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University of Virginia School of Law

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Last updated: August 26, 2026

University of Virginia School of Law

The University of Virginia School of Law is a public law school in Charlottesville, Virginia, that enrolled a first-year class of roughly 305 students in Fall 2025 with a median LSAT of 173 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.99. It is ranked #4 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News rankings and admitted about 10.2% of applicants. The central decision issue for applicants is that UVA combines top-tier BigLaw and clerkship outcomes with public-university pricing only modestly above Harvard's tuition level, making it one of the strongest value propositions in the top tier — while its Charlottesville location is a deliberate trade-off against urban campuses.

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UVA Law at a Glance

Category Latest information
Founded 1819
Type Public
ABA approval or accreditation ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education)
Location Charlottesville, Virginia
Latest U.S. News rank #4 tie (2026 edition)
Latest acceptance rate approx. 10.2% (Fall 2025)
Latest LSAT median 173 (Fall 2025)
Latest GPA median 3.99 (Fall 2025)
Latest entering class approx. 305 (Fall 2025)
Current tuition $77,926 resident / $80,244 nonresident (2026–27)
Current estimated cost of attendance $111,420 resident / $114,420 nonresident (2026–27)
Latest first-time bar passage 95.1% (2025 graduates)
Latest bar-required employment Class of 2025 (see Employment Outcomes; category totals not fully published)
Current dean Leslie Kendrick

The admissions figures are drawn from the University of Virginia School of Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (fall 2025 entering class: 305 LSAT-reporting enrollees; LSAT 25th/median/75th of 168/173/175; median UGPA 3.99; acceptance rate approximately 10.2%). Employment figures reflect the Class of 2025 ABA data and the school's published clerkship statistics. Tuition and cost data are from UVA Law's official 2026–27 cost-of-attendance page. Leslie Kendrick, a 2006 UVA Law graduate and an expert in torts and freedom of speech, became the school's 13th dean on July 1, 2024, succeeding Risa Goluboff. Because several UVA Law subpages were not retrievable in machine-readable form at the time of publication, the exact application count, grant statistics, and complete employment category table were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed and are marked as such below.

Introduction

University of Virginia School of Law.jpg



The University of Virginia School of Law, founded in 1819 as part of Thomas Jefferson's university, is the nation's oldest continuously operating law school associated with a public university. It is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on a campus whose historic core is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The school enrolls a J.D. class of roughly 300 students per year.

UVA's identity rests on three pillars: an exceptional, top-five record of placing graduates into large law firms and federal clerkships; a celebrated collegial culture that students and faculty routinely describe as unusually warm for a top-ten school; and a public-university price structure. It is a genuinely national school — its graduates place heavily into New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, with reach across the country — and it is consistently ranked among the top legal employers' most desired recruiting pools.

Rankings and Reputation

UVA Law is ranked #4 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, its return to the top five after several years of movement within the top ten. The school is one of only a handful outside the traditional "HYS-CCN" cluster to hold a top-five position, and it is widely regarded by judges and employers as one of the strongest law schools in the country for federal clerkships and BigLaw placement.




Overall ranking

U.S. News edition UVA rank
2026 4 (tie)
2024 4
2023 8

The 2025-edition rank was not confirmed in the sources reviewed. The 2023 and 2024 figures are reported from year-over-year ranking tables; applicants should treat single-digit movement within the top ten as immaterial to career outcomes.

Specialty rankings

UVA is consistently ranked among the top five law schools in the country for federal clerkship placement, and its constitutional law, environmental law, and trial advocacy programs are perennially strong. Specific U.S. News specialty rank numbers for the current edition were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed here.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Admissions metric Fall 2025
Acceptance rate approx. 10.2%
LSAT-reporting 1L enrollees 305
LSAT 25th / median / 75th 168 / 173 / 175
UGPA median 3.99

The exact completed-application and offer counts for the Fall 2025 cycle were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed. The 305 figure is the number of first-year enrollees who reported LSAT scores in the 2025 Standard 509 report; the total first-year class is slightly larger because of GRE-only and other enrollees.

LSAT and GPA

Statistic 25th percentile Median 75th percentile
LSAT 168 173 175
Undergraduate GPA (not confirmed) 3.99 (not confirmed)

UVA accepts the GRE in addition to the LSAT.

Interpreting the numbers

A 173 median LSAT and a 3.99 median GPA place UVA among the most academically credentialed law schools in the country, despite an acceptance rate (about 10.2%) that is slightly more generous than Yale, Stanford, or Harvard. UVA's broad range — a 25th-percentile LSAT of 168 — reflects a holistic process that values work experience, leadership, and fit. No LSAT or GPA guarantees admission.

Application timing

The current JD application fee, deadline, and Early Decision availability were not confirmed in the sources reviewed at the time of publication; applicants should consult UVA Law's JD Admissions page for the current cycle's dates and policies. Applying early in the cycle is generally advisable at schools at this level of selectivity.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

Tuition for the 2026–27 academic year is $77,926 for Virginia residents and $80,244 for nonresidents — unusually close for a public law school. Required fees are $3,974 (resident) and $4,656 (nonresident), producing total tuition and fees of $81,900 (resident) and $84,900 (nonresident).

Cost of attendance

Expense Resident Nonresident
Tuition (2026–27) $77,926 $80,244
Required fees $3,974 $4,656
Total tuition and fees $81,900 $84,900
Total cost of attendance $111,420 $114,420

Financial aid

UVA awards a combination of need-based and merit-based aid. The 2025 Standard 509 grant statistics (percentage receiving grants and median award) were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed and are therefore not reported here. UVA's merit scholarship program (including its named scholarships) is among the more substantial in the top tier and is a common subject of negotiation among admitted students.

Debt perspective

UVA's public pricing makes it, on paper, one of the least expensive schools in the top ten, and its strong BigLaw placement supports rapid debt repayment for graduates who take large-firm positions. Graduates entering public service can access the school's Loan Repayment Assistance Program. The total three-year cost at sticker is roughly $335,000–$345,000 depending on residency, before scholarships; applicants should model net cost after aid when comparing offers.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

Employment metric Class of 2025
Total graduates 307
BigLaw placement (501+ attorney firms) approx. 64% — #1 among all ABA-approved law schools (2025 ABA data)
Judicial clerkships (within 10 months) 37 total, of which 33 federal (89.2%)
Clerking in the 2025 court term 41 graduates, including 13 in federal appellate courts

The remaining ABA employment categories (total employed, bar-passage-required jobs, J.D.-advantage, government, public interest, business, unemployment) were not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed at the time of publication and are therefore not reported here.

What these numbers mean

The verified indicators place UVA at or near the top of the legal job market. Its approximately 64% BigLaw placement rate led every ABA-approved law school in the country for the Class of 2025, and its federal clerkship pipeline is consistently top-five nationally: the school reports that 41 of its graduates were clerking in the 2025 term, including 13 in federal appellate courts, alongside multiple recent U.S. Supreme Court clerks. UVA is one of only a handful of schools — and one of the few public schools — that places at this level in both BigLaw and clerkships simultaneously.

Bar passage

Bar statistic 2025 graduates
First-time bar passage rate (all jurisdictions) 95.1%
Ultimate bar passage (2-year average) 99.5%
First-time pass rate, Washington, D.C. 99.0%
First-time pass rate, New York 90.7%

UVA's first-time bar passage rate of 95.1% in 2025 was well above the national average, and its two-year ultimate passage rate of 99.5% (reported by U.S. News) is among the highest in the country.

Where graduates go

UVA is a national school with a distinctive eastern concentration. Its largest alumni concentrations are in Washington, D.C., New York, and Virginia, with substantial placement in the mid-Atlantic and across major national markets; the school's public- and government-sector ties to Washington are particularly strong. Exact state-by-state counts for the Class of 2025 were not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed.

Academics and Programs

The J.D. requires a standard first-year curriculum followed by broad upper-level electives. UVA's academic culture is rigorous but collegial, and the school supports deep strength across constitutional law, environmental law, business law, and public service.

Curriculum and special strengths

UVA's curriculum combines a strong core with a wide range of upper-level courses, seminars, and research opportunities, supported by centers including those focused on constitutional law, environmental law, national security, and law and business. The school is widely known for the quality of its faculty and for a collaborative student culture unusual among top-ten institutions.

Clinics and experiential learning

UVA operates a broad array of in-house clinics and externships covering civil rights, environmental law, criminal justice, immigration, intellectual property, and transactional law, giving students direct client-representation and practice experience. Its trial-advocacy and moot-court programs are perennially among the strongest in the nation.

Student Life and Location

Living in Charlottesville

UVA Law is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, a historic college town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains roughly two hours from Washington, D.C. The setting offers a low cost of living relative to peer law schools, a beautiful and safe campus, and strong quality of life — at the cost of being far from a major legal market. Charlottesville is the deliberate trade-off of a UVA legal education: students commute to D.C. and New York for interviews and summer positions, but the day-to-day environment is a small university town rather than an urban legal center.

Student body

With an entering class of roughly 300 (about 950 J.D. students overall), UVA is mid-sized among elite schools. The student body is known for being unusually friendly and collaborative for a top-ten law school, with a strong Honor Code culture, a large number of journals (including the Virginia Law Review and the Virginia Journal of International Law), and active student organizations. The J.D. program is full-time and residential; there is no part-time or evening division.

How UVA Compares

Choose UVA if

  • You want top-five BigLaw placement (about 64% into 500+ attorney firms — the #1 rate in the ABA's Class of 2025 data) at a public-school price.
  • You are targeting federal clerkships; UVA is consistently top-five nationally.
  • You prefer a collegial, collaborative culture in a beautiful college-town setting.

Consider alternatives if

  • You want to be in a major city during the academic year (choose Columbia, NYU, Georgetown, or another urban campus instead).
  • You need a part-time or evening program — UVA is full-time only.
  • You are certain your career path requires daily proximity to a specific non-eastern legal market.

The TLS Verdict

UVA Law is one of the strongest value propositions in American legal education: a top-five school whose Class of 2025 BigLaw placement rate (about 64%) led the nation, whose federal clerkship record is elite, and whose bar passage (95.1% first-time, 99.5% ultimate) is outstanding — all at public-school tuition only modestly above the private-school norm. The principal trade-offs are geography (Charlottesville is a small college town two hours from D.C.) and the fact that some fine-grained statistics (grants, complete employment table) were not confirmable at publication. For applicants targeting BigLaw, clerkships, or government and willing to embrace a small-city campus, UVA should be near the top of the list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into UVA Law?

Very hard. For Fall 2025, UVA's acceptance rate was approximately 10.2%, placing it among the most selective law schools in the country.

What LSAT score is competitive for UVA?

The median LSAT for the Fall 2025 entering class was 173, with a middle-50% range of 168 to 175. Scores at or above 173 are competitive, but no score guarantees admission given the holistic review.

What GPA do UVA applicants typically have?

The median undergraduate GPA for the Fall 2025 entering class was 3.99 — among the highest of any law school in the country.

Does UVA give scholarships?

Yes. UVA awards both need-based and merit-based aid, and its merit scholarship program is substantial. The exact 2025 grant statistics were not confirmed in the sources reviewed at publication.

What is UVA's bar passage rate?

For the 2025 graduates, the first-time bar passage rate was 95.1%, and the two-year ultimate passage rate was 99.5% — both among the highest in the nation.

Is UVA good for BigLaw?

Yes, exceptionally so. For the Class of 2025, roughly 64% of graduates joined firms of 501+ attorneys — the highest BigLaw placement rate of any ABA-approved law school that year.

Is UVA good for federal clerkships?

Yes. UVA is consistently top-five nationally, with 33 federal clerkships for the Class of 2025 (within 10 months of graduation), 13 of its graduates in federal appellate clerkships in the 2025 term, and multiple recent U.S. Supreme Court clerks.

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

No. The J.D. is full-time and residential; there is no part-time or evening program.

What is UVA Law best known for?

UVA is best known for its top-five BigLaw and federal clerkship placement, its public-university value, its collegial student culture, and its Jeffersonian Charlottesville campus.

Contact and Key Links

University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1738

Admissions Phone: 434-924-7351

Admissions Email: [email protected]

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

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