2023-2024 Guide
to Top Law Schools in the U.S.
2023 Guide to Top Law Schools in the U.S.
Want to know what it takes to get into a Top Law School and if it’s worth it? Sure, your GPA and LSAT score might be on point, but before you blindly apply, you’re going to want to know the facts about each school: what percentage of their grads get jobs where a law degree is an advantage, how big their endowment is (hello scholarships!), what’s the average scholarship grant amount, how their programs rank, which school has a part-time program, etc.
Rather than send you into a black hole of internet research looking for this information, we’ve compiled everything you need to make an informed decision on what top law school you should apply to this year in our handy Law School Report Card.
Get Your Free Top Law School Guide!
Download this free guide to the top law schools to get the up-to-date stats when looking into law school admission, including:
- Average LSAT scores
- Median GPA for incoming students
- Law school acceptance rate
- Bar passage rate
- Tuition and fees
- Average grant amount & Percentage of Students with Full-Tuition Grants
- Part-Time Programs
- Application Deadlines
- Percentage of employed graduates (in J.D-advantage jobs and otherwise)
- Top Program Rank
Note: At Blueprint, we believe every student should strive to go to the best law school they can. However, we also know it’s not necessary to attend a T14 school. Use this guide as a way to think critically about what the best law school is for you and what LSAT score range you should shoot for!
There are over 200 ABA-accredited law schools in the United States, so how do you know which law program is the best? Start by using this guide to take a look at the top law schools. You might already be familiar with the T14 law schools, including Harvard Law, Yale Law, etc. Students are eager to get accepted to the top law schools because they often have better endowments (hello financial aid!) and, let’s be honest, it looks pretty great on your resume to have a law degree from one of these college programs. However, not all law schools offer the same opportunities or even post-grad bar passage or employment success. Before you blindly apply, you’re going to want to know the facts about each school: what percentage of their grads get jobs where a law degree is an advantage, how big their endowment is (hello scholarships!), what’s the average scholarship grant amount, how their programs rank, which school has a part-time program, etc.
4 Things You Should Do To get Accepted to Harvard (or Another Top Law School)
- Keep an eye on your GPA - The law school admissions process is, admittedly, a numbers’ game, and one of those numbers is your undergraduate GPA. In some cases, median GPA is often seen as just as important as LSAT score. While a freshman year slump might be explainable, a downward trend throughout undergraduate is a little harder to sell. If this is you, there’s some good news! Even the best law schools know there are many promising future lawyers with GPAs under 4.0s. Applicants can sometimes overcome a low GPA with a high LSAT score. In fact there’s a name for those kinds of applicants: traditional splitters.
- Get a strong LSAT score - This one should be obvious by now, but we want to stress how important it is! As we said, a high LSAT score might help boost your application if you have a low GPA. At the very least, the higher your LSAT score, the more options you have when applying to the law school of your choice. The best LSAT prep course is definitely the one that appeals to your learning style. Blueprint has LSAT prep for every student: instructor-led Live Online, on-demand Online Anytime, and private online LSAT tutoring.
- Write a powerful personal statement - Many pre-laws have identical stats, with their only differentiating factors being their personal statement and LSAT score. The personal statement serves two purposes: provides tangible evidence of your writing skills and allows the admission committee can to evaluate you as a person. Make sure you spend time crafting your personal statement carefully and go through as many drafts as you need to.
- Apply Early - The early bird gets the worm, and the early law school applicant gets a seat at a top law school—or so they say. Even if you’re not applying for Early Decision, it’s always best to apply as soon as you can. Most law schools have concrete application deadlines while others have suggested priority deadlines—the latter will continue to accept applicants on a rolling basis past the deadline. Applying early means you have a better chance at acceptance and scholarship opportunities.
Not sure how to get accepted to a top law school? Start with a competitive LSAT score!
Blueprint LSAT students have been accepted to all the top law schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, NY Law, Berkely and the University of Chicago. Besides having impressive applications, they also achieved great LSAT scores. The Blueprint 2023 Guide to Top Law Schools breaks down the average LSAT score for the top schools in the country. Once you have an idea of what LSAT score, you’re trying to shoot for, it’s time to put in the work and prep for the LSAT!
“I highly recommend Blueprint LSAT prep. I hired a 1-1 coach and it was honestly the most worthwhile investment I made in preparing for Law School. I tried to self-study for my first LSAT and did not achieve a good score. Thanks to my 1-1 tutor Kristen, I improved my score 13 points!! My tutor helped me with my weakest area (LG), reaffirmed the areas I was naturally good at, and was always available to answer my questions...I felt prepared for my test and knew I was going to earn my best score possible. I have been accepted to a top 20 law school and I can't wait to start in the fall.”
Jennifer
“Really great learning tools and videos make the concepts memorable and as fun as they can be. My score went up over 20+ points from the initial diagnostic and the techniques and strategies taught by the course were a huge part of that. They have a substantial number of practice exams with detailed explanations that are also critical to improvement. Really could not recommend more highly! I got into my dream law school with Blueprint’s help!”
Paula
“Blueprint was a game changer for my LSAT studying. The engaging learning style was worked for me and helped me achieve my law school goals! I would gladly recommend blueprint for anyone taking the LSAT!”
Matthew
“Great experience and definitely helped me increase my score! I've started getting accepted to T14 law schools and that wouldn't have been possible without Blueprint.”
Laura