ABA 509 DATA, 2025
Northwestern Law School Admissions: LSAT, GPA, Cost, and Jobs (2025)
Northwestern's median LSAT is 173, the median GPA a 4.0. The acceptance rate is 12.3%. Get in and the number that stings is the bill: tuition runs $79,722 a year, and 23.6% of the class still pays that sticker with no grant at all.
What it takes to get in
These are the school's own reported 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile LSAT and GPA numbers from its ABA Standard 509 filing, the same disclosure every accredited law school has to file each year. The 50th percentile is the median: half the admitted class scored above it, half below.
| Year | LSAT 25th | LSAT 50th | LSAT 75th | GPA 25th | GPA 50th | GPA 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 167 | 173 | 175 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4 |
| 2019 | 165 | 169 | 171 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2015 | 163 | 168 | 169 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
The median LSAT is up 4 points since 2019 and the median GPA moved +0.1. The bar moved here.
Your odds
At a 173 LSAT, you're at Northwestern's median, inside the 167 to 175 middle 50%, not above it, since half the admitted class matches or beats that score too. Drop below 167 and you're in the bottom quarter, where the 12.3% acceptance rate turns into a much longer shot. Run your own numbers through the calculator before you spend a filing fee guessing.
See where you land: the LSAT Unplugged law school chances calculator. What is 1 LSAT point worth here? See the scholarship math.
What it costs
| Sticker tuition (2025) | $79,722/yr |
| Resident | $79,772/yr |
| Nonresident | $79,722/yr |
| 3-year sticker total | $239,166 |
| Pays full sticker | 23.6% |
| Gets some grant | 76.4% |
A score above the 175 75th percentile is the strongest bargaining position you'll have with a financial aid office, and 76.4% of Northwestern's class walked in with some grant, leaving only 23.6% at full price.
What you get out (Class of 2024)
| Class year reported | 2024 |
| FT/LT employed, 10 months out | 97.8% |
| Biglaw (101+ lawyer firms) | 72.6% |
| Federal clerkships | 5.2% |
| Government + public interest | 9.3% |
| Bar pass rate | 91.6% |
97.8% of the 2024 class landed a full-time, long-term job within 10 months, and 72.6% went to biglaw.
Schools like Northwestern
These 6 are the closest match by median LSAT, then median GPA, out of all 196 schools in the 509 master (as of 2026). Use them as your realistic comparison set, not the list of "reach" schools everyone starts with.
FAQ
What LSAT score do you need for Northwestern?
The median LSAT for Northwestern's 2025 class is 173. The 25th percentile is 167 and the 75th is 175.
What GPA do you need for Northwestern?
The median GPA is 4.0. The 25th percentile is 3.8 and the 75th is 4.0.
What is Northwestern's acceptance rate?
12.3% for the 2025 cycle, based on 981 offers out of 7,976 applications.
How much does Northwestern cost with and without aid?
Sticker tuition is $79,722 a year, or $239,166 over 3 years before living costs. 76.4% of the class gets a grant, and 23.6% pays full price. A score above the 175 75th percentile holds the strongest position for merit aid.
What jobs do Northwestern graduates get?
97.8% of the 2024 graduating class had a full-time, long-term job within 10 months. 72.6% went to biglaw and 5.2% landed a federal clerkship.
Is Northwestern worth it at sticker?
For most admitted students, yes. A 97.8% placement rate with nearly three-quarters of the class in biglaw means the debt from $239,166 in tuition gets serviced fast for most graduates. It's a different calculation for someone choosing Northwestern over a full-ride offer elsewhere, and that comparison is worth running before you commit.
Source: ABA Standard 509 Information Reports, 2015 to 2025, via LSAT Unplugged's 509 master. Verify against the school's filing before relying on it. Last updated 2026-09-30.
