and 75.2% across its top three markets. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 22.1%, and 3.4% won federal clerkships. Pitt Law is a strongly Pennsylvania-focused school with a solid clerkship share for its band.

University of Pittsburgh Law School is a Pennsylvania school in the clearest sense. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Pitt Law placed 99 of its 145 graduates in Pennsylvania, 6 in New York, and 4 in the District of Columbia. That is a 68.3% top-market share and a 75.2% top-three share. More than two thirds of University of Pittsburgh Law School graduates begin their careers in Pennsylvania, and the placement drops off sharply outside the state, which makes Pitt Law a strong choice for a Pittsburgh or Pennsylvania career and a weaker one for an applicant who wants to practice elsewhere.

The employment rate deserves an honest note. University of Pittsburgh Law School reported 129 of 145 graduates employed at ten months, or 89.0%, in the same ABA Employment Summary. That is a solid figure, and it is a few points below the strongest schools in this analysis, so an applicant should weigh it plainly: nearly nine in ten Pitt Law graduates were employed at ten months, which is good, but the school does not post the near-total employment of the top of the market. Read honestly, University of Pittsburgh Law School is a reliable regional employer of its graduates rather than a school that places literally everyone.

On firm and clerkship outcomes, the picture is mixed and worth reading in full. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 22.1% of University of Pittsburgh Law School graduates taking jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers, a moderate share that reflects Pittsburgh's smaller big-firm market. On the other side, 3.4% of Pitt Law graduates entered federal clerkships, a respectable share for a regional school and a sign that the school's strongest students reach competitive judicial positions. Taken together, University of Pittsburgh Law School channels most of its class into the Pennsylvania market across firms of varying size, with a real if smaller pipeline into large firms and the federal courts.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School's specific application deadlines and Early Decision terms were not part of the primary disclosures behind this page, and the ABA 509 does not publish them. Rather than state a date this page cannot verify, the honest guidance is to confirm the current deadlines and any Early Decision terms directly on Pitt Law's admissions site.

The ABA Standard 509 Information Report that anchors the admissions figures on this page reports class-level data such as LSAT and GPA percentiles, offers, and matriculants, but it does not publish an application deadline calendar. University of Pittsburgh Law School's Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle, so this page will not state whether an Early Decision round is binding, when it closes, or what deposit it carries. Those details belong to the school's own admissions page, which is the source of record.

The practical advice for University of Pittsburgh Law School applicants is the advice that holds at almost every school with a rolling-style cycle: apply early, because reading files as they arrive tends to reward applicants who complete early over equally qualified applicants who finish late. The specific dates that govern that timing shift from year to year, so confirm the current Pitt Law deadlines and Early Decision terms on the school's admissions page. The statements on this page are dated and were verified in August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into University of Pittsburgh Law School

Is a 160 LSAT good enough for Pitt Law?

A 160 is exactly the LSAT median at University of Pittsburgh Law School, per Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 158 to 163. A 160 puts you at the fiftieth percentile, competitive here rather than a long shot. Pair it with a GPA at or above the 3.54 median and you are a strong candidate at University of Pittsburgh Law School.

What GPA do you need for Pitt Law?

University of Pittsburgh Law School reports a GPA median of 3.54, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.26 to 3.74, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.54 or higher to sit at the center of the class. Because Pitt Law is strongly splitter friendly, a GPA as low as the 3.26 bottom quartile is a real admit range at University of Pittsburgh Law School when paired with a solid LSAT.

What is Pitt Law's acceptance rate?

University of Pittsburgh Law School admitted 34.87% of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 560 offers against 1,606 applications, according to Pitt Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Among the 42 schools near its 160 LSAT median, that rate ranks University of Pittsburgh Law School 23rd most selective, placing it near the middle of a large and accessible band.

How many people apply to Pitt Law?

University of Pittsburgh Law School received 1,606 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 560 offers, and enrolled 155 matriculants for a first-year class of 155, per Pitt Law's 2025 ABA 509. That is a smaller applicant pool than many peer schools, and the pool-to-offer ratio is what produces University of Pittsburgh Law School's accessible 34.87% acceptance rate.

How much does Pitt Law cost?

University of Pittsburgh Law School lists full-time tuition and fees of $41,633 for residents and $55,131 for nonresidents, plus $20,346 in living expenses, in its 2025 ABA 509. Pitt Law does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total, so these are best read separately. The resident rate and low Pittsburgh living cost make University of Pittsburgh Law School relatively affordable.

Does Pitt Law give scholarships?

Yes. University of Pittsburgh Law School reports that 82% of students receive grant aid, with awards of $24,000, $30,000, and $38,000 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 5 full-tuition awards and 9 above full tuition, per Pitt Law's 2025 ABA 509. The awards are not conditional, so a grant at University of Pittsburgh Law School cannot be cut if your grades slip.

What is Pitt Law's bar passage rate?

University of Pittsburgh Law School posted an 86.33% first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024 in its largest jurisdiction, Pennsylvania, according to Pitt Law's ABA bar-passage report. That first-time rate is on the lower side of this analysis, but the ultimate pass rate for the 2022 cohort was 91.8%, so most University of Pittsburgh Law School graduates who do not pass on the first try ultimately pass.

Where do Pitt Law graduates work?

Most work in Pennsylvania. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows University of Pittsburgh Law School placed 99 graduates in Pennsylvania, 6 in New York, and 4 in the District of Columbia, a 68.3% top-market share and 75.2% across the top three. Pitt Law is strongly focused on the Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania market, with limited placement outside the state.

Can a splitter get into Pitt Law?

Yes, and this is a strength. Lovare reads University of Pittsburgh Law School as strongly splitter friendly, with a wide GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.28 against a narrow LSAT spread of two points in the 2025 ABA 509. That means Pitt Law forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a strong-LSAT applicant with a GPA in the low-to-mid 3.3s has a genuine path at University of Pittsburgh Law School.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School is middle of the pack. Among the 42 ABA schools whose median LSAT is within two points of its 160, ranked by acceptance rate in the 2025 ABA 509, Pitt Law ranks 23rd most selective of 42. In plain terms, University of Pittsburgh Law School admits about the share of applicants you would expect at a 160-median school, and in absolute terms it is genuinely accessible.

Is Pitt Law worth it?

For a Pennsylvania career, the value case is real. University of Pittsburgh Law School pairs a $41,633 resident sticker and a low $20,346 living cost with 82% grant reach, and in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 it placed 89.0% of graduates in jobs. Weigh that against an 86.33% first-time bar rate that recovers to 91.8% ultimately, and Pitt Law is a sound regional value.

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

Scores above the medians. University of Pittsburgh Law School reports a median grant of $30,000 and 5 full-tuition awards in its 2025 ABA 509. An LSAT above 160 and a GPA above 3.54, toward the 163 and 3.74 upper quartiles, position you for the largest grants at Pitt Law, including the full-tuition and above-full-tuition awards that go to the strongest files in the University of Pittsburgh Law School pool.

Does Pitt Law use conditional scholarships?

No. University of Pittsburgh Law School reports in its 2025 ABA 509 that it does not award conditional scholarships, which are awards tied to a first-year GPA or class-rank threshold. That means a grant at Pitt Law is not at risk if your first-year grades fall below a cutoff, so the award you are offered at admission is the award you keep across all three years at University of Pittsburgh Law School.

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School reports first-year academic attrition of 1.0% in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, meaning a very small share of the tracked first-year cohort was dismissed for academic reasons. A 1.0% figure is low and signals that Pitt Law expects nearly all admitted and enrolled students to complete the first year, which is a reassuring sign of stability for an incoming University of Pittsburgh Law School student.

Sources

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

University of Pittsburgh Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report, fall 2025 entering class: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=132&year=2025

University of Pittsburgh Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=132&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=132&year=2024

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