Last updated: September 1, 2026

Boston University School of Law

Boston University School of Law (commonly "BU Law") is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1872, it is one of the leading private law schools in the Northeast, known for health law, tax and intellectual property, a famously collegial culture, and placement power in the Boston and New York markets — ranked #13 nationally by Law.com for the share of its 2025 graduates hired by the country's 100 largest law firms.

Boston University School of Law at a Glance

Category	Latest information
Founded	1872
Type	Private (Boston University)
ABA approval or accreditation	ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar)
Location	Boston, Massachusetts (765 Commonwealth Avenue)
Latest U.S. News rank	#24 (tie) (2026 edition, out of 194)
Latest completed applications	Not publicly confirmed in sources reviewed
Latest acceptance rate	12.1% (2025 ABA 509)
Latest LSAT median	170 (25th/75th not publicly confirmed)
Latest GPA median	3.88 (25th/75th not publicly confirmed)
Latest entering class	Not publicly confirmed in sources reviewed
Current tuition	$73,024 (2026–27)
Current estimated cost of attendance	$100,920 (1L/2L, 2026–27); $101,832 (3L)
Latest first-time bar passage	94.9% (Class of 2025; 98.2% per Law.com)
Latest bar-required employment	Top tier nationally; exact Class-of-2025 rate not confirmed (#13 BigLaw, Law.com)
Current dean	Angela Onwuachi-Willig (since August 15, 2018)

Introduction

BU Law is one of the oldest and strongest private law schools in the Northeast. Its modern reputation rests on three pillars: placement — Law.com ranks it #13 in the nation** for the share of 2025 graduates taking associate jobs at the 100 largest firms, and its graduates rank high on salary-to-debt measures; **collegiality** — the school is repeatedly described by students as less competitive than peer institutions; and **specialty depth** in health law, tax and intellectual property. Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a leading scholar of critical race theory and family law, has led the school since 2018 and is the first Black woman to serve as dean of a top-tier US law school in this era.

Rankings and Reputation

Overall ranking

U.S. News (2026 edition) ranks BU Law #24 (tie) out of 194 (official U.S. News profile); several secondary trackers list #22 (LSD.Law) and Law.com's December 2025 bar-passage preview referenced a tied #22 — the official U.S. News page is treated as authoritative here. The school's 2026–27 U.S. News peer-reputation score was 3.6, placing it in the #23 band of the TaxProf compilation. Official profile: U.S. News profile

Specialty rankings

BU Law's most cited specialties are health law, tax law and intellectual property law — all consistently ranked in national specialty lists (exact positions not re-verified this cycle, marked not confirmed). Its stronger market identity is BigLaw placement: Law.com ranked BU #13 nationally** for 2025 graduates hired by the largest 100 firms, and preLaw's metrics placed BU **#11 salary-to-debt ratio, #18 for "gold-standard" full-time law jobs, and #21 for bar-required/JD-advantage jobs** (school Facebook announcement).

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

BU Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Report (posted at bu.edu/law/509) shows a 12.1% acceptance rate. Exact application, offer and enrolled counts were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed — the school publishes its entering-class profile on the admissions site (linked below).

LSAT and GPA

Fall 2025 admitted students: LSAT median 170; UGPA median 3.88 (2025 509 data per LSD.Law, LSATLab and ILRG — all consistent). The 25th–75th percentile ranges were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Interpreting the numbers

A 12.1% acceptance rate with a 170 LSAT median places BU squarely in the competitive band just below the T14, alongside Vanderbilt-class schools. BU's holistic review is explicit — "numbers alone never determine an admissions decision" (school admissions page) — and the school emphasizes leadership, motivation and non-academic accomplishment. The yield dynamics of the Boston market mean BU competes directly with BC, Fordham, Cornell and Georgetown for Northeast applicants, making demonstrated Boston interest a genuine asset.

Application timing

The J.D. application for the 2026–27 cycle opens in September with winter deadlines and rolling review; the application fee and exact 2027 dates were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed — check the admissions portal directly: J.D. Admissions · Recent JD Class Profile

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

$73,024 for the 2026–27 academic year plus student fees of $1,558 (school tuition & fees page). The in-absentia fee is $7,302. (U.S. News/ILRG list $69,870 — a prior-year figure.)

Cost of attendance

School-published 2026–27 totals:

1L and 2L: $100,920 — Tuition $73,024 · Student Fees $1,558 · Books & Supplies $1,462 · Housing and Food $20,250 · Transportation $1,120 · Personal Expenses $3,292 · Direct Loan Fees $214
3L: $101,832 — adds a $912 Bar Exam Fee

The COA is the maximum financial-aid package (all loans, scholarships and grants combined). BU also offers its Student Budget Adjustment process for documented expenses above standard lines.

Financial aid

Approximately 91% of students receive grant or scholarship funding (LSATLab, 2025 509 data); the median grant amount was not confirmed in sources reviewed. Financial aid is a mix of merit and need-based awards; the school's strong salary-to-debt ranking (#11, preLaw) reflects both aid and placement outcomes.

Debt perspective

BU's all-in cost (~$101,000/year in Boston) is squarely in private-top-tier territory, but the school's placement profile supports the debt: the #13 BigLaw ranking, #11 salary-to-debt ratio, and Boston's livable (if not cheap) cost base. The primary financial comparison for Northeastern applicants is BC Law (comparable tuition) and the public options (UMN, UT, etc.) for those willing to leave the region.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

BU Law's Class of 2025 placed among the top law schools nationally for full-time, long-term legal employment (school employment page). The headline verifiable measure: Law.com ranked BU #13 in the nation** for 2025 graduates who took associate jobs at the 100 largest law firms, its most-cited placement statistic of the cycle. preLaw ranked BU **#11 salary-to-debt, #18 "gold-standard" full-time law jobs, and #21 bar-required/JD-advantage jobs** (school announcement). The exact Class-of-2025 bar-required percentage was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed and is marked not fully verified.

What these numbers mean

National context: across all 36,206 ABA graduates in the Class of 2025, 82.7% landed long-term, full-time legal jobs. BU's strength is concentrated at the top of the market — large-firm associate hiring into the 100 largest firms is where it ranks #13 nationally — which is why its outcome profile reads like a T14's despite a #24 ranking. The comparative caveat: big-firm share and market composition detail were not broken out in machine-readable form this cycle.

Bar passage

94.9% first-time bar passage for the Class of 2025 (LawHub school profile); Law.com's December 2025 "Sneak Peek at July 2025 Bar Passage Rates" reported BU at 98.2%** for first-time test-takers. BU graduates sit primarily in Massachusetts (UBE) and New York, with strong state-specific results in both.

Where graduates go

Boston and New York lead placement, with large-firm hiring across the Northeast; the school's judicial clerkship program, public service programs and Boston Legal Landscape resources support a steady flow into clerkships and public-interest roles (sector splits for the Class of 2025 not confirmed in sources reviewed).

Academics and Programs

Curriculum and special strengths

BU Law's recognized strengths are health law, tax law and intellectual property law, supported by dedicated centers and institutes. The curriculum is complemented by an Academic Enrichment Program and study-abroad options, and the school's scholarly identity under Dean Onwuachi-Willig emphasizes antidiscrimination law, family law and critical race theory.

Clinics and experiential learning

A deep experiential curriculum: clinics & practicums, externships, simulation courses, law journals and moot court (all verified on the school's experiential-learning site), plus a growing program led by Associate Dean for Experiential Education Naomi Mann (appointed 2026). Degrees: full-time J.D., LL.M., and other graduate programs; there is no part-time J.D. division.

Student Life and Location

Living in Boston

BU Law occupies the Law Tower at 765 Commonwealth Avenue, in the heart of Boston — the state capital, a top-10 legal market, and a short walk to the courts, agencies and firms of the city. Boston's student density (BU, BC, Harvard, Northeastern, Suffolk) makes it one of the great college towns in America, with access to the region's technology, health care and finance economies.

Student body

BU Law is famously collegial: students and alumni consistently cite a cooperative, non-cutthroat culture as one of the school's defining traits. The student body is diverse and career-focused, with strong student organizations and well-being programming, and the alumni network is deep across Boston, New York and the Northeast (student-life and diversity specifics not independently re-verified this cycle).

How BU Compares

Choose BU if

You want a top-tier private school with elite BigLaw placement (#13 nationally at the 100 largest firms), a collegial non-competitive culture, Boston/New York market access, or strength in health law, tax or IP. BU's holistic admissions also make it an attractive target for applicants with strong soft factors and slightly below-median numbers.

Consider alternatives if

You want the T14 brand or the highest national rank (BC Law, Fordham, UCLA and the public flagships are the natural comparators); you prefer a smaller class; or you need more generous scholarship data — BU's median grant was not confirmed and public options like Minnesota and Texas offer large in-state cost advantages. For pure national portability beyond the Northeast, T14 peers remain stronger.

The TLS Verdict

BU Law is one of the quiet overachievers of the top-25 band: #13 in the nation at placing graduates into the 100 largest firms, a #11 salary-to-debt ratio, 94.9% first-time bar passage, and a culture students genuinely seem to like. It is not a T14 and its #24 U.S. News rank reflects that, but for applicants targeting Boston, New York or Northeast BigLaw, BU's outcomes rival schools ranked five to ten places above it — at a comparable price with arguably better camaraderie. The open items (exact bar-required percentage, median grant, class profile) are data gaps, not reputational ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into BU Law?

Selective: a 12.1% acceptance rate for Fall 2025 (2025 ABA 509).

What LSAT score is competitive for BU?

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

What GPA do BU applicants typically have?

The Fall 2025 median UGPA was 3.88; the 25th–75th range was not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Does BU give scholarships?

Yes — approximately 91% of students receive grant or scholarship funding; the median grant amount was not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

What is BU's bar passage rate?

94.9% first-time for the Class of 2025 (LawHub); 98.2% per Law.com's December 2025 report on July 2025 first-time takers.

Is BU good for BigLaw?

Yes — Law.com ranked BU #13 nationally for 2025 graduates taking associate jobs at the 100 largest law firms.

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

No. BU Law is full-time only; there is no part-time or evening division.

What is BU Law best known for?

Collegial culture, health law, tax and IP, and top-tier BigLaw placement in Boston and New York — the #13 large-firm placement school nationally.

Contact and Key Links

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

Boston University School of Law

Contents

Boston University School of Law