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Penn State Law School
State College, Pennsylvania
Rank #60 (USNWR 2020)
160
LSAT
3.72
GPA
37.59%
Admit Rate
25th, 50th, 75th lines show admitted class %iles
JD Admissions & Requirements
Data from 2020 admissions cycle
160
LSAT
3.72
GPA
37.59%
Admit Rate
Penn State Law School is a prestigious JD program located in State College, Pennsylvania. In the competitive 2020 law school rankings, Penn State Law School was ranked 60 by US News & World Report, making it a strong option for prospective law students in the current application cycle. For the 2020 admissions cycle, Penn State Law School has an entering 1L class size of approximately 122 with an acceptance rate of 37.59%, positioning it among the competitive law schools for JD applicants.
Also known as
PENNSYLVANIA STATE - PENN STATE LAW
PSU
Law School Applications
1825
JD application volume in 2020 cycle
JD Acceptance Rate
37.59%
JD Program Size
122
JD Tuition Cost
$49k
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is practice.
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Wisdom from Penn State Law School Admits
3.7 / 167 • University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign • 5 months ago
LSAT: took multiple times, 167 highest. GPA: 3.7ish in a STEM field, then flunked out of...
Read more
3.97 / 162 • Indiana University - Bloomington • 5 months ago
Took the LSAT twice, April 2023 and June 2023. Highest score was April. Applied to every school...
Read more
3.45 / 170 • University of Wisconsin • 5 months ago
Start EARLY. Start your personal essays much earlier than you think, they take a lot of time....
Read more
4.03 / 159 • William & Mary Law School • 4 months ago
LSAC tier 1 fee waiver automatically waived the application fee from every school besides...
Read more
3.41 / 163 • Pennsylvania State - Dickinson Law • 5 months ago
Always order the Alley Trio with little sugar and no ice
Read more
Penn State Law School Law School Admissions Data & Statistics
2020-2021 Cycle Overview
279 applicants
Accepted
5
/
73
Waitlisted
31
Rejected
16
-
Withdrawn
118
-
Admissions Graphs
Drag the handle in the bottom right of the chart to resize
25th, 50th, 75th lines show admitted class %iles
25th, 50th, 75th lines show admitted class %iles
Filters
LSAT Score: Law School Admission Test score (120-180 scale)
GPA: Undergraduate Grade Point Average (0.0-4.3+ scale)
Drag the handle in the bottom right of the chart to resize
This chart shows when decisions were made throughout the application cycle. Use the filters above to refine the data.
How to Use These Graphs
Graph Navigation:
- Zoom: Click and drag to zoom into a specific area
- Reset zoom: Double-click anywhere on the graph
- View details: Hover over any point to see detailed information
- Visit profile: Click on any point to open that user's profile page
- Toggle series: Click on any legend item to show/hide that category (accepted, waitlisted, rejected, unknown)
Advanced Features:
- Colorblind mode: Toggle on in the controls above for an alternative color palette
- Export/Print: Click the menu in the top-right corner of any graph to download or print
- Cycle selection: Use the dropdown in the controls above to view data from different application cycles
- Demographic filters: Filter by International, URM, Military, or Early Decision status to compare specific groups
- Custom axes: On the LSAT vs. GPA graph, select different metrics to compare (dates, scholarships, etc.)
- Compare your stats: Your own stats will appear as a blue diamond when viewing these graphs
Selectivity & Competitiveness Trends
How to interpret this chart:
- LSAT (blue): Shows the 25th/50th/75th percentiles as a shaded band with median line. Hover to see exact values in format: 165/170/175
- GPA (green): Shows the 25th/50th/75th percentiles as a shaded band with median line. Hover to see exact values in format: 3.45/3.65/3.85
- Acceptance Rate (orange): Percentage of applicants who received offers (lower = more selective)
- Applications (purple dashed): Total number of applications received each year
Rising LSAT/GPA medians, narrowing bands, or falling acceptance rates indicate increasing competitiveness. Click legend items to show/hide metrics.
For law school applicants interested in the 2020 admissions cycle at Penn State Law School, 1825 candidates submitted JD applications and 686 received acceptance letters. The law school application process here is selective for prospective students with an acceptance rate of 37.59%.
The JD program at Penn State Law School enrolls a first-year class of 122 law students each year, with an admissions yield rate of 17.49%. This means that of the 686 applicants who received law school acceptance letters, 120 chose to enroll. Understanding these law school admission statistics can help prospective JD applicants evaluate their chances and plan their application strategy.
For a competitive law school application to Penn State Law School, students should aim to meet or exceed the median statistics shown below. Meeting these GPA and LSAT targets significantly improves your chances of admission.
JD Admission Requirements & Application Statistics
| Admissions Metrics (ABA 509) | |
|---|---|
| Metric | Value |
| Applications |
1825
|
| Admission Offers | 686 |
| Class Size |
122
|
| Acceptance Rate |
37.59%
|
| Yield Rate |
17.49%
|
| Average Statistics by Decision (LSD) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Rejected | All | Accepted |
| LSAT | 160.13 | 161.97 | 164.39 |
| GPA | 2.9 | 3.47 | 3.52 |
| Softs | T3.06 | T3.31 | T3.31 |
| Avg Scholarship | - | - | $139,557 |
* Softs are self-reported ratings (T1-T4) representing non-numeric application factors
| LSAT & GPA Statistics (ABA 509) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th | 50th | 75th | |
|
LSAT
|
155 | 160 | 162 |
|
GPA
|
3.36 | 3.72 | 3.83 |
| LSD User Stats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | 25th | 50th | 75th |
| LSAT | 159.0 (+4.0) | 162.0 (+2.0) | 165.0 (+3.0) |
| GPA | 3.22 (-0.14) | 3.55 (-0.17) | 3.78 (-0.05) |
* Based on 279 self-reported applications
* Green/Red values show difference from ABA 509 data
* Green/Red values show difference from ABA 509 data
| Application Process Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Avg Days: Sent to Decision | 52 days |
| Avg Days: UR to Decision | 52 days |
| Interview Invite Rate | 0.7% |
| Interview → Acceptance Rate | 50.0% |
The above statistics show that Penn State Law School typically admits students with LSAT scores ranging from 155 (25th percentile) to 162 (75th percentile), with a median of 160.
For GPA, admitted students typically have undergraduate GPAs ranging from 3.36 to 3.83, with a median of 3.72.
With an acceptance rate of 37.59%, Penn State Law School is considered a selective law school in terms of admissions.
What these numbers mean
- Percentiles: The 25th/50th/75th percentiles show the distribution of scores among admitted students.
- Applications: Total number of people who applied to this law school.
- Acceptance Rate: Percentage of applicants who received offers (lower = more selective).
- Yield Rate: Percentage of admitted students who enrolled (higher = more desirable).
Application Status Data
Penn State Law School Application Status Data
Application statuses submitted by LSData users
Showing 279 apps
Penn State Law School Law School Employment Outcomes
Overview
JD Employment Rate
78.7%
First-Time Bar Pass
85.08%
Median Starting Salary
$75,000
Private Sector
Employment Quality
JD Required
68.9%
BigLaw Placement
7.4%
Federal Clerkships
0.8%
Employment Quality Distribution
Law Firm Employment by Size
Employment Quality Matrix
| Employment Type | Full-Time Long-Term |
Full-Time Short-Term |
Part-Time Long-Term |
Part-Time Short-Term |
Total | % of Grads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Required ★ | 84 | 0 | — | — | 84 | 68.9% |
| JD Advantage | 10 | 2 | — | — | 12 | 9.8% |
| Professional | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1.6% |
| Other | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0.0% |
| School-Funded | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total Employed | 94 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 80.3% |
School-Funded: May inflate stats
Generally, if you attend law school, you want to secure a bar-required position. However, at prestigious institutions, students may target specific JD advantage positions such as private equity or elite consulting roles.
Employment by Sector
Distribution
Sector Details
| Employment Sector | % of Graduates | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Law Firms | 36.1% |
|
| Judicial Clerkships | 18.0% |
|
| Government | 13.1% |
|
| Public Interest | 4.9% |
|
| Business | 4.9% |
|
| Academia | 3.3% |
|
Unemployment Rate: 12.3%
(graduates actively seeking employment)
Judicial Clerkships
Clerkships by Type
| Clerkship Type | Graduates | % of Class | National Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal | 1 | 0.8% |
|
| State/Local | 21 | 17.2% | — |
Federal clerkships are highly prestigious positions that significantly enhance career prospects in litigation and academia.
Bar Examination Performance
First-Time Pass Rate
85.08%
Takers:
134
Passed:
114
vs State Avg
+7.5%
Ultimate Pass Rate
94.5%
Takers:
109
Passed:
103
Within 2 years
Jurisdiction Weighted
77.54%
State average for jurisdictions where graduates took the bar
Understanding bar passage metrics
• First-time: Immediate readiness indicator
• Ultimate: Long-term success within 2 years
• vs State: Performance relative to state average
Bar Passage Rates Comparison
Salary Outcomes
Private Sector
Median Salary
$75,000
25th Percentile
$60,000
Public Sector
Median Salary
$50,030
Career Outcomes Summary
Law school tuition at Penn State Law School is $49k annually (calculated from semester costs). Prospective law students should budget approximately $47k for the total annual cost of attending (including tuition, fees, books, and living expenses).
After completing their JD program at Penn State Law School, graduates entering private law firms earn a median starting salary of $75,000. JD graduates pursuing public sector legal careers start at approximately $50,030. These post-law school employment outcomes are important factors for evaluating the return on investment for your legal education.
For law school applicants interested in specific legal career paths, it's worth noting that 36.1% of Penn State Law School JD graduates secure positions at law firms after graduation. Additionally, 18.0% of graduates obtain prestigious judicial clerkships, and 4.9% pursue public interest law careers. Overall, 78.7% of JD graduates were employed at jobs that required a JD within 10 months of graduation.
For JD graduates from Penn State Law School, the first-time bar exam pass rate is 85.08%. Within two years, 94.5% of graduates ultimately pass the bar exam. The school's first-time pass rate is +7.5% compared to the weighted state average. These bar passage metrics are important indicators of how well the law school prepares its students for this crucial professional licensing examination.