Best Law Schools

Ranked in 2011

Best Law Schools Rankings Methodology

A career in law starts with finding the school that fits you best. With U.S. News's rankings, narrow your search by location, tuition, school size, and test scores. Plus, see the top schools in specialties such as environmental law, intellectual property law, and tax law.

U.S. News Law School Compass

Expanded Profiles for 188 Schools

Average LSAT Scores

Starting Salaries of Graduates

Save Rank College name Tuition Enrollment (full-time) LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) GPA (25th-75th percentile) Acceptance rate Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation
#1 Yale University

New Haven, CT

Full-time: $50,750 per year 629 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#2 Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Full-time: $45,450 per year 1,733 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#3 Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Full-time: $46,581 per year 571 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#4 Columbia University

New York, NY

Full-time: $50,428 per year 1,343 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#5 University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Full-time: $45,405 per year 634 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#6 New York University

New York, NY

Full-time: $46,840 per year 1,431 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#7 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI

In-state, full-time: $44,840 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $47,840 per year 1,134 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#7 University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Full-time: $48,362 per year 802 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#9 University of California--Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

In-state, full-time: $44,244 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $52,245 per year 916 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#9 University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

In-state, full-time: $42,500 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $47,500 per year 1,105 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#11 Duke University

Durham, NC

Full-time: $47,722 per year 644 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#12 Northwestern University

Chicago, IL

Full-time: $49,714 per year 817 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#13 Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Full-time: $51,150 per year 615 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#14 Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Full-time: $45,105 per year 1,626 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#14 University of Texas--Austin

Austin, TX

In-state, full-time: $28,669 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $44,638 per year 1,154 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#16 University of California--Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

In-state, full-time: $40,616 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $50,639 per year 999 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#16 Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Full-time: $45,286 per year 586 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#18 University of Southern California (Gould)

Los Angeles, CA

Full-time: $48,434 per year 651 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#18 Washington University in St. Louis

St. Louis, MO

Full-time: $44,125 per year 893 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#20 George Washington University

Washington, DC

Full-time: $43,999 per year 1,410 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#20 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN

In-state, full-time: $31,882 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $40,388 per year 752 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#22 Boston University

Boston, MA

Full-time: $40,838 per year 821 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#23 Indiana University--Bloomington (Maurer)

Bloomington, IN

In-state, full-time: $26,904 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $43,704 per year 646 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#23 University of California--Davis

Davis, CA

In-state, full-time: $41,763 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $50,595 per year 589 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked
#23 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL

In-state, full-time: $36,420 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $43,420 per year 640 Locked Locked Locked Locked Locked

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U.S. News Law School Compass

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