Head-to-head · 28 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 61% chose UIUC. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 28 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 UIUC
Median scholarship (chose UIUC)
Median scholarship (chose UofI)
View all-time (88 cross-admits)
Trend · UIUC'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
Overview
About UIUC vs UofI
Across 28 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 61% enrolled at University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign and 39% at University of Iowa. The split has shifted -47 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 Illinois—Urbana Champaign and University of Iowa across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 28 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 28 applicants admitted to both schools, 61% chose to attend University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, University of Iowa is ranked #32 compared to #46 — a gap of 14 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois, while University of Iowa is in Iowa City, Iowa. 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: University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign places 34.0% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 15.9% for the other school. This 18 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
On cost, University of Iowa has lower tuition at $30,944 per year compared to $36,500. Combined with employment rates of 96.6% (UIUC) and 93.8% (UofI), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.