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Vanderbilt Law School

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Last updated: September 1, 2026

Vanderbilt Law School

Vanderbilt Law School is the law school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1874, it combines one of the smallest class sizes of any top-tier law school with nationally elite outcomes — a #12 U.S. News ranking, #3 national bar-required employment, and a 94.5% first-time bar passage rate.

Vanderbilt Law at a Glance

Category Latest information
Founded 1874
Type Private (Vanderbilt University)
ABA approval or accreditation ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar)
Location Nashville, Tennessee
Latest U.S. News rank #12 (2026 edition, up two places)
Latest completed applications 6,124 (Fall 2025)
Latest acceptance rate 13.26% (812 offers)
Latest LSAT median 170 (25th/75th not publicly confirmed)
Latest GPA median 3.91 (25th/75th not publicly confirmed)
Latest entering class 170 (enrolled from applicant pool; 20.94% yield)
Current tuition $76,440 (ILRG-reported; 2026–27 JD figure not separately confirmed)
Current estimated cost of attendance Not confirmed for J.D.; 2026–27 LL.M. reference budget $113,522
Latest first-time bar passage 94.5% (#17 nationally, +13.5 pts vs. NY average)
Latest bar-required employment 98.21% full-time, long-term (Class of 2025) — #3 nationally
Current dean Chris Guthrie (second five-year term, reappointed 2024)

Introduction

Vanderbilt Law School is a small, private, top-tier law school in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. Its signature is scale: a first-year class of roughly 170 students lets the school operate like a boutique program while producing big-school outcomes. In the 2026 U.S. News edition Vanderbilt ranked #12 (up two places from #14), and Reuters' analysis of ABA data ranked its Class of 2025 third nationally at 98.21% for full-time, long-term bar-required employment. Nearly 90% of students receive grant or scholarship funding, and the school awards no conditional scholarships.

Rankings and Reputation

Overall ranking

U.S. News (2026 edition) ranks Vanderbilt Law #12, a two-place increase from the prior year and its strongest position in recent memory (Vanderbilt Hustler, April 16, 2026). The school's 2026–27 peer-reputation score was 4.1, good for #16 nationally in the TaxProf compilation. Official profile: U.S. News profile

Specialty rankings

Vanderbilt is widely recognized for strengths in health law and law-and-business, and its small-faculty model produces high scholarly impact per capita (specialty-rank positions were not re-verified this cycle — marked not confirmed here). Its employment and bar-passage outputs are the more commonly cited reputational anchors: top-5 national placement in bar-required jobs and top-20 national first-time bar passage.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Vanderbilt received 6,124 completed applications and extended 812 offers — a 13.26% acceptance rate (2025 ABA Standard 509 Report). 170 applicants enrolled from the pool (a 20.94% yield from offers) — one of the smallest entering classes at this level of the rankings.

LSAT and GPA

Fall 2025 admitted students: LSAT median 170; UGPA median 3.91 (2025 509 data). The 25th–75th percentile ranges were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Interpreting the numbers

Vanderbilt's 13.3% acceptance rate with a 170 LSAT median places it in the same selectivity band as several T14 schools, but the yield (~21%) is low by elite standards — Vanderbilt is a frequent "admit-but-decline" choice for students who also hold T14 offers. For applicants who value a small class, strong merit aid and a Southeast/Nashville base, that dynamic makes Vanderbilt an unusually attractive value proposition.

Application timing

The J.D. application for the 2026–27 cycle follows the standard September opening with winter deadlines; the application fee and exact 2027 dates were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed — check the admissions page directly: J.D. Admissions

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

ILRG lists Vanderbilt tuition at $76,440 (most recent reported year); the school had not published a separately confirmed 2026–27 J.D. tuition figure in the sources reviewed. For reference, Vanderbilt's 2026–27 LL.M. budget lists tuition of $79,116 (see More links).

Cost of attendance

A single confirmed J.D. cost-of-attendance total was not found in the sources reviewed. The 2026–27 LL.M. estimated cost of attendance — tuition plus living expenses — totals $113,522 and is cited here only as a reference for Vanderbilt's professional-cost level.

Financial aid

Approximately 90% of Vanderbilt students receive grant or scholarship funding (LSATLab, 2025 509 data); the median grant amount was not confirmed in sources reviewed. Verified: Vanderbilt does not award conditional scholarships — its ABA Scholarship Retention Data Worksheet shows zero entering students with conditional scholarships in every reporting year (2017–2023).

Debt perspective

Vanderbilt charges private-school tuition, but the combination of near-universal grant aid (≈90%), Nashville's below-peer living costs, and top-5 employment outcomes yields one of the better debt-to-outcome ratios in the top 20. No conditional-scholarship risk means aid that is offered is stable for all three years.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

98.21% of the Class of 2025 secured full-time, long-term bar-required positions — #3 nationally per Reuters' analysis of the latest ABA data (April 23, 2026). Vanderbilt also ranked #12 in overall 10-month employment at 95.83% in the TaxProf compilation. Category-level detail (firm sizes, clerkship counts, sector splits) was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed and is marked not fully verified. (ILRG's alternate bar-required figure of 90.4%, #27 nationally, uses a narrower definition excluding bar-passage-anticipated roles.)

What these numbers mean

National context: across all 36,206 ABA graduates in the Class of 2025, 82.7% secured long-term, full-time legal jobs and 8.8% were underemployed. Vanderbilt's 98.21% bar-required rate sits roughly 15 points above the national average and is remarkable given the class size — a small cohort plus a strong national placement machine (firms recruiting in Nashville and across the Southeast) produces near-universal outcomes.

Bar passage

94.5% first-time bar passage, ranking #17 nationally and outperforming the New York state average by +13.5 points (ILRG). Tennessee Bar Association data for the July 2025 administration reported Vanderbilt at 92.5%. Vanderbilt students sit for the bar across many jurisdictions, so multi-state figures approximate school performance.

Where graduates go

Nashville and the Southeast anchor placement, with steady national BigLaw and clerkship hiring; the school's law-and-business and health-law pipelines feed firms and in-house roles in those sectors. Exact geographic and firm-size splits were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Academics and Programs

Curriculum and special strengths

Vanderbilt's curriculum emphasizes small classes, close faculty mentoring and interdisciplinary work; its recognized strengths are health law and law-and-business, fitting Nashville's position as a health-care and corporate hub (specialty-rank positions not re-verified this cycle). The school maintains a scholarly faculty with national impact.

Clinics and experiential learning

Vanderbilt operates a clinical and externship program spanning litigation, transactional and policy work (detailed clinic roster not re-verified this cycle — see Academic Programs). Degrees: the full-time J.D. plus LL.M. and other graduate programs; no part-time or evening division is offered.

Student Life and Location

Living in Nashville

Nashville combines a booming legal market (health care, music/entertainment, finance and a fast-growing firm corridor) with one of the most livable mid-size metros in the country. Vanderbilt's campus sits in the heart of the city, minutes from downtown, and offers a Southern, comparatively relaxed quality of life at a fraction of New York or D.C. costs.

Student body

One of the smallest and most collegial student bodies among top-20 law schools: roughly 170 students per class fosters a cooperative, non-cutthroat culture that students and alumni consistently cite as a defining feature. The school is full-time only, and its alumni network is tightly concentrated and loyal.

How Vanderbilt Compares

Choose Vanderbilt if

You want a small, collegial, highly collaborative program; you value near-universal grant aid (≈90%, never conditional); you want top-5 employment outcomes and top-20 bar passage without T14 competition for attention; or you plan to practice in the Southeast — especially Nashville.

Consider alternatives if

You want the largest BigLaw markets and highest 501+ attorney firm shares (NYU, Duke, Columbia post higher firm percentages), a bigger alumni footprint in New York/D.C., or public-school tuition (UCLA, Berkeley). Vanderbilt's yield (~21%) shows it frequently loses admit-tee battles to T14 peers; make the choice deliberately rather than treating it as a default.

The TLS Verdict

Vanderbilt is one of the most underrated schools in the top 20 on pure outcomes: #12 in U.S. News, #3 nationally in bar-required employment, 94.5% first-time bar passage, and a ~90% grant rate with zero conditional scholarships. What it lacks in brand gravity next to the T14 it makes up in scale, aid and results. For applicants who prize small classes and strong scholarship offers over elite-market clustering, Vanderbilt is very close to the optimal choice; for those chasing the largest possible BigLaw percentages in New York, peer schools may edge it out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into Vanderbilt Law?

Selective: 13.26% of 6,124 applicants were offered admission for Fall 2025.

What LSAT score is competitive for Vanderbilt?

The Fall 2025 median was 170; the 25th–75th range was not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

What GPA do Vanderbilt applicants typically have?

The Fall 2025 median UGPA was 3.91; the 25th–75th range was not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Does Vanderbilt give scholarships?

Yes — approximately 90% of students receive grant or scholarship funding; the median amount was not confirmed. Vanderbilt awards no conditional scholarships, so aid is not tied to GPA or class-rank thresholds.

What is Vanderbilt's bar passage rate?

94.5% first-time (#17 nationally, +13.5 points vs. the New York average); 92.5% on the July 2025 Tennessee administration per the Tennessee Bar Association.

Is Vanderbilt good for BigLaw?

Yes — #3 nationally at 98.21% full-time, long-term bar-required employment for the Class of 2025, with strong national firm hiring; the exact 501+ attorney share was not confirmed in sources reviewed.

Does Vanderbilt offer a part-time J.D.?

No. Vanderbilt Law offers a full-time J.D. only; there is no part-time or evening division.

What is Vanderbilt Law best known for?

The smallest classes in the top tier, a collegial culture, ≈90% grant rates with no conditional scholarships, health law and law-and-business strengths, and a #3 national bar-required employment rate.

Contact and Key Links

Official links

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Sources

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