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If you’re considering going to law school in the sunshine state, you won’t want to miss this guide!
Beaches, Disney World, and palm trees all come to mind when thinking about Florida. It’s a beautiful state that offers plenty of sunshine and opportunity! In fact, it has the fourth-largest economy and is one of the fastest-growing legal markets in the country.
Before joining Florida’s growing legal field, it’s essential you attend an excellent law school that can prepare you for a future of success! To learn more about the top law schools in Florida, read on!
Before we discuss our top picks, you might be wondering “how many law schools are in Florida?”
There are technically 13 law schools in Florida, but one of them, the Florida Coastal School of Law, is currently not accepting any new students. Of these 12 active law schools, here are your best options:
The University of Florida is the best law school in Florida. It ranks 21st in the nation and offers a renowned tax law program. Since its opening in 1853, this school has been dedicated to making the world a better place by nurturing excellence and breadth across all of their programs.
To get into this esteemed school, students should aim for a GPA of 3.86 and an LSAT score of 167. As a moderately competitive school, the University of Florida typically only accepts around 17% of its applicants.
However, these successful students are provided with extensive preparation for the legal field! So much so that their bar passage rate is 84.1%.
Florida State University (FSU) is another one of the best law schools in Florida. This school is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Tallahassee, the capital of the state. In such close proximity to the Florida Supreme Court, students have unique opportunities to gain invaluable legal experience at FSU.
With a 22.5% acceptance rate, FSU aims to admit only the brightest students into their prestigious programs. Successful applicants typically have LSAT scores of 163 and GPAs of 3.82. This school ranks 47th in the nation and has an average bar passage rate of over 84%!
Coming in third on this list and 73rd overall is the University of Miami. This school has a promising acceptance rate of just over 30% and moderate admission requirements, with a median LSAT score of 160 and a median GPA of 3.63.
Around 71% of its students pass the bar exam on their first try as a result of its robust legal program that offers students unrivalled opportunities to become future leaders! It offers 18 areas of study, 18 clinics and practicums, and over 25 study-abroad options to its students.
Not to mention, it also has one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation!
Just look at those palm trees!
Florida International University promises its students a contemporary, high-quality education that will prepare them for the rapidly evolving legal world. While this school is located in the vibrant, big city of Miami, it still offers students a personalized educational experience to give them the best of both worlds!
Florida International has an acceptance rate of 20.6%, a median LSAT score of 160, and a median GPA of 3.69. It ranks as the 98th best law school in the country but is known to prepare its students well for their careers, which its 90% bar passage rate can attest to!
Stetson University ranks 111th in the nation but fifth in Florida. Students hoping to get into this school will need GPAs around 3.4-3.5 and LSAT scores around 157-158 to be considered competitive. Around 41.8% of applicants meet these expectations, and have access to some of the top trial advocacy and legal writing programs.
Stetson was also Florida’s first-ever law school, meaning it has a long history of producing leaders in the field! Along the way, this school has been able to expand its network and now offers its law students over 300 clinical opportunities annually, so they can begin building their resumes as early as their 1L year!
With a proven track record of success, it comes as no surprise that over 73% of Stetson Law graduates pass the bar exam on their first try.
Barry University formed its college on the premise that it would open the door to make students’ passion their profession. With its challenging but supportive environment, extensive list of dynamic practical experiences, and state-of-the-art legal facilities, Barry holds true to its promises!
If you’re interested in joining Barry, you should set your target LSAT score as 149 and target GPA as 3.15. Fortunately, over half of all Barry applicants can meet these standards and join this established law school.
This school, and the remaining schools on this list, rank as the 147th to 192nd best schools in the nation. Barry has a bar exam passage rate of about 57%.
Florida A&M has a median LSAT score of 149 and a median GPA of 3.42. Around 37% of applicants are accepted to this school each year, of which around 61% pass the bar exam on their first try.
Despite being a lower ranking school, Florida A&M has an unwavering commitment to social justice that it instills in all of its students—many of whom go on to make great contributions to the legal system!
Nova Southeastern boasts of its robust legal curriculums that equip students with the skills needed for professional success today, tomorrow, and for decades to come. To gain access to these programs, you’ll need an LSAT score of 153 and a GPA of 3.26. Nova Southeastern accepts almost half of its applicants.
This university has an average first-time bar exam passage rate of about 65%.
As the final top law school in Florida, St. Thomas University trains lawyers using contemporary and innovative approaches that enable them to apply legal principles to address and solve problems as they arise in our increasingly complex society.
This training ensures around 64% of all St. Thomas alumni pass the bar exam on their first try and can begin making an impact on the legal field as soon as possible! With an acceptance rate of 48%, St. Thomas is considered to be relatively easy to get into.
Previous successful candidates had median LSAT scores of 152-153 and GPAs around 3.2-3.3.
The purpose of this guide is to limit your search for the best law schools in Florida. To aid in creating your law school list, we’ve included the top-ranking law schools in this state along with all of the admission details you need to submit stellar applications to each.
For any remaining questions about law schools in Florida, read on to find your answers.
There are 13 law schools in Florida but only 12 of these are accepting new law students.
There is a drastic range in the median LSAT scores of the listed Florida law schools. For instance, while Florida A&M University has an average LSAT score of 149, the University of Florida has an average score of 167!
These numbers represent both ends of the range you can expect to set your target score within to get into a law school in Florida.
The University of Florida ranks as the best law school in the state.
Barry University and Florida A&M University have the lowest LSAT medians of 149. Considering the LSAT is one of the hardest parts of the law school application, these below average scores make these schools the easiest to get into. For reference, the average LSAT of all test-takers is around 151-152.
In general, the lower ranking your school is, the lower your GPA will need to be. With that being said, your GPA should fall between the range of 3.15-3.86.
It could be challenging to choose the right law school to attend, so we designed a quiz that generates a personalized list of law schools for you to consider based on your preferences.
Florida can offer you an ideal environment to learn and practice law. Not only will you have the option of de-stressing at their many iconic beaches, but you’ll also gain direct access to Florida’s top law firms and organizations!
Consider adding any one of the nine law schools mentioned in this guide to your list of contenders to add a little sunshine to your legal journey!
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