Fordham Law

Fordham University School of Law

With its consistent climb in popular rankings and an unwaveringly solid reputation among the nation's top law firms, the Fordham University School of Law continues to cement its place among the nation's best law schools. The school is more mentioned in the same breath as New York's traditional giants, NYU, Columbia, and Cornell. Highly qualified applicants wishing to attend law school and find prestigious employment in one of the legal capitals of the world, New York City, should give Fordham serious consideration.

History

Fordham Law School began in 1905 as one of the first graduate schools at Fordham University. It was a time of significant growth and change for the university, which had only become a university three years earlier. Despite some initial setbacks, Fordham Law School flourished and grew over the years. It eventually became one of the most respected law schools in the country.

In the fifteen years between 1905 and 1920 Fordham gradually assumed the dimensions of a genuine university with the establishment of a College of Pharmacy (which closed in 1971) and at least the foundations of seven graduate schools, not only in medicine and law, but also the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Social Service, the Graduate School of Education, and the Graduate School of Business Administration (now the Gabelli School of Business). The final component, the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, was added in 1975.

However, it was one thing to change the name of St. John's College to that of Fordham University. It was quite another thing to transform a small men's college into a full-fledged university. The process of change was often difficult, hampered by the lack of endowment, the lack of library and laboratory facilities, the lack of wealthy and generous alumni, and the heavy teaching load of the faculty, which made it difficult for them to engage in the creative scholarship that a modern university demands of its professors.

Admissions

Fordham University School of Law remains a competitive institution for the 2025 admissions cycle, receiving approximately 6,881 applications and admitting 1,524 applicants, resulting in an acceptance rate of about 22.15%. From those admitted, 429 enrolled, including 375 full-time and 64 part-time JD students. The class profile reflects strong academic credentials, with a median LSAT score of 167 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.76 for full-time students. For the part-time evening division, the medians were slightly lower, with a 165 LSAT and 3.60 GPA. The student body included 191 men and 248 women. Tuition and fees for the 2025–26 academic year are set at $75,728, with a total cost of attendance—factoring in housing, books, and personal expenses—estimated around $111,300. However, roughly 90% of full-time students receive scholarships or grants, averaging about $35,000, which covers nearly half of tuition. Fordham Law graduates are well-prepared for the legal field, with a first-time bar passage rate of approximately 87.8%, which is higher than the New York State average. Additionally, nearly 89% of 2023 graduates secured full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months of graduation. The regular application deadline is March 15, 2025, and LSAT scores must be from tests taken between June 2020 and February 2025. Fordham’s admissions process is holistic, taking into account not just test scores and GPAs, but also leadership experience, service, and personal background, aiming to build a dynamic and diverse student body.

Statistics

Admissions Stats
Class of:	2023-2024	2024-2025
25th - 50th - 75th percentile LSAT	164 - 167 - 169	165 - 167 - 169
25th - 50th - 75th percentile GPA	3.57 - 3.75 - 3.84	3.57 - 3.76 - 3.84
Acceptance rate	18.8%	22.2%
Applications received	6346	6881
Acceptances	1341	1524
Matriculants	430	429

For the 2024–2025 admissions cycle at Fordham University School of Law, the incoming class demonstrated strong academic credentials and marked a noticeable increase in selectivity and interest. The middle 50% LSAT range for admitted students was 165–169, with a median score of 167, slightly higher than the previous year's 164–169 range. Similarly, the 25th to 75th percentile GPA range remained consistent at 3.57–3.84, with a median GPA of 3.76. The school received 6,881 applications—an increase from 6,346 the prior year—and offered admission to 1,524 candidates, resulting in an acceptance rate of 22.2%, up from 18.8% the year before. A total of 429 students matriculated, nearly identical to the previous class size of 430, indicating a steady enrollment yield. These statistics reflect Fordham Law's continued appeal among high-achieving applicants and its sustained reputation for academic excellence in a competitive admissions landscape.

Application Fee

Fordham Law only accepts online applications through LSAC. Suppose you need to submit a paper application, email lawadmissions@law.fordham.edu for a PDF to download. The application fee is $75. If you're applying electronically through LSAC, you must pay with a major credit card. If you submit a paper application, please send a check or money order (details available on the downloadable PDF application).

Application Fee Waivers

Fordham University School of Law charges a $75 application fee per JD application for the Fall 2025 cycle. Fee waivers are available on a case-by-case basis and can be granted either through the LSAC fee waiver program or via Fordham’s internal need-based waiver process. Applicants who have already received an LSAC waiver will automatically have the Fordham application fee waived, requiring no further action.

If you do not qualify for an LSAC waiver but believe you meet Fordham’s financial need criteria, you can request a waiver by completing and submitting the Fordham Law fee waiver application, which asks for documentation such as a Pell Grant award letter, recent W‑2, or pay stub. Submit the completed form and documentation to the admissions office via email.

Please note that transfer and visiting applicants are not eligible for fee waivers, so they must submit the standard application fee when applying.

In summary: for Fall 2025 JD applicants, the application fee is $75, with waiver eligibility reserved for recipients of the LSAC waiver or those demonstrating financial need through Fordham’s internal process. Fee waiver codes expire on our deadline (March 15th, 2023). To read more about how to obtain a fee waiver, click here.

Application Procedure and Requirements:

Transcripts

You must provide transcripts from each undergraduate and graduate institution you attended. Transcripts must be sent to LSAC directly to be considered. This also applies to international transcripts, college-level courses taken in high school, institutions you transferred out of, summer classes taken at a community college, etc. To be eligible to apply, you must have a U.S. bachelor's degree or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree for international institutions. You can apply with an in-progress transcript, but the bachelor's degree must be awarded before the start term you're applying for.

LSAT

Fordham Law School will only accept LSAT scores. If you do not take the LSAT, your application will be held until Fordham receives your score. The last LSAT the school accepts for Fall 2023 applications is February 2023. If you are registered for a future LSAT, they will automatically hold your application until they receive the new score. You can email lawadmissions@law.fordham.edu to have your application released from this hold if you have already taken another LSAT. Fordham also accepts GRE scores instead of the LSAT. The Fordham GRE code is 3329. You must fill out the "GRE only" application on the LSAC website if you submit a GRE score instead of an LSAT score. If you take the LSAT, Fordham will use that score when evaluating your application, even if you submit a GRE score. Fordham does not accept GRE scores more than five years old.

Two Letters of Recommendation

You must submit two letters of recommendation via LSAC's CAS service to be considered for admission to Fordham Law. Letters from current or former professors are preferred, but professional letters are acceptable if you graduated more than five years ago. They require two letters, but you can submit up to four. For additional advice on obtaining letters of recommendation, click here.

Personal Statement

When writing a personal statement for Fordham Law, it is important to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively and concisely. The best personal statements are those that develop a sense of the person and their values, aspirations, and concerns. A discussion of the unique contributions you would likely make to the student body, the legal profession, and ultimately the larger society would also be well received. Personal statements should not exceed two double-spaced pages. For personal statements and application essays, check out the TLS Guide to Personal Statements.

Resume

When applying to Fordham Law, be sure to submit your resume. Your resume should highlight your professional and academic achievements, volunteer experiences, and extracurricular involvement. Your resume is preferred to be one page long, but you may submit a longer resume if you choose. Just be sure to use discretion so your resume doesn't become too long. For advice about creating a professional law school resume, click here.

Optional Statement

You're also welcome to submit an optional statement and addenda. If you choose to submit an optional statement, it should not exceed two double-spaced pages.

Transfer Program

Fordham Law School accepts students who have completed at least one year in a JD program at an ABA-approved law school and are in good academic standing. Transfer students will be accepted for matriculation only at the beginning of an academic year in the fall. Credits for classes in which the student has earned a “C” or better will be accepted. The maximum number of transfer credits is 31. Students will be advised of the credits that are accepted for transfer and whether they are applied to required courses before they student is asked to commit to attending Fordham Law. To read a fantastic article about transferring, click here.

Tuition and Expenses

For the 2025–26 academic year, Fordham University School of Law’s tuition for full-time J.D. students is approximately $78,078, billed at $39,039 per semester. This marks a modest increase from the prior year. For part-time (evening) students, tuition is about $58,560 annually. These figures do not include additional student fees or living expenses. While exact amounts may vary slightly based on the student's program track and personal circumstances, these estimates reflect the baseline cost for most full-time enrollees in the standard academic calendar.

Cost of Attendance

The total cost of attendance for a full-time J.D. student at Fordham Law in 2025–26 is estimated to be approximately $113,674, combining tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. Living costs alone are estimated at around $35,596, which covers essential expenses while living in New York City. This comprehensive estimate is used by the university to determine financial aid eligibility and reflects a typical student’s budget across a nine-month academic year.

Fordham Law 2025–26 Estimated Cost of Attendance
Category	Amount (USD)
Tuition & Fees	$78,078
Room & Board, Books, Personal Expenses	$35,596
Total Estimated Cost	$113,674

Fordham's Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships

All admitted students are automatically reviewed for merit scholarships. Merit scholarships are offered to admitted students based on LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs. The awards are guaranteed for three years (four, if in the part-time evening program) as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress. These merit scholarships generally range from $5,000 to $45,000 per year.

Need-based Grants

Fordham Law awards a limited number of partial tuition grants based on financial need. These annual grants range from $2,000 to $25,000. They are guaranteed renewable for the second year (full-time) and the second and third years (part-time evening). Because these grants are awarded based on need, and many of our students have substantial earnings from employment in the summer before their final year of law school, the grant may be reduced for students earning more than $15,000 during the summer. Their formula for calculating this reduction is: (gross summer income minus $15,000) x 0.6 x 0.5. Funding for Fordham's grant program is derived from several sources, including annual gifts and endowed scholarship funds made possible by the generosity of Fordham Law alumni and benefactors.

To qualify for a need-based grant, students must first apply for need-based aid.

Loan Repayment

The Financial Aid Office conducts loan repayment sessions for our graduating classes each year, usually in late March through mid-April. These counseling sessions are designed to assist you in managing your student loans after graduation. While these sessions are not mandatory, all Federal loan borrowers are advised to attend at least one session. The topics that will be covered include the terms of your education loans, your loan repayment options under each of these loans, loan forgiveness/loan repayment assistance programs, deferment/forbearance details, debt management strategies, consolidation, consequences of defaulting on your loans, and the rehabilitation process, in the event of default.

Academics & Curriculum

Aside from its traditional strengths in contracts, commercial law, corporate law, and international law, Fordham's dispute resolution and intellectual property law specialties are among the strongest in the nation. Further, several prestigious academic programs and organizations, such as the nationally renowned Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights, provide students with unique opportunities to diversify their experience in law school. After fulfilling first-year requirements, students at Fordham Law School are mostly free to choose their courses from some 200 available options. First-year classes can range anywhere from 16 to 80 students. As a 1L, you're assigned to a section consisting of approximately 40 other students. Some 1L classes will be only your section (approximately 40 students). Other classes will be two sections combined (approximately 80 students). Legal Writing & Research will be 16-18 students.

As an upper-class student, the majority of your classes will be under 25 students.

Legal Writing Program

The Legal Writing Program at Fordham Law School is very comprehensive. It offers a First-Year Program, an Advanced Program, and an LLM Program. Experienced and highly qualified adjunct professors teach the courses offered in the program. These courses provide students with various skills and knowledge that will benefit them in their future legal careers. The program also offers tutoring services for students who need additional help.

Clinical Program

Fordham Law School's Clinical Program is committed to becoming an anti-racist institution. They acknowledge that the policies and practices in our program are not immune from the domination of white norms and supremacy in our society and the legal profession. The School must identify and address policies and practices that perpetuate structural racism; place Black, Indigenous, and People of Color perspectives, voices, and leadership in the forefront; and consistently name and counter racism in its implicit and explicit manifestations.

Externships

The Fordham Externship Program provides an opportunity to gain credit for working in a legal setting. The program offers a variety of opportunities across New York City to develop the skills and experience you need to advance your career. You will receive supervision from a mentor-attorney, guidance from a seminar professor, and support from your classmates as you experience legal practice in action across diverse areas of the law.

Quality of Life

Located in the heart of New York City in Manhattan, Fordham Law School offers students close access to the city's famous diversions, ensuring that students are never at a loss when looking for ways to spend their free time. The law school is located away from the main campus, which is a plus for the Bronx location of the main campus pales in comparison to the Upper West Side location of the law school. For students searching for more relaxing ways to pass idle moments, famed Central Park and its vast green grounds rests two blocks away from Fordham and provide a serene escape from the bustling city. Though some students have complained of the wear-and-tear of the school's facilities, a concrete building built in the 1970's, Fordham has taken on renovation efforts that it hopes to complete shortly. As should be expected given the school's location, the cost of living at Fordham, like other schools in the city, is tremendously high.

Housing

Limited dorm rooms at the Lincoln Center campus are available to LLM, MSL, and SJD students in McMahon Hall, which houses both undergraduate and graduate students. The Residential Life Office makes housing assignments on a "first come, first served" basis. For applications and information, visit the Law Student Housing website.

Off-Campus Housing
Most students live off-campus, either in Manhattan or in other boroughs of New York City or in New Jersey. An excellent public transportation network makes it easy to travel into and within New York City. Options and resources for housing unrelated to Fordham are linked below. Students should be cautious when using these websites to avoid scams, particularly if they are not present in New York to view an apartment before committing to it. Access the New York City Housing Resources List.

Note that many apartments in New York are only available through brokers who charge fees (often equivalent to one month's rent or 15% of a one-year lease) for connecting potential renters with apartments. For students interested in using a broker to locate an apartment, some reputable firms include Prudential Douglas Elliman (http://www.elliman.com/), Citi-Habitats (http://www.citi-habitats.com) and Corcoran Group (http://www.corcoran.com).

Employment Prospects & Bar Passage

For the Class of 2025 at Fordham University School of Law, employment prospects remain strong, continuing the school’s reputation for successful post-graduate outcomes. Based on recent trends from prior graduating classes, approximately 88% to 89% of graduates secure full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months of graduation. These positions are commonly found in prestigious law firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, and judicial clerkships, particularly within New York City’s competitive legal market. Fordham Law’s location and strong alumni network contribute significantly to these favorable outcomes.

In terms of bar passage, Fordham Law consistently performs above the state average. Recent data show a first-time bar passage rate of approximately 87.8%, which is notably higher than the New York State average of about 82%. This success reflects the school’s rigorous curriculum and emphasis on bar exam preparation throughout the J.D. program. Combined, these outcomes highlight Fordham Law’s continued ability to support its graduates in transitioning smoothly from legal education into professional practice.

Bar Passage

Fordham Law Bar Passage Rates (Class of 2025)
Jurisdiction	First-Time Bar Passage Rate	State Average
New York	87.8%	82%
New Jersey	~86%	~81%
California	~78%	~74%
Overall Average	87.8%	—

Note: Exact rates for other jurisdictions (e.g., NJ or CA) may vary slightly year to year; estimates are based on available data and historical performance.

Synopsis

When discussing the Fordham University School of Law, it is difficult to avoid comparison with other New York law schools. With its increased selectivity in admissions and the reach of its alumni network in New York City, Fordham continues to creep closer to the giants of New York in reputation and job placement. Fordham Law School has proven to be among the better options for any student wishing to attend law school and find employment in New York City.

Contact Information

Fordham University School of Law
JD Admissions Office
150 West 62nd Street,
Suite 4-104,
New York, NY 10023

Phone: 212-636-6810
Fax: 212-636-7984
Email:lawadmissions@law.fordham.edu
https://www.fordham.edu/info/20642/jd_admissions

Summary

Established	1905
Location	New York, NY
Dean	Joseph Landau
2025 US News Ranking	38th
LSAT Median Score	167
GPA Median Score	3.76
Bar Passage Rate	87.8% (2025)
Employment Rate	N/A (2025)
Cost	"$75,728 (in-state, full-time), $56,970 (out-of-state, full-time)"
Average Debt	N/A
Application Deadline	March 15, 2025

Forum and Discussion

Fordham Law Discussions
Law School Admissions Forums
Law Student Forums
Law School Class Forums

Reference

https://www.fordham.edu/info/20346/school_of_law
Rank #38
LSD Law
LSAC Guide
How to Learn to Do Well on a Law School Exam
Success in Law School - A Unique Perspective
The Guide to Law School Loans
Guide to Fee Waivers

Interview: with Stephen Brown, Associate Dean of Admissions at the Fordham University School of Law Forums: https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4