Head-to-head · 41 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 54% chose UCLA. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 41 self-reported decisions and ABA 509 filings.
Choice, not ranking
These are decisions, not opinions. Scholarship offers, location, intended practice, and personal fit are all priced into the split.
Cross-admit decision
Chose UCLA
Median scholarship (chose UCLA)
Median scholarship (chose Cornell University)
View all-time (114 cross-admits)
Trend · UCLA's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2025 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price, scholarships, and debt burden 2025 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2024 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Harvard University
121
University of California—Berkeley
100
University of Michigan
85
Georgetown University
77
New York University
76
Harvard University
138
Columbia University
96
University of Pennsylvania
72
Georgetown University
66
University of Michigan
65
Overview
About UCLA vs Cornell University
Across 41 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 54% enrolled at University of California—Los Angeles and 46% at Cornell University. The split has shifted -17 points across the tracked cycles.
These numbers reflect every factor that goes into a real decision: scholarship offers, geographic preference, intended practice area, and fit. Choosing one school doesn't mean it's "better" — it means the pool of cross-admits, weighing their options, ended up there more often. Pair this with the scholarship distribution and employment outcomes above for full context.
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Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares University of California—Los Angeles and Cornell University across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 41 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 41 applicants admitted to both schools, 54% chose to attend University of California—Los Angeles. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
Both schools are closely ranked in U.S. News: #13 and #13, separated by just 0 positions, making cross-admit data especially useful for deciding between them.
University of California—Los Angeles is significantly more selective, with an acceptance rate of 12.1% compared to Cornell University's 18.2%.
University of California—Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California, while Cornell University is in Ithaca, New York. Regional placement matters: graduates tend to find employment near their law school, so location should factor into your decision alongside rankings and cost.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: Cornell University places 71.9% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 50.5% for the other school. This 21 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
On cost, University of California—Los Angeles has lower tuition at $59,084 per year compared to $84,722. Combined with employment rates of 94.4% (UCLA) and 98.0% (Cornell University), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.
Among cross-admitted applicants, Cornell University offered a median scholarship of $117,000 compared to $100,000, a difference of $17,000 that may factor into enrollment decisions.