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

The short answer to how to get into William & Mary Law School is to reach the medians in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure: a 166 LSAT and a 3.82 GPA. The middle 50 percent scored 161 to 167 on the LSAT and 3.53 to 3.94 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. Admissions figures on this page come from William & Mary Law School's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report for the fall 2025 entering class, employment figures from the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, and bar passage and program details from William & Mary Law's own published pages.

Here is what makes William & Mary Law School distinctive. Among public law schools it is genuinely selective, more so than a state-school reputation might suggest. According to Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures, William & Mary Law ranks 10th most selective of the 33 schools in its LSAT band, and it admitted just 21.97 percent of applicants for fall 2025. It is also splitter friendly, meaning a strong LSAT can carry a lower GPA, and its graduates cluster in the Virginia and Washington corridor: in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, William & Mary Law placed a majority of its class across Virginia, the District of Columbia, and New York, with 58.2 percent in its top three markets. The thesis of this page is that William & Mary Law School is a selective, LSAT-forgiving public school built for the mid-Atlantic government and firm market, and that its one figure to scrutinize is a first-time bar passage rate that sits below what its medians would predict.

William & Mary Law School at a glance: LSAT, GPA, acceptance rate and cost

William & Mary Law School posts a 166 LSAT median, a 3.82 GPA median, and a 21.97 percent acceptance rate in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. Resident tuition and fees are $38,734 and nonresident $62,900. The table below collects the headline admissions, cost, and outcome numbers for William & Mary Law.

MetricWilliam & Mary Law School (fall 2025 entering class)LSAT (25th / 50th / 75th)161 / 166 / 167GPA (25th / 50th / 75th)3.53 / 3.82 / 3.94Acceptance rate21.97%Applications2,176Offers of admission478Matriculants from the applicant pool181First-year class184Full-time tuition and feesResident $38,734 / nonresident $62,900Living expenses$25,184Share receiving grants66%Median grant$29,302Conditional scholarshipsNoFirst-time bar passage78.26%Employed at ten months92.9% (158 of 170)

Source: William & Mary 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 William & Mary Law'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.

What LSAT and GPA do you really need to get into William & Mary Law School?

William & Mary Law School reports an LSAT spread of 161 to 167 and a GPA spread of 3.53 to 3.94 in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. A 166 and a 3.82 sit at both medians. Below the 161 LSAT or the 3.53 GPA, you need a clear compensating strength on the other number.

William & Mary Law School reports an LSAT 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of 161, 166, and 167, and a GPA 25th, 50th, and 75th of 3.53, 3.82, and 3.94 for the fall 2025 entering class, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The median is the fiftieth percentile: half of enrolled students scored above 166 on the LSAT and above 3.82 in GPA, and half below. A median is a target rather than a cutoff, but at William & Mary Law School both medians set the center of the class.

The LSAT band at William & Mary Law School is wide on the low side. From the 25th percentile of 161 to the median of 166 is a five-point drop, while from the median to the 75th of 167 is a single point, according to William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. That asymmetry means William & Mary Law admits a meaningful number of students below its median but very few above it. A 161, the 25th percentile, is a genuine admit range at William & Mary Law School when the rest of the file is strong.

The GPA band is comparatively wide, running from 3.53 at the 25th to 3.94 at the 75th in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. A 3.53, the bottom quartile, is a real admit range at William & Mary Law School, which is notable for a school with a 166 LSAT median and tells you the school will look past a softer transcript when the LSAT is strong. Read the two bands together and they describe a class that prizes the LSAT, which points directly to how William & Mary Law treats an imbalanced file.

That shape makes William & Mary Law School splitter friendly. Lovare's read of the 509 spreads shows a GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.29 and an LSAT 25th-to-median spread of five points, so the GPA band is wide relative to the LSAT band. 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. William & Mary Law leans splitter: a high LSAT paired with a GPA in the 3.5s has a genuine path, while a high GPA with an LSAT below 161 is a tougher sell. If your LSAT is strong and your transcript lags, William & Mary Law School is a school worth targeting.

Is William & Mary Law School harder to get into than its reputation?

Yes, William & Mary Law School is harder to get into than a public-school reputation might suggest. Its 21.97 percent acceptance rate and 166 LSAT median rank it 10th most selective of the 33 schools in its LSAT band, per Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509. William & Mary Law sits in the top third of its peers.

Reputation places William & Mary Law School among the respected public law schools, and applicants sometimes assume a state school is a safer admit than a comparable private one. The numbers push back. Lovare built a peer band of the 33 ABA law schools whose median LSAT falls within two points of William & Mary Law's 166, that is a median of 164 to 168, then ranked them by acceptance rate from the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures. By that ranking, William & Mary Law School is 10th most selective of the 33, comfortably in the top third of the band.

What that means in practice is that William & Mary Law School is a genuine target-to-reach school for applicants near its medians, not a safety. A 21.97 percent acceptance rate, from William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509, is roughly one admit in five, tighter than most schools that share its 166 median. William & Mary Law draws a large applicant pool of 2,176 and admits a disciplined slice of it, which is what keeps its rate low and its class credentials high.

The honest verdict is that William & Mary Law School is at least as selective as its reputation, and probably a notch more. If you have a 166 LSAT and a 3.82 GPA you clear both medians, but at a one-in-five admit rate you should still treat William & Mary Law as a school that expects a polished application, not a numbers-only file.

How much does William & Mary Law School cost, and how much scholarship money will you get?

William & Mary Law School charges $38,734 in resident tuition and fees and $62,900 for nonresidents, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509, plus $25,184 in living expenses. Sixty-six percent of students receive grants, with a median award of $29,302. A nonresident on the median grant nets about $33,598 in tuition before living costs.

William & Mary Law School is a public school with a substantial nonresident premium. William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure lists full-time tuition and fees of $38,734 for residents and $62,900 for nonresidents, plus $25,184 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, not a figure William & Mary Law School reports, and this page will not invent one.

Aid reaches a solid majority but not everyone. According to the same 509, 66 percent of William & Mary Law School students receive grant aid, with awards at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of $21,782, $29,302, and $37,112. William & Mary Law reports 3 full-tuition awards and 25 awards above full tuition. The 66 percent reach is lower than at some peers, so about a third of the class pays close to sticker, but the awards that do land are sizable, with a median near $29,000.

For a typical recipient, the math works out like this. Against the $62,900 nonresident sticker, a student receiving William & Mary Law School's median grant of $29,302 nets about $33,598 in tuition and fees before living costs, using figures from William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. For a resident, the same median grant covers the large majority of the $38,734 resident tuition and fees, so in-state students who win aid attend William & Mary Law at a modest net price.

The aid is stable. William & Mary Law School does not use conditional scholarships, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509, so an award is not tied to a first-year class-rank or GPA threshold and cannot be cut if your grades slip. The grant William & Mary Law School quotes at admission is the grant you keep across all three years, which removes a common risk that trips up first-year students at schools that renew awards only above a set class rank.

What are your real chances off the William & Mary Law School waitlist?

William & Mary Law School does not disclose waitlist admits, and no ABA report does. The honest proxy is implied yield: 181 matriculants against 478 offers is a 37.9 percent yield, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. That is a fairly high yield, so William & Mary Law fills most of its class from first-round offers and its waitlist moves less.

Here is the reasoning in full. William & Mary Law School enrolled 181 matriculants from 478 offers in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, an implied yield of 37.9 percent. No ABA disclosure, William & Mary Law's included, publishes how many applicants are admitted off the waitlist or how many accept, so implied yield is the honest proxy for waitlist movement. When nearly four in ten admitted students enroll, a school fills most of its class from first-round offers and has less need to go deep into a waitlist.

A 37.9 percent yield is on the higher side, which puts William & Mary Law School toward the end of the spectrum where the class fills early. It is well above a school that yields a quarter of its offers and depends on its waitlist, and it signals that William & Mary Law converts a strong share of its admits. For a waitlisted applicant to William & Mary Law, that means the odds are real but slimmer than at a lower-yield school.

If you land on the William & Mary Law School waitlist, the play is the same as anywhere: send a concise letter of continued interest naming William & Mary Law as a top choice, add any new score or grades, and keep another acceptance in hand. Do not treat a William & Mary Law waitlist spot as a plan, because the higher yield means the list may not move much in a given cycle.

One honest note on the class figures. William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509 lists 181 matriculants from the applicant pool but a first-year class of 184. The small gap reflects students who arrive through paths other than this single cycle's pool, such as admitted students who deferred from a prior year. The 37.9 percent implied yield is computed from the 181 pool matriculants against the 478 offers, which is the correct comparison for reasoning about waitlist odds at William & Mary Law School.

Where do William & Mary Law School graduates actually work?

In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, William & Mary Law School placed 32.4 percent of graduates in Virginia and 58.2 percent across its top three markets of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and New York. Large firms of 101 or more lawyers took 27.1 percent, and 3.5 percent won federal clerkships.

William & Mary Law School feeds the mid-Atlantic corridor, and the employment data shows it. In the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, William & Mary Law placed 55 of its graduates in Virginia, 27 in the District of Columbia, and 17 in New York. That is a 32.4 percent top-market share and a 58.2 percent top-three share: about a third of the class stays in Virginia, and a clear majority land in Virginia, Washington, or New York. If your goal is Virginia practice, the federal agencies in Washington, or the New York corridor, William & Mary Law School is well placed for it.

Why lead with concentration rather than the raw employment rate? Because the rate barely separates peer schools. William & Mary Law School reported 158 of 170 graduates employed at ten months, or 92.9 percent, in the same ABA Employment Summary, which is strong but similar across its band. Concentration is what predicts fit. William & Mary Law's network runs strongest in Virginia and Washington, so an applicant targeting the West Coast or the Deep South should note that William & Mary Law School sends comparatively few graduates there.

On firm outcomes, William & Mary Law School places a solid share in large firms. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 27.1 percent of William & Mary Law graduates taking jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers. That is a bit more than a quarter of the class entering large-firm practice, a respectable share that reflects the school's reach into the Washington and Virginia firm markets rather than a national large-firm pipeline.

Federal clerkships are a smaller slice at William & Mary Law School. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 3.5 percent of William & Mary Law graduates entering federal clerkships. That is a modest clerkship rate, so an applicant whose main goal is a federal clerkship should weigh it against schools that place a larger share, while recognizing that William & Mary Law School's strength lies in its government and regional-firm placement.

When are William & Mary Law School's application deadlines?

William & Mary Law School's specific application deadlines and any Early Decision terms are not confirmed here for the current cycle. Rather than quote a date that may have shifted, confirm the current deadlines and any ED option directly on William & Mary Law's admissions site. The guidance here is dated: verified August 2026.

This page does not state a specific application deadline or Early Decision term for William & Mary Law School, because those dates were not among the primary figures pulled for this profile. Rather than risk quoting a stale date, the honest move is to point you to William & Mary Law's own admissions page for the current cycle's deadlines and to confirm whether William & Mary Law School offers an Early Decision or priority round and on what terms.

As a planning matter, most ABA law schools open applications in the early fall and read files on a rolling basis into the spring, so applying earlier in the cycle generally helps at a rolling-admission school. That is a general pattern rather than a William & Mary Law School figure, so treat it as context and verify the specifics. Everything else on this page is dated to August 2026 and drawn from William & Mary Law's primary disclosures, but for deadlines, confirm the current dates on William & Mary Law School's site before you rely on them.

Frequently asked questions about getting into William & Mary Law School

Is a 166 LSAT good enough for William & Mary Law?

A 166 is exactly the LSAT median at William & Mary Law School, according to William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, where the middle 50 percent scored 161 to 167. A 166 puts you at the fiftieth percentile, competitive but not a lock. Pair it with a GPA at or near the 3.82 median and you are a strong candidate at William & Mary Law School.

What GPA do you need for William & Mary Law?

William & Mary Law School reports a GPA median of 3.82, with a 25th to 75th range of 3.53 to 3.94, in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. Aim for 3.82 or higher, but note the band runs down to 3.53. Because William & Mary Law is splitter friendly, a strong LSAT can offset a GPA in the 3.5s at William & Mary Law School.

What is William & Mary Law's acceptance rate?

William & Mary Law School admitted 21.97 percent of applicants for the fall 2025 class, extending 478 offers against 2,176 applications, according to William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. That is roughly one admit in five and ranks William & Mary Law School 10th most selective of the 33 schools in its LSAT band, tighter than a state-school reputation might suggest.

How many people apply to William & Mary Law?

William & Mary Law School received 2,176 applications for the fall 2025 entering class, made 478 offers, and enrolled 181 matriculants from the pool for a first-year class of 184, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. That large pool against a limited number of offers is what produces William & Mary Law School's 21.97 percent acceptance rate.

How much does William & Mary Law cost?

William & Mary Law School lists full-time tuition and fees of $38,734 for residents and $62,900 for nonresidents, plus $25,184 in living expenses, in William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. The 509 does not publish a single cost-of-attendance total, so tuition and living are best read separately rather than summed into an invented all-in figure for William & Mary Law School.

Does William & Mary Law give scholarships?

Yes. William & Mary Law School reports that 66 percent of students receive grant aid, with awards of $21,782, $29,302, and $37,112 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, plus 3 full-tuition awards and 25 awards above full tuition, according to William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509. The awards are not conditional, so William & Mary Law School cannot cut them for grades.

What is William & Mary Law's bar passage rate?

William & Mary Law School posted a 78.26 percent first-time bar passage rate for exam year 2024, with Virginia as the largest jurisdiction, according to William & Mary Law's ABA bar-passage report. That is below what the school's 166 LSAT median would predict and is the one number to weigh carefully. Its ultimate pass rate for the 2022 cohort was 98.61 percent, so nearly all William & Mary Law graduates eventually pass.

Where do William & Mary Law graduates work?

Most stay in the mid-Atlantic. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows William & Mary Law School placed 55 graduates in Virginia, 27 in the District of Columbia, and 17 in New York, a 32.4 percent top-market share and 58.2 percent across the top three. William & Mary Law School is built for the Virginia and Washington government and firm market.

Can a splitter get into William & Mary Law?

A splitter has a real path. Lovare reads William & Mary Law School as splitter friendly, with a wide GPA 25th-to-median spread of 0.29 but a narrower LSAT spread of five points in the 2025 ABA 509. That means William & Mary Law forgives a lower GPA when the LSAT is high, so a strong-LSAT applicant with a GPA in the 3.5s is viable at William & Mary Law School.

How selective is William & Mary Law compared with schools at the same LSAT?

More selective than most. Lovare's analysis of the 2025 ABA 509 disclosures places William & Mary Law School 10th most selective of the 33 schools whose median LSAT is within two points of its 166. In other words, William & Mary Law is tougher to get into than the majority of schools that post a comparable LSAT median, so treat William & Mary Law School as a real target rather than a safety.

Is William & Mary Law worth it?

For an in-state student, the value is strong. William & Mary Law School pairs a $38,734 resident sticker with 66 percent grant reach and, in the ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024, a 92.9 percent employment rate and 27.1 percent large-firm placement. Weigh the 78.26 percent first-time bar rate, though the 98.61 percent ultimate rate shows nearly all William & Mary Law graduates pass.

What LSAT and GPA give the best shot at a William & Mary Law scholarship?

Scores above the medians. William & Mary Law School reports grant awards reaching $37,112 at the 75th percentile in its 2025 ABA 509, and those go to the strongest files. Because William & Mary Law is splitter friendly, a 167-plus LSAT is especially valuable, and pairing it with a GPA above the 3.82 median positions you best for William & Mary Law School's largest awards.

Does William & Mary Law reward a high LSAT over a high GPA?

To a degree, yes. William & Mary Law School is splitter friendly in Lovare's read of the 2025 ABA 509, with a wide GPA band from 3.53 to 3.94 but a tight top-end LSAT band. That pattern means a high LSAT does more to lift a file at William & Mary Law School than an equally high GPA, though the strongest applications clear both medians.

What share of William & Mary Law grads go to large firms?

About a quarter. The ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2024 shows 27.1 percent of William & Mary Law School graduates took jobs at large firms of 101 or more lawyers. That is a respectable large-firm share driven by the Washington and Virginia firm markets, though William & Mary Law School is more of a government and regional-firm feeder than a national large-firm pipeline.

Is William & Mary Law a good choice for out-of-state students?

It can be, though the math changes. William & Mary Law School charges nonresidents $62,900 in tuition and fees versus $38,734 for residents, per William & Mary Law's 2025 ABA 509, and 66 percent of students receive grants with a median of $29,302. Outcomes concentrate in Virginia and Washington, so out-of-state students at William & Mary Law School should plan to build a mid-Atlantic career.

Sources

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

William & Mary Law School 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class): https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/AnnualQuestionnaire/GenerateIndividualDisclosure509Report?schoolId=157&year=2025

William & Mary Law School ABA bar-passage report: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/BarPassageOutcomes/GenerateIndividualBarPassageReport?schoolId=157&year=2025

ABA Employment Summary, Class of 2024: https://backend.abarequireddisclosures.org/api/EmploymentOutcomes/GenerateIndividualEQSummaryReport?schoolId=157&year=2024

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