ABA 509 DATA, 2025
Southern Illinois Law School Admissions: LSAT, GPA, Cost, and Jobs (2025)
Southern Illinois admits more than half its applicant pool, 56.2% for the 2025 cycle, with a median LSAT of 149 and median GPA of 3.4. Tuition is low for a law school at $16,957 a year, but the number that should give you pause: only 65.7% of recent grads passed the bar on their first try.
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 | 146 | 149 | 155 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
5-year comparison data isn't on file for this school across the full window.
What it costs
| Sticker tuition (2024) | $16,957/yr |
| 3-year sticker total | $50,871 |
| Pays full sticker | 36.1% |
| Gets some grant | 63.9% |
Score above the 155 75th percentile and you hold real bargaining position for a grant, since 64% of the class already receives one and the school clearly has room to move on price.
What you get out (Class of 2024)
| Class year reported | 2024 |
| FT/LT employed, 10 months out | 82.1% |
| Biglaw (101+ lawyer firms) | 3.6% |
| Federal clerkships | 0% |
| Government + public interest | 26.2% |
| Bar pass rate | 65.7% |
82.1% of the 2024 class found a full-time, long-term job within 10 months, but only 3.6% landed at a firm of 101 or more lawyers, and a 65.7% bar pass rate means the debt math depends heavily on passing that exam the first time.
Your odds
A 149 LSAT and a 3.4 GPA sit right at Southern Illinois's median, and with a 56.2% acceptance rate this is a reachable admit. A score in the 155 to 159 range or higher puts you well clear of the 75th percentile here and usually means a bigger grant offer. Run your numbers through the calculator to see where you actually land, not just where the median sits.
See where you land: the LSAT Unplugged law school chances calculator. What is 1 LSAT point worth here? See the scholarship math.
Schools like Southern Illinois
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 Southern Illinois Law School?
The median LSAT for the 2025 class is 149. The 25th percentile is 146 and the 75th is 155.
What GPA do you need for Southern Illinois Law School?
The median GPA is 3.4. The 25th percentile is 2.9 and the 75th is 3.8.
What is Southern Illinois Law School's acceptance rate?
56.2% for the 2025 cycle, based on 407 offers out of 724 applications.
How much does Southern Illinois Law School cost with and without aid?
Tuition is $16,957 a year, or $50,871 over 3 years before living costs. 63.9% of the class receives some grant, and a score above the 155 75th percentile is the strongest position for a bigger one.
What jobs do Southern Illinois Law School graduates get?
82.1% of the 2024 graduating class had a full-time, long-term, bar-passage-required or JD-advantage job within 10 months. Most of those jobs sit outside biglaw, with 26.2% in government or public interest work.
Is Southern Illinois Law School worth it at sticker?
The low tuition helps the math work better than it would at a $70,000-a-year school with similar outcomes. But a 65.7% first-time bar pass rate means the debt math depends heavily on passing that exam the first time, and that number matters more here than the tuition line does. Anyone considering this school should ask directly about bar prep support before enrolling.
Source: ABA Standard 509 Information Reports, 2025, via LSAT Unplugged's 509 master. Verify against the school's filing before relying on it. Last updated 2026-09-30.
