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

The short answer to how to get into Willamette Law School is to reach the medians in Willamette University School of Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, a 154 LSAT and a 3.48 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 151 to 157 on the LSAT and 3.22 to 3.7 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 Willamette University School of 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 Willamette Law's ABA bar-passage report, together with the school's own published pages.

The single most distinctive fact about Willamette University School of Law is how attainable it is for an applicant in the low 150s. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Willamette Law 53rd most selective of the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 154, and its own 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports a 61.42 percent acceptance rate. With a 25th-percentile LSAT of 151 and a median of 154, Willamette Law is precisely the kind of school where a score in the low 150s, a number many applicants wrongly treat as a dead end, is genuinely competitive. The honest counterweight, which this page addresses squarely, is outcomes: Willamette Law posted a 66.67 percent first-time bar-passage rate for exam year 2024, the lowest in this Pacific Northwest set. The thesis of this page is that Willamette University School of Law is an accessible, aid-rich route into Oregon practice, and that the applicant's job is to weigh that access against a bar-passage record that demands serious preparation.

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

Willamette University School of Law posts a 154 LSAT median, a 3.48 GPA median, and a 61.42 percent acceptance rate in Willamette Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Full-time tuition and fees are $56,680, and 94 percent of students receive grant aid. The table below gathers the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for Willamette Law.

MetricWillamette University School of Law (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)151 / 154 / 157GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.22 / 3.48 / 3.7Acceptance rate61.42%Applications858Offers of admission527Matriculants from the applicant pool139First-year class139Full-time tuition and fees$56,680Living expenses$22,828Share receiving grants94%Grant amount (25th / 50th / 75th)$10,000 / $20,000 / $30,000Full-tuition awards3 full-tuition, 9 above full tuitionConditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage66.67% (exam year 2024, Oregon)Employed at ten months84.8% (95 of 112)

Source: Willamette University School of 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 Willamette Law's ABA bar-passage report. Tuition and fees 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 Willamette University School of Law?

Willamette University School of Law reports an LSAT spread of 151 to 157 and a GPA spread of 3.22 to 3.7 in its 2025 ABA 509. A 154 LSAT and a 3.48 GPA sit at both medians. Below the 151 LSAT or the 3.22 GPA you need a clear compensating strength on the other number, though Willamette Law's 61.42 percent acceptance rate widens the realistic range considerably.

Willamette Law reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 151, 154, and 157, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.22, 3.48, and 3.7 for the fall 2025 entering class, per Willamette University School of Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 154 on the LSAT and above 3.48 in GPA, and half scored below. Because Willamette Law admitted more than three in five applicants, those medians describe the center of the class rather than a cutoff, and applicants a point or two under them are admitted every cycle.

This is the important honest point for anyone worried that their score is too low: Willamette University School of Law is exactly the kind of school where a low-150s LSAT is competitive. With a 25th-percentile LSAT of 151 and a median of 154, a 151, 152, or 153 is not a long shot here, it is a normal enrolled score, and a 154 sits right at the middle of the class. A candidate who has been told a low-150s LSAT closes off law school should understand that at Willamette Law it does the opposite: it puts you squarely in range. The realistic caveat is only that landing at or below both 25th percentiles at once weakens a file, so if your LSAT is 151 you want a GPA near or above the 3.48 median, and if your GPA is 3.22 you want an LSAT near or above 154.

The shape of the two bands makes Willamette University School of Law splitter friendly, though modestly so. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 against an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of 3 points. 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. Willamette Law leans splitter, so a strong LSAT can offset a transcript toward the 3.22 quartile, but because its GPA band is comparatively narrow, the offset is more limited than at some peers, and a very low GPA still weighs on a file.

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

No. Willamette University School of Law is easier to get into than its long-standing regional name implies. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Willamette Law 53rd most selective of the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of its 154, and its acceptance rate is 61.42 percent. For an applicant near the medians, the gap between the school's reputation and its selectivity is a real opening.

To test reputation against selectivity, Lovare built a peer band of the 57 ABA law schools whose median LSAT lands within two points of Willamette Law's 154, that is, a median of 152 to 156, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. Willamette University School of Law comes in 53rd most selective of the 57, near the very bottom of the group. Almost every school posting the same 154 median admits a smaller share of its applicants than Willamette Law does.

The acceptance-rate detail fills in the picture. A 61.42 percent acceptance rate, from Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, means the school admitted more than three of every five applicants, extending 527 offers against 858 applications to fill a first-year class of 139. The school makes a large number of offers relative to the seats it needs, which keeps the admit rate high. For you, the practical effect is that a file at or slightly below the 154 and 3.48 medians has a genuinely favorable shot at admission to Willamette University School of Law.

The honest verdict is that Willamette University School of Law is a case where the admissions gate is forgiving, and that access is the school's defining feature. The name is a recognized one in Oregon, and the medians are moderate, but the admit rate is high and the enrolled scores are within reach for many applicants. Because getting in is not the hard part, the analysis that matters most shifts to what happens after enrollment, namely scholarship money, bar passage, and employment, which the rest of this page takes up directly.

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

Willamette University School of Law charges $56,680 in full-time tuition and fees, per Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509, plus $22,828 in living expenses. Ninety-four percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $20,000. Against the sticker, a median-grant recipient nets about $36,680 in tuition and fees before living costs, so aid softens but does not erase the price.

Willamette University School of Law carries a private-school sticker. Willamette Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees at $56,680 plus $22,828 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 Willamette Law reports, and this page will not invent one.

Aid reaches almost the whole class, though the awards run smaller than at some peers. According to the same 509, 94 percent of Willamette University School of Law students receive grant aid, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $10,000, $20,000, and $30,000. Willamette Law reports 3 full-tuition awards and 9 awards above full tuition, so a small number of students attend at or below zero net tuition, but the typical discount is more modest, and even the 75th-percentile award of $30,000 leaves roughly half the sticker in place. Plan on paying a meaningful share of tuition unless you land one of the larger merit packages.

For a typical recipient the math works out as follows. Against the $56,680 sticker, a student receiving Willamette University School of Law's median grant of $20,000 nets about $36,680 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. One detail lowers the risk on the aid side: Willamette Law's 509 reports that the school does not use conditional scholarships, so an award is not tied to a first-year class-rank or GPA threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip during the first year. The grant Willamette Law quotes at admission is the grant you keep for all three years, which makes the number in your offer letter a figure you can budget around. Because admission is not the hard part here, the strategic goal is to push your scores above the 154 and 3.48 medians to compete for one of the larger awards and lower a net price that otherwise stays high.

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

Willamette University School of Law does not disclose waitlist offers or admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 139 matriculants against 527 offers is a 26.4 percent yield in Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509. That is a low yield, so Willamette Law relies on a large offer volume and its waitlist can move in some cycles.

Here is the reasoning in full. Willamette University School of Law enrolled 139 matriculants from 527 offers in its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 26.4 percent. No ABA disclosure, Willamette Law'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 roughly one in four admitted students enroll, a school is making a large volume of offers relative to its seats and cannot predict its class precisely, which leaves room for late movement.

A 26.4 percent yield is low, and that shapes expectations for a waitlisted applicant to Willamette University School of Law in a hopeful direction. Because most admitted students decline, Willamette Law leans on a large offer volume and, in cycles where its first-round yield runs light, may turn to the waitlist to fill remaining seats. That is not a promise, since the school can simply make more offers up front, but it does mean a Willamette Law waitlist spot carries more real hope than it would at a school that yields close to half its offers.

If you land on the Willamette University School of Law waitlist, the play is the standard one: send a concise letter of continued interest naming Willamette Law as a top choice, add any new LSAT score or improved grades, and keep another acceptance in hand. Given the low yield and the high base admit rate, though, the surer route into Willamette Law is a strong, early regular-decision file rather than reliance on the waitlist.

Where do Willamette University School of Law graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Willamette University School of Law concentrated its graduates in Oregon, which took 62 of 112 graduates, or 55.4 percent, with Washington and California next. The top three markets accounted for 70.5 percent. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 2.7 percent, the lowest large-firm share in this group, and 0.9 percent won federal clerkships. Willamette Law is an Oregon-anchored regional feeder.

Willamette University School of Law is a regional school, and the employment data shows where its degree travels. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, Willamette Law placed 62 of its graduates in Oregon, 13 in Washington, and 4 in California. That is a 55.4 percent top-market share and a 70.5 percent top-three share, so more than half of graduates stay in Oregon and about seven in ten land within the Oregon, Washington, and California group. If you want to practice in Oregon or the broader West Coast, Willamette Law aims there; if your target is the East Coast or the South, the concentration warns that its reach thins quickly outside the region.

The overall employment rate is respectable. Willamette University School of Law reported 95 of 112 graduates employed at ten months, or 84.8 percent, in the same ABA Employment Summary. That is a solid placement figure, and it pairs with the Oregon concentration to describe a school whose graduates most often find work close to home.

On firm size and clerkships, Willamette University School of Law reads clearly as a small-firm, government, and public-interest school rather than a BigLaw feeder. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows just 2.7 percent of Willamette Law graduates entering large firms of 101 or more lawyers, the lowest large-firm share among the schools profiled here, and 0.9 percent entering federal clerkships. Those shares are low, which is honest to name: the overwhelming majority of Willamette Law graduates build careers in small and midsize firms, government, and public-interest work across Oregon, not in national large-firm practice. Choose Willamette University School of Law for a regional or mission-driven career, and do not count on a large-firm outcome.

How strong is bar passage at Willamette University School of Law?

This is the figure prospective students most need to see plainly. Willamette University School of Law posted a 66.67 percent first-time bar-passage rate for exam year 2024, with Oregon as the largest jurisdiction, per Willamette Law's ABA bar-passage report. That is the lowest first-time rate among the schools profiled here, and it means roughly one in three first-time takers did not pass on the first attempt.

The honest way to read that number is as a real caution, not a disqualifier. Willamette University School of Law reports an ultimate bar-passage rate of 81.25 percent for the 2022 cohort, measured about two years out, so a meaningful share of graduates who do not pass on the first try eventually do. But the gap between the 66.67 percent first-time rate and the 81.25 percent ultimate rate also tells you that passing on the first attempt is far from automatic here, and that a portion of the cohort had still not passed within the ultimate-rate window. If you enroll at Willamette Law, budget time and money for a serious, structured bar-preparation effort, and treat first-time passage as a goal that requires deliberate work rather than an outcome you can assume from admission.

This disclosure is exactly the kind of consumer-protective fact that belongs at the center of a page like this, not buried. A forgiving admissions gate and broad scholarship aid make Willamette University School of Law accessible, but access is only valuable if it leads to a license to practice. Weigh the 66.67 percent first-time rate honestly against the school's strengths, and go in with a concrete plan for the bar exam.

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

This page's sources do not publish Willamette University School of Law's application calendar, and Willamette 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 Willamette 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 Willamette University School of Law, 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 and any binding Early Decision terms on Willamette Law's own admissions page before you rely on them, rather than trust a date this page cannot source.

As general practice across law schools rather than a published Willamette Law rule, applying earlier in a cycle tends to help, because more seats and more scholarship money are available before a class fills. That principle carries weight at a high-offer school like Willamette University School of Law, where an early, complete file with a strong LSAT is best positioned to win one of the larger merit awards. Take your strongest LSAT before you apply, and treat Willamette Law's admissions page as the authority on the exact dates, verified as of August 2026.

Frequently asked questions about getting into Willamette University School of Law

Is a 154 LSAT good enough for Willamette Law?

A 154 is exactly the LSAT median at Willamette University School of Law, per Willamette Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 151 to 157. Because Willamette Law admitted 61.42 percent of applicants, a 154 is more than good enough for a strong shot at admission. Pair it with a GPA near the 3.48 median and turn your attention to scholarship and bar preparation.

Is a 151 LSAT too low for Willamette Law?

No. A 151 is the 25th-percentile LSAT at Willamette University School of Law in its 2025 ABA 509, which means a quarter of enrolled students scored at or below it. A 151 is a normal enrolled score here, not a dead end. To strengthen a 151 file, aim for a GPA near or above the 3.48 median, since Willamette Law weighs both numbers.

What GPA do you need for Willamette Law?

Willamette University School of Law reports a GPA median of 3.48, with a 25th-to-75th range of 3.22 to 3.7, in its 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.48 or higher, though the 3.22 quartile is a live number given Willamette Law's 61.42 percent acceptance rate. Because the GPA band is fairly narrow, a very low GPA is best paired with an LSAT at or above the 154 median.

What is Willamette Law's acceptance rate?

Willamette University School of Law admitted 61.42 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 527 offers against 858 applications, according to Willamette Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Lovare's analysis ranks Willamette Law 53rd most selective of the 57 schools within two points of its 154 median, so it is among the most forgiving admits in its scoring band.

How many people apply to Willamette Law?

Willamette University School of Law received 858 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 527 offers, and enrolled 139 matriculants for a first-year class of 139, per Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509. That large offer count against a small class is why Willamette Law's acceptance rate reaches 61.42 percent while its implied yield sits at just 26.4 percent.

How much does Willamette Law cost?

Willamette University School of Law lists full-time tuition and fees of $56,680 plus $22,828 in living expenses in its 2025 ABA 509. Willamette Law does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total in the 509, so tuition and living are best read separately. With a $20,000 median grant, a typical recipient nets about $36,680 in tuition and fees before living costs.

Does Willamette Law give scholarships?

Yes, broadly but modestly. Willamette University School of Law reports that 94 percent of students receive grants, with awards of $10,000, $20,000, and $30,000 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 3 full-tuition and 9 above-full-tuition awards, per Willamette Law's 2025 ABA 509. The median $20,000 award still leaves a large share of the $56,680 sticker in place.

What is Willamette Law's bar passage rate?

Willamette University School of Law posted a 66.67 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with Oregon as the largest jurisdiction, per Willamette Law's ABA bar-passage report. That is the lowest first-time rate in this group. The ultimate rate for the 2022 cohort was 81.25 percent, so plan a serious, structured bar-prep effort rather than assuming a first-time pass.

Where do Willamette Law graduates work?

Most stay in Oregon. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows Willamette University School of Law placed 62 of 112 graduates in Oregon, 13 in Washington, and 4 in California, a 55.4 percent top-market share and 70.5 percent across the top three. Willamette Law is strongest for applicants who want to practice in Oregon and the surrounding West Coast.

Can a splitter get into Willamette Law?

A splitter has a path, though a modest one. Lovare reads Willamette University School of Law as splitter friendly, with a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.26 and an LSAT spread of 3 points in the 2025 ABA 509. Willamette Law forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, but because its GPA band is comparatively narrow, a very low GPA still weighs on a file even with a strong LSAT.

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

Willamette University School of Law is near the bottom of its band for selectivity. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures ranks Willamette Law 53rd most selective of the 57 schools whose median LSAT sits within two points of its 154. In plain terms, almost every school posting the same 154 median admits a smaller share of applicants, so Willamette Law is among the most attainable admits for its scores.

Is Willamette Law worth it?

It depends on your goals and your bar-prep plan. Willamette University School of Law offers broad access, 94 percent grant reach, and an 84.8 percent employment rate in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, but its 66.67 percent first-time bar rate and low 2.7 percent large-firm share are real caveats. For a regional Oregon career, with aid and a serious bar plan, Willamette Law can make sense.

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

Scores above the medians. Because Willamette University School of Law admits freely but reserves its larger awards for the strongest files, an LSAT above the 154 median toward the 157 upper quartile, paired with a GPA above 3.48 toward the 3.7 quartile, positions you for the top of Willamette Law's grant range, where the 75th-percentile award reaches $30,000 and a small number of full-tuition packages exist.

How is the first year at Willamette Law?

Willamette University School of Law reports first-year academic attrition of 3.0 percent in its 2025 ABA 509, a modest figure. That means a small share of first-year students leave Willamette Law for academic reasons. For an incoming student it signals that most who start advance to the second year, though the school's bar-passage record is a reminder to take the academic program seriously from the start.

Sources

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

Willamette University School of Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=127&year=2025

Willamette University School of Law ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=127&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=127&year=2024

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