The 10 Hardest Law Schools To Get Into

Fall is in the air, which can mean only one thing: Law school applications will soon be due. Based on data from 172 schools, the Princeton Review determined which ones are the toughest to get into this year. If you're not into those in the Toughest 10, check out the Review's other law school rankings lists, including Best Career Prospects, Best Professors and more.

What are your thoughts on these schools? Weigh in below.

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Yale University Law School

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Yale University Students Say... It's hard to beat Yale Law School, where the atmosphere is "highly intellectual" and classes are mostly "small" (first-year classes vary in size from 15 to 90 students). One of the many uniquely cool things about Yale is that "there aren't very many required courses. "All 1Ls must complete course work in constitutional law, contracts, procedure, and torts. There's also a small, seminar-style legal research and writing course, and that's pretty much it. Best of all, there are "no grades." First semester classes are graded pass/fail. After first semester, there is some semblance of grades but, since Yale doesn't keep track of class rank, it's not a big deal.

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Yale University Students Say...

It's hard to beat Yale Law School, where the atmosphere is "highly intellectual" and classes are mostly "small" (first-year classes vary in size from 15 to 90 students). One of the many uniquely cool things about Yale is that "there aren't very many required courses. "All 1Ls must complete course work in constitutional law, contracts, procedure, and torts. There's also a small, seminar-style legal research and writing course, and that's pretty much it. Best of all, there are "no grades." First semester classes are graded pass/fail. After first semester, there is some semblance of grades but, since Yale doesn't keep track of class rank, it's not a big deal.

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Comments

[Momklok]

05:52 PM on 10/25/2010

If you are a female, don't go to Yale because No Means Yes, Yes means Anal and . . . .

[bynddrvn5]

10:06 PM on 10/14/2010

This list includes almost all of the schools I would have expected to see. Not Georgetown? A bit strange with all of the lawyers the government is using these days, many of them directly from Georgetown University.

[Tails]

01:01 AM on 10/15/2010

Or George Washington. That was pretty weird. Also expected NYU.

[realitytrumpsbull]

03:09 PM on 10/23/2010

Maybe it's a secret government ambulance chaser training academy?

[LUCKY7]

07:43 PM on 10/14/2010

First, you are assuming that LSAT/GPA averages are based upon every person's LSAT/GPA being reported. It is actually only a portion that is reported to US News and World Report, and, as expected, the school only picks those with high LSAT's/GPA's to use in that reporting. As a result, the average is not "thrown" because a true average is NEVER reported to begin with. Secondly, I never stated in any of my posts that all 30% of the SI candidates are rich. My post said that they can also be politically important/connected or noteworthy because of their connection to an alum. For example, I know of two candidates that got in with a 151 and 153 LSAT scores, respectively, because they worked in admissions. Yes, you read that right. As comforting as it would be to lie about all these things and make you think it is all so very fair, I wish the reality reflected such a notion. I do, however, sincerely congratulate you on getting in.

[antaeus]

03:58 PM on 10/14/2010

These rosy descriptions make the schools sound like exhilarating, pleasant graduate programs. That's not my memory of one of them.

[Vinlander]

03:24 PM on 10/14/2010

All of which exist to produce lawyers who fail to acknowledge that the law is nothing more that the codification of the interests of the ruling class.

[gle helle]

03:40 PM on 10/14/2010

Any other sweeping generalizations you'd like to make?

[skraeling]

04:00 PM on 10/14/2010

Actually, that sweeping generalization seems to be fairly accurate. Does the world really need more lawyers than doctors? More litigators than nurses or good teachers, or engineers? Much of America's decline can be laid at the door step of our law schools. There was a time when it was a noble profession and it was active in the creation of this country but sometime after 1793 to now, the law became a tool to enrich oneself at another's pain.....and most attorneys do indeed serve the ruling class...hard to prove otherwise...since many if not most come from the upper and upper middle classes...just look at the schools that are "hard" to get into.....and ask why?

[seffffffffla]

03:48 PM on 11/07/2010

being an attorney is a job. a way to feed yourself.

[jabreal00]

02:55 PM on 10/14/2010

California is representing with their schools. Apart from UVA where are the Red State Southern schools? LOL.

[Rickfors]

03:19 PM on 10/14/2010

'Lord Of The Flies' law school.

[Tails]

04:52 PM on 10/14/2010

Duke, UT, Billy and Mary, Vandy, UNC, Emory, Mercer [freakishly good legal writing program] and Washington & Lee. All very good schools.

[gle helle]

03:35 PM on 10/14/2010

Not on the list, but Duke is very good.

[kapalabhati]

03:58 PM on 10/14/2010

So is Emory.

[skraeling]

04:02 PM on 10/14/2010

elitist.

[bigsexysysadmin]

02:00 PM on 10/14/2010

Didn't most of these schools also produce the top economists in the country that caused our economic problems?

[1Woman4Obama]

02:08 PM on 10/14/2010

No -- these are law schools and lawyers are generally not economists.

[Biggsnwedge1138]

02:44 PM on 10/14/2010

It may surprise you to learn that many of these schools have programs other than law

[AncientTerp]

02:09 PM on 10/14/2010

What? The economists caused our economic problems? Phew! Talk about anti-intellectualism.

[1Woman4Obama]

02:12 PM on 10/14/2010

oh yeah, and this also

[madisonhack]

01:50 PM on 10/14/2010

Our President attended two of these fine universities and taught at a third....and the Tea Baggers think Sarah Palin could debate him?

[DrSnuggles]

02:33 PM on 10/14/2010

Obama went to two different law schools?

[Biggsnwedge1138]

02:47 PM on 10/14/2010

All of these universities have whats called UNDERGRADUATE programs as well

[realitytrumpsbull]

03:12 PM on 10/23/2010

Question is, does Sarah Palin think that she can debate Obama? Maybe that's exactly what the doctor ordered, more head-to-head, have more policy debates, and, more voting. Otherwise you just have autocrats making decisions behind closed doors while suitcases full of money slide around, or whatever.

What do Republicans think of their candidate fieldings, so far? How about Democrats, are they still satisfied with Obama, or are there more potentials, waiting in the wings? Amateur night is over, we need good folks that know their stuff stepping up to run this country, so that it doesn't end up getting run by mobs or foreigners.

[ModerateVoiceofReason]

01:22 PM on 10/14/2010

It's all about the resume and the name of the school.

I went to a small Lutheran College and majored in accounting.
I could have taken the exact same courses at Penn's Wharton School of Business, spent thousands of extra $$$ and received the same type of degree. The difference? The name "Wharton" on my resume would have opened many more doors.

Oh well, I'm in a good place now (thank you Prozac).

[gle helle]

03:38 PM on 10/14/2010

It's possible that Wharton has better professors and an overall more intellectually gifted student body, thereby affording its students the opportunity to benefit from livelier discussions, better group work, etc.

I didn't go there, but there sometimes are reasons why the best are the best. Not that it's infallible.

[ModerateVoiceofReason]

03:50 PM on 10/14/2010

I would be more inclined to agree if my major were humanities or social science or education.
My major was accounting which is mathematics coupled with rote processes. There is very little intellectual leeway. My peers are accounting majors who went to all types of schools, including the "prestigious" ones. I have come to learn that we all were taught the same way.

BTW - I love the Angela Davis avatar

[ARMANDO DE LA ROSA]

04:03 PM on 10/14/2010

There are also performance expectations, competition, and grading scales to consider. I have multiple degrees and the facts are that some of the schools I have attended are more rigorous than others. Now all of this is ultimately moot because as the article states these are hardest to get into and this merely the number of applicants vs the number of available slots.

[delta7777]

12:54 PM on 10/14/2010

.
"The current number of lawyers (Bengoshi) in Japan is approximately 20,000 mostly concentrated in urban areas. This represents one lawyer for 6,300 Japanese. There are 941,000 lawyers in the United States or one for 290 Americans. "

Like McDonalds franchises, maybe too many lawyers in US??

http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/7/8/5/6/pages178567/p178567-1.php

[dmk2113]

01:18 PM on 10/14/2010

If you'd ever taken a critical look at the Japanese legal system, you'd arrive at the exact opposite conclusion. Perhaps we have too many, but they definitely have too few.

[delta7777]

10:23 PM on 10/14/2010

,
if you read the article I linked to, it clearly points out that there appears to be a need some additional lawyers in Japan...

if you read the article a little bit more carefully, you will notice that:

The number of lawyers passing annual National Bar Exam is expected to increase reach from current 1000 to 3,000 in 2010. It is projected that the number of legal professionals in Japan will be 50,000 by 2018.
.

[ModerateVoiceofReason]

01:24 PM on 10/14/2010

Yep, that's why the schools listed are so hard to get into.
Lot's of competition and prospective lawyers looking to have a prestigious law school's name on their resumes.

[Tsckey]

12:50 PM on 10/14/2010

Now you tell me. These sound like a lot more fun than the cynical, money-grubbing pest hole that I attended.

[Leonard Sandoval]

12:38 PM on 10/14/2010

Why didn't the UCLA Law caption just read: "Really? UCLA? Hmph, who would have thought? Well, I guess we gotta write something... didn't the intern graduate from there, have her write it."?

Also, great picture choice Huffington Post.

[Levi251]

12:14 PM on 10/14/2010

i understand the frustration with list like this but i can assure you these schools and a few other are untouchable in terms of a legal education. Sorry. Soon to be University of Chicago Law student.

[Faux]

12:23 PM on 10/14/2010

It's hard to say- knowing people who transferred into UCLA Law, the impression I get is that these law schools aren't known for their focus on practice work, but rather on preparing students to clerk and do research. I've heard it said of almost all of the schools on this list that they don't produce lawyers, they produce law professors.

[1Woman4Obama]

01:56 PM on 10/14/2010

That's only true of Yale -- the rest of the schools produce lawyers, mostly for wall street jobs.

[Tails]

04:56 PM on 10/14/2010

UVA trains a good amount of trial lawyers.

[oski the bear]

12:35 PM on 10/14/2010

Heh, you have every right to be proud of your accomplishment, but from a technical standpoint, it's hard for a "soon to be" student to comment on the "untouchable" degree of education, isn't it?

Nonetheless, congrats. I was wait-listed there myself, so you can call me sour grapes if you want (I'm not, I did just fine with my U. Michigan law education).

Just manage your debt...you never know what the future brings, even from that school. I didn't manage my debt, but graduated at a time when jobs were plentiful. I got lucky. If I were graduating from law school right now with my debt and what eventually developed into my complete disinterest in corporate law, I'd be screwed right now.

[ClarcKing]

12:06 PM on 10/14/2010

We have great universities with brilliant students. Why and how is there so much inequality and injustice engineered/embedded in our society? Access to justice for remediating the most mundane injuries has been contracting for the average citizen. The Law now enforces class and financial distinctions. American law must be the citizenry's public asset, the common grounds, not the tool of the private sector.

[seffffffffla]

03:54 PM on 11/07/2010

how many engineers do u know w/ $160k in debt that wish to work for free?

[thestargazer]

11:50 AM on 10/14/2010

Boalt Hall!!!!

[Cards423]

03:32 PM on 10/14/2010

Boalt Hall...aka "Berkeley Law" is a great place to go to law school. Absolutely top notch and not pretentious.