University of Chicago, Law School Admission
University of Chicago, Law School Undergraduate Program
University of Chicago, Law School Application

The Facts

The University of Chicago is a rather large, private institution located in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 14,000 students. The university’s graduate law school, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 596 graduate law students. The average age of enrollment is around 24, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its heavy use of the Socratic method, the huge amount of internship, externship, and clerkship opportunities available, as well as for its diversity of courses and faculty members. The school offers degrees in the 1 year LLM, the JSD, the Mcomp, the Dcomp, as well as combined degrees in the 4 year JD/MBA, the PD/PhD in history, the JD/PhD in business, the JD/PhD in economics, the 4 year JD/AM in public policy, as well as the 4 year JD/AM in international relations. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of criminal law, human rights law, civil procedure, constitutional law, as well as property and taxation.

Admission to the University of Chicago’s law school is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 4,737 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 750 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 192 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average LSAT score ranging from 167 to 171, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.6. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, an are able to take advantage of the school’s early admissions program if they so choose.

The law school has 50 faculty members, all of whom come from very diverse legal and professional backgrounds. Students rave about the accessibility and approachability of their professors, saying that they are dynamic individuals who do everything they can to be open to their students when they need assistance. The school has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 10:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of interaction and discussion between students and their professors.

Employment Facts

Students at University of Chicago’s law school don’t seem terribly nervous about finding jobs after graduating. In fact, over 99% of the most recently graduating students were able to find jobs within a few months of receiving their degrees, and had an average starting salary of about $125,000. Students are most frequently hired by employers such as Cravath Swain and Moore, Latham and Watkins, Gibson Dunn and Crutcher, Sidley and Austin, Kirkland and Ellis, as well as Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom.

What's Good

“Chicago is an amazing place in which to study law. There are a ton of opportunities to make professional connections.”

“The students here are all really intelligent, and it’s nice to be in a place where people want to learn.”

“The professors are able to make even the most boring subjects really interesting.”

What's Bad

“Things get really cutthroat sometimes; people step on one another to stand out more.”

”The administration could be a bit more forgiving when it comes to financial aid.”

”The on campus graduate housing is few and far between.”

Get assistance with your Law School essay or application.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college