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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 10/26/23
If you’re interested in joining a law school that continues to redefine legal education, read on to learn more about how to get into UC Law San Francisco.
UC Law San Francisco, formerly UC Hastings, was established in 1878 and has since provided its students with rigorous academics, hands-on practice, and unparalleled opportunities to prepare them for revolutionary legal careers.
As a one of a kind law school, UC Law San Francisco is located at the epicenter of law firms: local, state, and federal courts, non-profits, and tech companies. UC Law San Francisco also boasts having one of the most extensive and innovative experiential learning and judicial externship programs in the country.
With so many reasons to join this law school, this guide will go over what it takes to become part of the UCSF law community, how much it costs, and more!
UC Law San Francisco has an acceptance rate of 37.5%; 3,696 applicants applied to the program, 1,386 were accepted, and 385 enrolled. UCSF Law is moderately competitive to get into and requires a relatively strong application to gain admissions to.
To help you get a better idea of the UC Law acceptance rate, here is a table that shows data from past admissions cycles.
As you can see, the acceptance rate for this school fluctuates between 28% and 38%.
UC Law San Francisco is moderately difficult to get into. To give you an idea of how difficult it is to get into this school, approximately four out of ten students gain admissions. Ensure you have a strong application to gain admissions to this moderately difficult school.
UC Law San Francisco offers its students plenty of diverse programs. Here is a table that covers what those programs are and how long they are.
Source: UC Law San Francisco
Because of the variety of courses UC Law San Francisco offers, it’s a great school to consider attending. To maximize your acceptance odds, take advantage of our admissions expertise by booking a free consultation with Juris Education.
UC Law San Francisco ranks as the 82nd best law school in the nation and is best known for healthcare law, which it ranks 12th in. It also ranks 14th in dispute resolution.
Below are UC Law SF’s admission statistics to give you a better idea for what to aim for during your application process.
The recent median GPA for UC Law San Francisco is 3.63. This means you should aim for a 3.63 GPA or higher to be considered competitive for the applicant pool.
The recent median LSAT score for UC Law SF is 160. The 25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores of the incoming class are 157 and 162. Ensure that you aim for an LSAT score higher than the median to be considered a strong applicant.
At UC Law San Francisco, you’ll be part of a tight-knit community of students with similar goals and passions. To learn more about the types of students you’ll be spending three years with, here is the class of 2027 profile:
Source: UC Law San Francisco
To further prove the point that your undergrad major doesn’t matter, the class of 2027 had 86 different undergrad majors! While political science was the most common, there were also students with STEM majors, advanced degrees, and more!
In order to reap the benefits of UC Law San Francisco, prospective students must have or submit the following law school requirements:
UC Law SF also requires students to submit two letters of recommendation with their application. Ideally, both of these letters will come from professors that taught you and can attest to your academic achievements and potential.
However, if you’ve been out of law school for several years, you can ask professional mentors or supervisors to write them for you.
UC Law San Francisco also requires a personal statement for admission consideration. This personal statement should tell the committee more about who you are, what you value, and what you can bring to the UC San Francisco legal community.
There is no page limit on this statement, which gives you more freedom to express yourself!
UC Law San Francisco opens its application on September 1. The deadline is April 15.
To get a better idea of how long the application process is, here are some important UC Law San Francisco deadlines to keep in mind:
Source: UC Law SF
Since the admissions committee begins to review applications in October, it is recommended that you submit yours around then to maximize your chances of acceptance. Applicants that wait until April to submit their applications will be competing for even fewer spots!
The first-time bar passage rate for UC Law San Francisco is 72.14%. UC Law SF has a lower bar passage rate compared to the first-time national average of 79.18%.
UC Law SF tuition and fees cost $57,215 for in-state residents and $64,703 for out-of-state residents. While these costs may be high, UC Law San Francisco offers scholarships and awards to ease some of the financial burden their law students face.
Source: UC Law San Francisco
Although these tuition costs are high, they are relatively low compared to other law schools in California.
UC Law San Francisco offers federal loans, external scholarships, and fellowships to help students pay for law school. Around 80% of each entering class receives merit-based scholarships or need-based grants from UC Law SF. Students can access the external scholarship database which offers over 800 scholarships.
After going over the admission requirements and acceptance rate, you might want some pointers on how to impress the admissions committee and stand out as an applicant. Here are the top three tips on how to get into UC Law San Francisco.
While UC Law San Francisco offers you the option to write the GRE instead of the LSAT, and it might be tempting to skip over those pesky analytical reasoning sections or tedious reading comprehension passages, doing so may hurt your chances of admission.
UC Law SF states they prefer the LSAT over the GRE because the LSAT is generally more trusted as it’s been used to assess law students’ potential for much longer than the GRE. Notably, only eight students that submitted GRE scores were accepted into the most recent graduating class.
When deciding which professors or mentors to ask to write your recommendation letters, you want to choose those that will depict you as a stellar student or employee. You do not want to come across as average or slightly above.
You also want this letter of recommendation to be very personal and specific to you. Generic letters of recommendation will not impress the committee and will actually make them believe you were unable to make lasting impressions on your professors/mentors since they did not make specific remarks about your skills and abilities.
While there is no page limit on your personal statement, you should not exceed two to three pages. If you feel you have important information to convey that will exceed this limit, do so cautiously. Writing over this limit puts you at risk of being redundant, including unnecessary information, going off-topic, or oversharing.
Your personal statement has to intrigue the admissions committee throughout their reading, so you want to ensure each paragraph is interesting. You will also be assessed on your clarity and ability to be concise, so ensure you prioritize quality over quantity.
What UC Law San Francisco is looking for is well-rounded and academically strong applicants. To help you shine academically, ensure that you enroll in an undergraduate program that is both challenging and fulfilling.
Although UC Law SF doesn’t have any preference in terms of undergraduate programs, recent law students have studied political science, philosophy, history, STEM fields, and English.
We’ve covered the basics on how to get into UC Law San Francisco. For any remaining questions, here are the answers to frequently asked questions about UC Law San Francisco.
Yes, despite its lower rankings, UC Law San Francisco is an excellent law school. It is located in a hotspot for legal employment, has world-class faculty, and offers unparalleled experiential learning and externship opportunities.
UC Law San Francisco is best known for its healthcare law specialty.
You should aim to have an LSAT score of 160 to be considered competitive at UC Law San Francisco.
A GPA of 3.63 will put you at the median GPA of accepted UC Law San Francisco students.
UC Law San Francisco is located in San Francisco, California.
If you’re intrigued by this law school's long-standing history of producing leading lawyers, or its prime location for employment, UC Law San Francisco might be the perfect school for you! Attending UC Law SF will equip you with the skills necessary to begin your legal journey and become an excellent attorney!
Reviewed by:
Former Head of Northeastern University's Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University
