Southwestern Law School

Q: How hard is it to get into Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School has an acceptance rate of 36.5% and is ranked #161 in the US News rankings. The median LSAT score is 157, with a middle 50 percent running from 154 to 160. The median GPA is 3.51, with a middle 50 percent from 3.23 to 3.72. Applicants should aim at or above the median to be competitive.

Q: What is Southwestern Law School's bar passage rate?

209 of 290 Southwestern Law School first-time takers passed, a rate of 72.1%, 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 10.6 percentage points below the 82.7% 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.

Q: What LSAT score do I need for Southwestern Law School?

The median LSAT score at Southwestern Law School is 157. The 25th percentile is 154 and the 75th percentile is 160. To be competitive, aim at or above the median of 157. Applicants below the 25th percentile face significantly lower chances unless the rest of the application is exceptional.

Q: What GPA do I need for Southwestern Law School?

The median undergraduate GPA at Southwestern Law School is 3.51. The 25th percentile is 3.23 and the 75th percentile is 3.72. Strong applicants typically have a GPA at or above the median.

Q: Is Southwestern Law School worth the cost?

Southwestern Law School has annual tuition of $63K and places 4.1% of graduates in BigLaw, meaning firms of 501 or more attorneys, plus 0.3% in federal clerkships, for a prestigious job placement rate of 4.5%. That is 13 of 290 graduates in the class of 2025. The overall employment rate is 87.59%. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $99K, 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.

Q: What are Southwestern Law School employment outcomes?

87.59% of Southwestern Law School graduates were employed ten months after graduation. 4.1% secured full time, long term BigLaw positions at firms of 501 or more attorneys and 0.3% obtained full time, long term federal clerkships. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $99K, weighted by this school's actual employment outcomes rather than by a single BigLaw median. The school is ranked #161 nationally. Individual outcomes vary.

Q: How does Southwestern Law School compare to similar law schools?

At #161 in the US News rankings, Southwestern Law School competes with other similarly ranked schools. With a 4.5% prestigious job placement rate, Southwestern Law School offers competitive outcomes against peer institutions. Compare median LSAT scores, employment outcomes, and total cost of attendance when evaluating similar schools.

Los Angeles, CaliforniaRanked #161

EstimateEstimate my chances Scholarships Cost & ROI

157
Median LSAT: 3.51
Median GPA: 36.5%
Acceptance rate: $63,160
Annual tuition

4.1%
BigLaw: 0.3%
Federal clerkships: 72.1%
First-time bar passage: $241K
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
Admit rate grid: LSAC 2024-2025 cycle

Reported by the school to the ABA, except the admit rate grid and the index formula, which LSAC publishes, and anything labelled an HFL estimate.

Admissions

Entering class of Fall 2025

An LSAT of 157 and a GPA of 3.51 sit at the median, against an acceptance rate of 36.5%.

Check your odds

LSAT, middle 50 percent

15425th157median16075th

GPA, middle 50 percent

3.2325th3.51median3.7275th

How Southwestern Law School weighs LSAT and GPA

LSAT-heavy

At this school, +1 LSAT point moves your index 1.8× as much as +0.1 GPA.

At this school's medians the published formula produces an index of 3.18.

How this school’s index formula worksLSAC admission index

Index = 0.042 × LSAT + 0.239 × GPA − 4.252

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

Every applicant LSAC processed for the 2024-2025 cycle, sorted into bands. Read it as a benchmark, not a prediction.

Applicants: 3,819
Admitted: 1,308
LSAC admit rate: 34.2%
Applicant pool covered: 100.0%

LSAT	>3.74	3.50-3.74	3.25-3.49	3.00-3.24	2.75-2.99	2.50-2.74	2.25-2.49	2.00-2.24	<2.00	No GPA	Total
175-180	100.0%	66.7%	N/A	N/A	N/A	100.0%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	80.0%
170-174	66.7%	75.0%	100.0%	80.0%	100.0%	100.0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	77.3%
165-169	87.7%	82.4%	66.7%	70.6%	64.3%	44.4%	33.3%	25.0%	N/A	71.4%	74.7%
160-164	90.9%	91.2%	88.3%	72.7%	73.2%	16.7%	66.7%	20.0%	0%	42.9%	79.2%
155-159	87.3%	87.7%	78.3%	68.0%	45.0%	23.2%	14.7%	25.0%	0%	38.5%	69.0%
150-154	52.5%	38.0%	24.2%	10.7%	5.8%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	24.1%
145-149	3.9%	0.7%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	7.7%	0.7%
140-144	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
120-139	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
No LSAT	0%	0%	0%	0%	20.0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1.2%
Total	63.5%	48.1%	37.0%	24.6%	19.3%	8.0%	4.7%	6.7%	0%	10.8%	34.2%

Percent admitted0 to 2021 to 4041 to 6061 to 8081 to 100N/Anobody applied

How to read this gridLSAC, 2024-2025

N/A means nobody applied with that LSAT and GPA combination. 0% means people did apply and none were admitted. LSAC prints both as an empty cell, so we separate them. Hover or tap any cell for the exact applied and admitted counts.

The LSAC admit rate above (34.2%) is not the same figure as the acceptance rate in the page summary (36.5%). LSAC's own figure, taken from its Official Guide report. It covers the applicants LSAC processed for this cycle and counts admitted students who deferred to a later term. The acceptance rate shown in the page summary comes from the school's ABA 509 report, which counts applications on the ABA definitions and deadlines. Both are official figures, so the two often differ by a fraction of a point.

Law schools weigh much more than an LSAT score and a GPA. This grid also covers a previous application year, so it may not reflect changes in applicant volume that affect admission decisions. Read it as a benchmark, not a prediction.

View the LSAC report LSAC school profile

How LSAT and GPA medians have shiftedABA 509, 2016 to 2025

A decade of entering class medians at Southwestern Law School.

LSAT median rose from 152 to 157 between 2016 and 2025.
GPA median rose from 3.18 to 3.51 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

72% of students receive a scholarship, bringing the three year net cost to about $241K from a sticker price well above it.

See scholarship data

Cost summary

Sticker cost, 3 years: $303,579
Est. net cost, 3 years: $241,344
Modeled salary, covered job categories: $98,537, 77% of class
Illustrative repayment: 16.3 years
Debt to income (HFL estimate): 2.45

What students actually pay

Sticker$63,160

Estimated average paid$42,415

Estimated avg. discount$20,745

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.

Scholarship distribution, all students

28.2% No aid
37.1% Less than half
31.8% Half to full
1.2% Full
1.7% More than full

Receive a scholarship: 72%
Median award: $29,166
25th to 75th percentile: $13K to $42K

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

4.5% of the most recent class, 13 of 290 graduates, went into prestigious placements: firms of 501 or more attorneys and federal clerkships. Another 83.1% were employed elsewhere.

Cost and career outcomes

Headline outcomes

4.5%
Prestigious job placement: 13 of 290 graduates; 83.1%
Non-prestigious job placement: 241 of 290 graduates; 4.1%
Firms of 501+: 12 of 290 graduates; 0.3%
Federal clerkships: 1 of 290 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 36 of 290 graduates (12.4%) were not in reported employment. Further study, deferred start dates, unemployment and unknown outcomes stay in their own categories in the breakdown.

Employment breakdown

4.1% Big Law
56.9% Other firms
1.7% Clerkships, all courts
9.7% Public interest
4.8% Government
10.3% Business and academic
7.6% Unemployed, seeking
4.1% Unemployed, not seeking
0.7% Status unknown

Class of 290 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: 87.6%, 254 of 290 graduates
In jobs requiring bar admission: 80.3%, 233 of 290 graduates

Employment trends

How employment outcomes have changedABA, 2016 to 2025

A decade of graduate employment outcomes at Southwestern Law School.

BigLaw placement grew from 1.6% to 4.1%.
Other private firm placement grew from 38.0% to 54.1%.
Federal clerkships held steady, 0.0% to 0.3%.
Public interest work grew from 2.2% to 9.7%.

Headline outcomes over time

Bar Passage

First-time takers in 2025 (2026 ABA report)

72.1% of first-time takers passed, 10.6 points below the average for the jurisdictions where they sat.

Bar passage rate, first-time takers in 2025

Southwestern Law School72.1%

Average where these graduates sat82.7%

Difference, below that average−10.6 pts

209 of 290 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
California	276	71%	83%
9 other jurisdictions	14	86%	81%

“School” is Southwestern Law School’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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ABA official reports

ABA 509 informationView PDF
Employment summaryView PDF
Bar passage dataView PDF

Frequently asked questions

How hard is it to get into Southwestern Law School?

Southwestern Law School has an acceptance rate of 36.5% and is ranked #161 in the US News rankings. The median LSAT score is 157, with a middle 50 percent running from 154 to 160. The median GPA is 3.51, with a middle 50 percent from 3.23 to 3.72. Applicants should aim at or above the median to be competitive.

What is Southwestern Law School's bar passage rate?

209 of 290 Southwestern Law School first-time takers passed, a rate of 72.1%, 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 10.6 percentage points below the 82.7% 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 Southwestern Law School?

The median LSAT score at Southwestern Law School is 157. The 25th percentile is 154 and the 75th percentile is 160. To be competitive, aim at or above the median of 157. Applicants below the 25th percentile face significantly lower chances unless the rest of the application is exceptional.

What GPA do I need for Southwestern Law School?

The median undergraduate GPA at Southwestern Law School is 3.51. The 25th percentile is 3.23 and the 75th percentile is 3.72. Strong applicants typically have a GPA at or above the median.

Is Southwestern Law School worth the cost?

Southwestern Law School has annual tuition of $63K and places 4.1% of graduates in BigLaw, meaning firms of 501 or more attorneys, plus 0.3% in federal clerkships, for a prestigious job placement rate of 4.5%. That is 13 of 290 graduates in the class of 2025. The overall employment rate is 87.59%. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $99K, 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 Southwestern Law School employment outcomes?

87.59% of Southwestern Law School graduates were employed ten months after graduation. 4.1% secured full time, long term BigLaw positions at firms of 501 or more attorneys and 0.3% obtained full time, long term federal clerkships. Based on our estimates, graduates can expect to earn approximately $99K, weighted by this school's actual employment outcomes rather than by a single BigLaw median. The school is ranked #161 nationally. Individual outcomes vary.

How does Southwestern Law School compare to similar law schools?

At #161 in the US News rankings, Southwestern Law School competes with other similarly ranked schools. With a 4.5% prestigious job placement rate, Southwestern Law School offers competitive outcomes against peer institutions. Compare median LSAT scores, employment outcomes, and total cost of attendance when evaluating similar schools.