- 173
- Median LSAT
- 3.96
- Median GPA
- 12.3%
- Acceptance rate
- $79,722
- Annual tuition
- 67.4%
- BigLaw
- 5.7%
- Federal clerkships
- 91.8%
- First-time bar passage
- $242K
- Est. net cost
What these figures cover
- Admissions
- Entering class of Fall 2025
- Cost
- Academic year 2025 to 2026
- Grant aid
- Grant aid, academic year 2024 to 2025
- Employment
- Class of 2025, ten months out
- Bar passage
- First-time takers in 2025 (2026 ABA report), from the 2026 ABA report
Reported by the school to the ABA, except the index formula, which LSAC publishes, and anything labelled an HFL estimate.
Admissions
Entering class of Fall 2025
An LSAT of 173 and a GPA of 3.96 sit at the median, against an acceptance rate of 12.3%.
Check your oddsLSAT, middle 50 percent
GPA, middle 50 percent
How Northwestern University weighs LSAT and GPA
GPA-heavyAt this school, +0.1 GPA moves your index 1.5× as much as +1 LSAT point.
At this school's medians the published formula produces an index of 11.92.
How this school’s index formula worksLSAC admission index
Index = 0.057 × LSAT + 0.856 × GPA − 1.335
LSAC publishes the formula each school uses to combine an LSAT score and a GPA into a single index number. The coefficients show how the school trades one against the other.
The index is one factor in how a school triages applications. The rest of the process is not published, and the scale is not comparable between schools.
Admit rates by LSAT and GPA
LSAC does not publish an admission grid for Northwestern University.
Grids come from LSAC's Official Guide. Schools choose whether to publish one, and this page updates automatically when LSAC adds this school.
LSAC currently publishes a grid for 136 of the 197 schools in its inventory. The class profile above is drawn from the school's own ABA 509 report and is not affected.
How LSAT and GPA medians have shiftedABA 509, 2016 to 2025
A decade of entering class medians at Northwestern University.
- LSAT median rose from 168 to 173 between 2016 and 2025.
- GPA median rose from 3.81 to 3.96 between 2016 and 2025.
LSAT median over time
GPA median over time
Cost & Aid
Academic year 2025 to 2026
Grant aid, academic year 2024 to 2025
76% of students receive a scholarship, bringing the three year net cost to about $242K from a sticker price well above it.
See scholarship dataCost summary
- Sticker cost, 3 years
- $326,409
- Est. net cost, 3 years
- $241,839
- Modeled salary, covered job categories
- $189,619, 93% of class
- Illustrative repayment
- 8.5 years
- Debt to income (HFL estimate)
- 1.28
What students actually pay
Annual, non-resident tuition plus mandatory fees. The average includes students receiving no aid at all. The two estimated figures are an HFL model built from the school's reported grant percentiles, not figures the ABA publishes. Residents pay $80,633 a year on the same basis.
Scholarship distribution, all students
- 23.6% No aid
- 34.5% Less than half
- 39.6% Half to full
- 2.4% More than full
- Receive a scholarship
- 76%
- Median award
- $40,000
- 25th to 75th percentile
- $20K to $50K
How we estimate what students actually payABA 509 disclosures, 2025 release (tuition 2025 to 2026, grants 2024 to 2025)
Sticker price is published tuition plus mandatory fees. Actual average paid applies the school’s reported grant percentiles to its student body, so it includes the students who receive no aid at all.
Students with no scholarship pay the full sticker price. Grant recipients are split into quartiles using the reported 25th, 50th and 75th percentile awards, and each quartile is credited with the average award across its range. That uses every percentile the ABA publishes rather than the median alone.
We use non-resident tuition throughout, so the estimate is deliberately conservative. An individual offer can land well above or well below this average.
The two halves of this estimate are not from the same year. Tuition and fees are the 2025 to 2026 figures; the grant percentiles behind the discount are the 2024 to 2025 awards, which is the most recent year the ABA reports. A school that raised tuition or changed its aid budget between the two will sit slightly off.
Debt to income divides the three year net cost after scholarships by the expected first year salary.
At 1.0 the net cost equals one year of that salary, at 2.0 it is two years, and so on. Where an individual draws the line depends on their career plans, other resources and tolerance for debt, so no threshold is marked here.
The calculation uses listed non-resident tuition and the average scholarship discount across all students, including those receiving no aid, so it errs toward caution.
Careers
Class of 2025, ten months out
73.1% of the most recent class, 193 of 264 graduates, went into prestigious placements: firms of 501 or more attorneys and federal clerkships. Another 24.2% were employed elsewhere.
Cost and career outcomesHeadline outcomes
- 73.1%
- Prestigious job placement
- 193 of 264 graduates
- 24.2%
- Non-prestigious job placement
- 64 of 264 graduates
- 67.4%
- Firms of 501+
- 178 of 264 graduates
- 5.7%
- Federal clerkships
- 15 of 264 graduates
- Prestigious job placement:
- Full time, long term jobs at firms of 501 or more attorneys, plus full time, long term federal clerkships.
- Non-prestigious job placement:
- Other employed outcomes outside the HFL prestige category.
Class of 2025, ten months out. The two rates add up to this school's employment rate rather than to 100 percent. Firm and clerkship figures here are full time, long term.
The other 7 of 264 graduates (2.7%) were not in reported employment. Further study, deferred start dates, unemployment and unknown outcomes stay in their own categories in the breakdown.
Employment breakdown
- 67.4% Big Law
- 8.7% Other firms
- 8.3% Clerkships, all courts
- 5.7% Public interest
- 2.6% Government
- 4.5% Business and academic
- 0.4% Start date deferred
- 0.4% Pursuing further study
- 1.5% Unemployed, seeking
- 0.4% Unemployed, not seeking
Class of 264 graduates, ten months out. Shares are of the whole class. Any “Not reported” slice is the part of the class the school did not account for in its ABA return, shown rather than spread across the other categories. Firm and clerkship shares here count every reported job, including part time and short term ones, so they can run slightly above the full time, long term figures beside them.
- Employed, any job type
- 97.3%, 257 of 264 graduates
- In jobs requiring bar admission
- 92.0%, 243 of 264 graduates
Employment trends
How employment outcomes have changedABA, 2016 to 2025
A decade of graduate employment outcomes at Northwestern University.
- BigLaw placement grew from 57.0% to 67.4%.
- Other private firm placement fell from 9.6% to 8.7%.
- Federal clerkships fell from 7.2% to 5.7%.
- Public interest work held steady, 5.2% to 5.7%.
Headline outcomes over time
Bar Passage
First-time takers in 2025 (2026 ABA report)
91.8% of first-time takers passed, 9.3 points above the average for the jurisdictions where they sat.
Bar passage rate, first-time takers in 2025
236 of 257 first-time takers passed in 2025. The ABA counts every first-time taker who sat that year, including graduates of earlier classes. The comparison is the ABA’s average across the jurisdictions where these graduates sat, weighted by how many sat in each. It is not any single state’s rate.
Where they sat
| Jurisdiction | Takers | School | All ABA schools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 157 | 94% | 81% |
| New York | 36 | 94% | 87% |
| California | 30 | 80% | 83% |
| District of Columbia | 12 | 83% | 88% |
| 8 other jurisdictions | 22 | 95% | 80% |
“School” is Northwestern University’s pass rate in that jurisdiction. “All ABA schools” is the pass rate for graduates of ABA or Council accredited law schools who sat there, which is not every person who sat the exam. The comparison above is the “All ABA schools” column weighted by the “Takers” column.
How to read a bar passage rateABA First-Time Bar Passage, 2026 report (first-time takers in 2025)
This is the first-time pass rate: everyone who sat the bar for the first time in the reporting year, whoever they are. The ABA counts first-time takers from prior graduating classes too, so it is not restricted to the newest class. Repeat takers are excluded.
The comparison figure is not the school’s home state average. It is the ABA’s average across every jurisdiction where this school’s graduates sat, weighted by how many sat in each, and each jurisdiction’s rate covers graduates of ABA or Council accredited law schools rather than every person who sat there. At a school whose class scatters across the country it can differ sharply from the local rate: 15 of the University of Virginia’s 307 first-time takers sat in Virginia, where the rate was 81.60 percent, while the published comparison is 84.85 percent.
These figures describe graduates’ first-time bar outcomes. Results reflect students’ backgrounds and preparation as well as where they take the exam. They do not isolate the school’s effect or predict an individual result.
Compare & Research
Compare schools side by side, read the official ABA filings, and see the questions applicants ask most.
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Frequently asked questions
How hard is it to get into Northwestern University?
Northwestern University has an acceptance rate of 12.3% and is ranked #9 in the US News rankings. The median LSAT score is 173, with a middle 50 percent running from 167 to 175. The median GPA is 3.96, with a middle 50 percent from 3.76 to 4.00. Applicants should aim at or above the median to be competitive.
What is Northwestern University's bar passage rate?
236 of 257 Northwestern University first-time takers passed, a rate of 91.8%, among those who sat in 2025. The ABA counts every first-time taker who sat that year, including graduates of earlier classes, so this is not a single graduating class. That is 9.3 percentage points above the 82.5% average for graduates of ABA or Council accredited law schools in the jurisdictions where they sat, weighted by how many sat in each. These figures describe graduates' first-time bar outcomes. Results reflect students' backgrounds and preparation as well as where they take the exam. They do not isolate the school's effect or predict an individual result.
What LSAT score do I need for Northwestern University?
The median LSAT score at Northwestern University is 173. The 25th percentile is 167 and the 75th percentile is 175. To be competitive, aim at or above the median of 173. Applicants below the 25th percentile face significantly lower chances unless the rest of the application is exceptional.
What GPA do I need for Northwestern University?
The median undergraduate GPA at Northwestern University is 3.96. The 25th percentile is 3.76 and the 75th percentile is 4.00. Strong applicants typically have a GPA at or above the median.
Is Northwestern University worth the cost?
Northwestern University has annual tuition of $80K and places 67.4% of graduates in BigLaw, meaning firms of 501 or more attorneys, plus 5.7% in federal clerkships, for a prestigious job placement rate of 73.1%. That is 193 of 264 graduates in the class of 2025. The overall employment rate is 97.35%. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $190K, weighted by this school's actual employment outcomes rather than by a single BigLaw median. Individual outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. Weigh your career goals, any scholarship offer, and your debt tolerance.
What are Northwestern University employment outcomes?
97.35% of Northwestern University graduates were employed ten months after graduation. 67.4% secured full time, long term BigLaw positions at firms of 501 or more attorneys and 5.7% obtained full time, long term federal clerkships. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $190K, weighted by this school's actual employment outcomes rather than by a single BigLaw median. The school is ranked #9 nationally. Individual outcomes vary.
How does Northwestern University compare to similar law schools?
At #9 in the US News rankings, Northwestern University competes with other similarly ranked schools. With a 73.1% prestigious job placement rate, Northwestern University performs strongly against peer institutions. Compare median LSAT scores, employment outcomes, and total cost of attendance when evaluating similar schools.