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

The short answer to how to get into University of the Pacific Law School is to reach the two medians in McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 157 LSAT and a 3.57 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 153 to 160 on the LSAT and 3.25 to 3.75 in 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 McGeorge Law'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 the school's ABA bar-passage report, together with its own published pages. McGeorge Law is the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in Sacramento, California.

University of the Pacific Law School is one of the most scholarship-accessible law schools in California. According to McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, 93 percent of its students receive grant aid and the school reports 143 full-tuition awards. The thesis of this page is that McGeorge pairs unusually broad scholarship access with genuinely attainable admissions for a mid-150s applicant, and that its honest tradeoffs are conditional scholarships that can be cut for grades and a first-time California bar passage rate of 70.55 percent. If your LSAT sits in the mid-150s and cost is a central concern, University of the Pacific Law School is a school where aid is the rule rather than the exception, and the sections below lay out the opportunity and the cautions plainly.

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

University of the Pacific Law School posts a 157 LSAT median, a 3.57 GPA median, and a 54.41 percent acceptance rate in McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees are $63,318. The table below gathers the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for McGeorge Law.

MetricMcGeorge Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)153 / 157 / 160GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.25 / 3.57 / 3.75Acceptance rate54.41%Applications1,248Offers of admission679Matriculants from the applicant pool212First-year class213 (170 full-time, 43 part-time)Full-time tuition and fees$63,318Living expenses$35,081Share receiving grants93%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$3,388 / $30,426 / $60,852Full-tuition awards143 full-tuition, 0 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsYes (can be cut for grades)First-year academic attrition3.0%First-time bar passage70.55% (exam year 2024, California)Employed at ten months88.4% (129 of 146)

Source: McGeorge Law'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 the school's ABA bar-passage report. Tuition and living expenses are printed separately in the 509, which does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so this page does not invent one.

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

University of the Pacific Law School reports an LSAT spread of 153 to 160 and a GPA spread of 3.25 to 3.75 in McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509. A 157 LSAT and a 3.57 GPA sit at both medians. Below the 153 LSAT or the 3.25 GPA, you need a clear compensating strength on the other number to keep a McGeorge file competitive.

McGeorge Law reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 153, 157, and 160, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.25, 3.57, and 3.75 for the fall 2025 entering class, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 157 on the LSAT and above 3.57 in GPA, and half scored below. A median is a target rather than a hard cutoff, but at University of the Pacific Law School the two medians set the center of the class and are the numbers to aim for. If your LSAT sits in the mid-150s, McGeorge is a match rather than a reach.

The realistic read at University of the Pacific Law School is that a 157 LSAT and a 3.57 GPA make you a solid competitor, with the 25th percentiles marking the edge of the comfortable range. A 153 LSAT, the bottom quartile, is a live admit number at McGeorge Law when paired with a GPA at or above the 3.57 median, and a 3.25 GPA, likewise the bottom quartile, wants an LSAT at or above 157. With a 54.41 percent acceptance rate, the school admits more than half of applicants, so a file at or above both medians is in strong shape, and even a file near the 25th percentiles has a real path.

The shape of the two bands makes University of the Pacific Law School splitter friendly. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.32 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 4 points, so the GPA band runs comparatively wide. 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. McGeorge Law leans splitter, so a strong LSAT at or above 157 can carry a GPA that dips toward the 3.25 quartile. If your LSAT is your stronger number, University of the Pacific Law School is a school where that profile plays well.

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

University of the Pacific Law School is more accessible than its reputation suggests. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks McGeorge Law 47th most selective of the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 157, in the lower third of that band. With a 54.41 percent acceptance rate, McGeorge admits a larger share of applicants than most schools at the same scores.

Reputation places University of the Pacific Law School as a long-established Sacramento law school with a respected name in California legal circles. To test that reputation against selectivity, Lovare built a peer band of the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT lands within two points of McGeorge Law's 157, that is, a median of 155 to 159, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. McGeorge Law comes in 47th most selective of the 57, in the lower third of the group.

That position is good news for an applicant. According to McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, the school drew 1,248 applications and made 679 offers to fill a first-year class of 213, an acceptance rate of 54.41 percent. Among schools that enroll students with the same mid-150s LSAT median, McGeorge admits a larger share than most, so an applicant with the medians has a strong chance rather than a coin flip. The honest read is that University of the Pacific Law School is attainable: its respected Sacramento reputation is not matched by a punishing admit rate, which works in a well-prepared applicant's favor.

The honest verdict is that University of the Pacific Law School is easier to get into than its reputation implies, sitting in the lower third of its scoring band on selectivity. It is a respected Sacramento school where a mid-150s applicant is genuinely competitive and where more than half of applicants are admitted. Hit the 157 and 3.57 medians and McGeorge is a strong bet, with the real strategic questions falling on cost, scholarship, and the bar-passage record discussed below.

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

University of the Pacific Law School charges $63,318 in full-time tuition and fees, per McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509, plus $35,081 in living expenses. Ninety-three percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $30,426, and the school reports 143 full-tuition awards. A median-grant recipient nets about $32,892 in tuition and fees before living costs. McGeorge uses conditional scholarships, so read the terms closely.

University of the Pacific Law School carries a private-school sticker, but its scholarship reach is where the value lives. McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $63,318, plus $35,081 in living expenses. The 509 prints tuition and living separately and does not publish a single combined cost-of-attendance total, so any all-in annual number quoted elsewhere is someone's arithmetic rather than a figure McGeorge reports, and this page will not invent one.

The scholarship story is broad, and the top of the range is generous. According to the same 509, 93 percent of University of the Pacific Law School students receive grant aid, one of the highest reaches in legal education, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $3,388, $30,426, and $60,852. McGeorge Law reports 143 full-tuition awards, a large number that anchors the top of the distribution. Against the $63,318 sticker, a $30,426 median grant brings tuition and fees to about $32,892 before living costs, using figures from McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509. The honest caution sits at the bottom of the range: the 25th-percentile award is just $3,388, a token discount, so while nearly everyone receives something, the aid varies enormously from a few thousand dollars up to full tuition.

Now the warning every University of the Pacific Law School applicant needs to hear plainly. McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports that the school uses conditional scholarships, which means a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below the threshold the school sets. A conditional scholarship is not a guaranteed three-year grant. In a graded first-year curve, some students who hold the same conditional award will finish below the line and lose part of it. Before you accept a McGeorge offer, get the exact retention standard in writing, ask how many students held that scholarship last year, and ask how many kept it, so you can budget around the number you are actually likely to pay rather than the best-case net.

Put the pieces together and University of the Pacific Law School can be an affordable path, especially for a strong file that lands near the top of the grant range. Aid reaches 93 percent of students, 143 attend on full tuition, and the median award meaningfully cuts the sticker. The cautions are that the smallest awards are token, that the aid is conditional on grades, and that the $35,081 living figure adds to the total. Weigh a McGeorge grant against its retention terms, and treat the $32,892 net as a midpoint rather than a guarantee.

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

University of the Pacific Law School does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 212 matriculants against 679 offers is a 31.2 percent yield in McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA 509. That is a moderate yield, so McGeorge fills much of its class from first-round offers while leaving some room for waitlist movement.

Here is the reasoning in full. University of the Pacific Law School enrolled 212 matriculants from 679 offers in McGeorge Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 31.2 percent. No ABA disclosure, McGeorge's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted from the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for waitlist movement. When about three in ten admitted students enroll, a school extends a broad set of offers and keeps some flexibility for the waitlist to fill late gaps.

A 31.2 percent yield is moderate, which places University of the Pacific Law School between the extremes. It is higher than a school that yields a quarter of its offers and leans hard on its waitlist, and lower than a school that yields close to half and barely moves its list. For a waitlisted applicant to McGeorge Law, that means real but limited hope: some cycles will see movement, others little, depending on how the school's first-round yield lands in a given year.

If you land on the University of the Pacific Law School waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming McGeorge Law as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand as your plan of record. Treat a McGeorge waitlist spot as a live possibility rather than a plan, and secure a seat elsewhere while the moderate odds play out.

Where do University of the Pacific Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, University of the Pacific Law School placed 83.6 percent of graduates in California and 85.6 percent across its top three markets. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 7.5 percent, and federal clerkships took 0.0 percent. McGeorge Law is a California-focused school centered on Sacramento and Northern California.

University of the Pacific Law School is a California school, and the employment data confirms it. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, McGeorge Law placed 122 of its graduates in California, 2 in the District of Columbia, and 1 in Florida. That is an 83.6 percent top-market share and an 85.6 percent top-three share, so more than eight in ten graduates work in California and out-of-state placement is small. Located in the state capital, McGeorge ties its outcomes to the Sacramento and Northern California legal market, which suits an applicant aiming there.

On overall placement, University of the Pacific Law School reported 129 of 146 graduates employed at ten months, or 88.4 percent, in the same ABA Employment Summary. That is a solid employment rate, in the healthy range for its band, and stronger than several California peers. Combined with the California concentration, the message is that McGeorge Law reliably places most of its graduates, and that it places them at home, in Sacramento-area firms, California government, and business across Northern California.

On firm size, University of the Pacific Law School sends a smaller share into big law. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 7.5 percent of McGeorge Law graduates entering large firms of 101 or more lawyers, so large-firm work is the exception rather than the norm. Federal clerkships were 0.0 percent in the same summary, meaning the Class of 2024 reported no federal clerkships. The honest summary is that University of the Pacific Law School feeds government, small and midsize firms, and business roles across the Sacramento region and California, with a narrow large-firm channel and no clerkship pipeline in the latest class.

When are University of the Pacific Law School's application deadlines?

This page's sources do not publish University of the Pacific Law School's application calendar, and McGeorge Law's Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. Confirm the current regular deadlines and any Early Decision terms directly on the school's admissions site. The guidance here is dated: verified August 2026.

The primary sources behind this page, the 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and McGeorge Law's ABA bar-passage report, report admissions, cost, and outcome figures but not the cycle-by-cycle application calendar. For that reason this page does not state a specific regular-decision deadline for University of the Pacific Law School, and it does not state specific Early Decision terms, because those terms are not confirmed here. The honest instruction is to verify the current deadlines on McGeorge Law's own admissions page before you rely on them.

As general practice across law schools rather than a published McGeorge rule, applying earlier in a cycle tends to help, because seats and scholarship money are more available before a class fills. That principle matters at University of the Pacific Law School, where aid reaches nearly everyone but the largest awards, including the 143 full-tuition grants, are limited and the earliest strong files compete best for them. Take your strongest LSAT before you apply, confirm the exact deadlines on McGeorge Law's admissions page, and treat this guidance as verified August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into University of the Pacific Law School

Is a 157 LSAT good enough for McGeorge Law?

A 157 is exactly the LSAT median at McGeorge Law, per its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 153 to 160. A 157 puts you right at the center of the class. Pair it with a GPA at or above the 3.57 median and you are a strong candidate at University of the Pacific Law School, and well within the range that earns scholarship consideration.

What GPA do you need for McGeorge Law?

McGeorge Law reports a GPA median of 3.57, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.25 to 3.75, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.57 or higher. Because University of the Pacific Law School is splitter friendly, a strong LSAT can help carry a GPA toward the 3.25 quartile, but a transcript at or above the median keeps the file comfortably inside the class.

What is McGeorge Law's acceptance rate?

McGeorge Law admitted 54.41 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 679 offers against 1,248 applications, according to its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Lovare's analysis ranks University of the Pacific Law School 47th most selective of the 57 schools within two points of its 157 median, in the lower third of its band, so it is genuinely attainable.

How many people apply to McGeorge Law?

McGeorge Law received 1,248 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 679 offers, and enrolled 212 matriculants from the pool for a first-year class of 213, which includes 170 full-time and 43 part-time students, per its 2025 ABA 509. That pool and a majority admit rate make University of the Pacific Law School an accessible option for mid-150s applicants.

How much does McGeorge Law cost?

McGeorge Law lists full-time tuition and fees of $63,318, plus $35,081 in living expenses, in its 2025 ABA 509. University of the Pacific Law School does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total in the 509, so tuition and living are best read separately. A median grant of $30,426 brings tuition and fees to about $32,892 before living costs, and 143 students attend on full-tuition awards.

Does McGeorge Law give scholarships?

Yes, to almost everyone. McGeorge Law reports that 93 percent of students receive grants, with awards of $3,388, $30,426, and $60,852 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 143 full-tuition awards, per its 2025 ABA 509. Those awards at University of the Pacific Law School are conditional, so a first-year grant can be cut if your grades fall below the school's threshold.

What is McGeorge Law's bar passage rate?

McGeorge Law posted a 70.55 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with California as the largest jurisdiction, according to its ABA bar-passage report. Its ultimate pass rate, measured two years out for the 2022 cohort, was 86.01 percent. The first-time rate sits below the California average, so an applicant to University of the Pacific Law School should plan seriously for bar preparation, though most graduates eventually pass.

Where do McGeorge Law graduates work?

Mostly in California. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows McGeorge Law placed 122 graduates in California, 2 in the District of Columbia, and 1 in Florida, an 83.6 percent top-market share and 85.6 percent across the top three. University of the Pacific Law School is a Sacramento-focused school, so plan around Northern California and the state capital.

Can a splitter get into McGeorge Law?

A splitter has a real path. Lovare reads McGeorge Law as splitter friendly, with a wider GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.32 against an LSAT spread of 4 points in the 2025 ABA 509. That means University of the Pacific Law School forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a strong-LSAT applicant with a GPA toward the 3.25 quartile is a viable candidate.

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

Less selective than most peers at its scores. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks University of the Pacific Law School 47th most selective of the 57 schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 157. So McGeorge admits a larger share of applicants than most schools at the same scores, which favors a well-prepared applicant.

Is McGeorge Law worth it?

For a California career with strong aid, the case is reasonable. McGeorge Law pairs a $63,318 sticker and 143 full-tuition awards with an 88.4 percent employment rate and a 70.55 percent first-time bar rate in the latest data. For a Sacramento or Northern California-bound applicant who wins solid aid and prepares for the bar, University of the Pacific Law School can be worth it, though the conditional aid and bar rate belong in the math.

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

Scores above the medians. Because McGeorge Law reserves its largest awards, including its 143 full-tuition grants, for the strongest files, an LSAT above the 157 median toward the 160 upper quartile, paired with a GPA above 3.57 toward the 3.75 quartile, positions you for the top of University of the Pacific Law School's grant range, where the 75th-percentile award reaches $60,852. Higher scores also cushion you against the conditional retention threshold.

Can McGeorge Law take away my scholarship?

It can. McGeorge Law reports in its 2025 ABA 509 that it uses conditional scholarships, so a first-year award can be reduced or cut if your grades fall below a set threshold. Before accepting an offer from University of the Pacific Law School, get the exact retention standard in writing and ask how many students kept the same award last year, since a graded first-year curve guarantees some will not.

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

McGeorge Law reported 3.0 percent first-year academic attrition in its 2025 ABA 509, meaning only about one in thirty-three first-year students left for academic reasons. That is a low figure and a reassuring sign that most admitted students stay on track academically at University of the Pacific Law School, even though the school admits a broad range of applicants.

Sources

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

McGeorge Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=13&year=2025

McGeorge Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=13&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=13&year=2024

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