Head-to-head · 21 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 71% chose St. John's. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 21 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 NYLS
Median scholarship (chose NYLS)
Median scholarship (chose St. John's)
View all-time (51 cross-admits)
Trend · NYLS's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2025 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price and scholarship aid 2025 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2025 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Overview
About NYLS vs St. John's
Across 21 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 29% enrolled at New York Law School and 71% at St. John's University. The split has shifted +67 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 New York Law School and St. John's University across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 21 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 21 applicants admitted to both schools, 71% chose to attend St. John's University. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, St. John's University is ranked #62 compared to #112 — a gap of 50 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
There is a meaningful difference in admissions competitiveness: St. John's University has a median LSAT of 164 compared to 157, a gap of 7 points. This suggests applicants to St. John's University face a more competitive admissions pool.
St. John's University is significantly more selective, with an acceptance rate of 23.1% compared to New York Law School's 39.7%.
Both schools are located in New York — New York Law School in New York City and St. John's University in Queens — meaning graduates often compete in the same regional legal market.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: St. John's University places 22.9% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 10.9% for the other school. This 12 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
Among cross-admitted applicants, New York Law School offered a median scholarship of $146,828 compared to $116,700, a difference of $30,128 that may factor into enrollment decisions.
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