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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 04/02/23
If you’d like to join a law school known for excellence, read on to learn more about how to get into UVA Law.
Thomas Jefferson was a well-known and successful lawyer, diplomat, philosopher, Founding Father, and the third president of the United States. While Jefferson passed away centuries ago, he continues to contribute to society through the law school he founded in 1819.
The University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating school in the nation. Since its early opening, it has consistently produced distinguished lawyers dedicated to leadership, integrity, and service.
As such a distinguished law school, it is the top choice for many aspiring lawyers. If you’re considering it as one of your choices, this guide will go over everything you need to know about UVA and how to join it!
UVA Law gives students various opportunities to best prepare them for successful legal careers. These opportunities include over 250 courses and seminars, clinics, trial advocacy, public speaking, and externships!
The following sections will discuss the requirements for students hoping to join UVA and benefit from the opportunities it has to offer.
To apply to any law school, you’ll need to complete a bachelor’s degree at an accredited university. You don’t need a specific major to pursue UVA Law. However, Choosing a major that interests you gives you a better chance of maintaining a high GPA.
As you complete your undergrad, ensure you take a diverse range of courses that will help you strengthen the skills you’ll need to succeed in law school. Such skills include critical thinking and reading, analytical, writing, reading comprehension, time management, reasoning, and research skills.
Like many other law schools, UVA is now accepting GRE scores in lieu of LSAT scores. They also accept GMAT scores to ensure students have a fair chance to showcase their aptitudes and skills.
It’s important to note that students must only submit one of these scores in their application. Any applicant who has written the LSAT will have their LSAT score on record regardless of whether they wrote the GRE or GMAT.
UVA recommends students take their standardized test of choice by the autumn of the year they intend to apply to UVA. Writing a test after this date will put applicants at a disadvantage as many places in the class will already be full by the time these scores are received.
Another essential part of UVA’s application is securing strong letters of recommendation. Students must submit at least two but not more than four letters.
At least one of these letters should be from academic faculty as the main objective of these letters is to attest to your academic potential and address the following skills required to be a successful law student:
If you have been out of school for several years, letters from employers will suffice.
One of the most important aspects of your law school application is your personal statement. This statement goes beyond the numbers and lets the admission committee know who you are and what you value.
UVA suggests students focus on intellectual interests, accomplishments or obstacles, goals, achievements, or unique perspectives they can bring to UVA and their legal education.
As you write your statement, ensure your personality shines through! The committee will read thousands of these, so you want to make sure you stand out!
To help guide your statement, consider answering the following questions:
Students must also submit a resume detailing all relevant postsecondary work and volunteer experience. This experience does not have to be law-related. Your resume should include any experience demonstrating commitment, leadership, hard work, growth, discipline, and service, as it can boost your candidacy!
Your resume should be one to two pages long.
While this final admission document is optional, submitting one can make you a stronger candidate. UVA accepts diversity statement addendums, statements of interest, or statements explaining parts of your application that may negatively impact your candidacy, such as a low GPA or LSAT score.
If you’re certain UVA Law is the perfect school for you, you may want to consider early application.
These applicants get an expedited decision and will receive an answer within 21 business days of submitting all the necessary documents! For any eager beavers who can’t wait a few months to hear back, this might be the best option for you!
A significant benefit to choosing this option is early applicants have fewer candidates to compete against, and the admission committee is generally more lenient with their applications.
So, if you’re 100% certain about pursuing law at UVA and want the security of an early response, applying early might increase your chances of getting into UVA.
UVA is a prestigious school amongst the highly coveted T14 law schools. Accordingly, gaining admission into this school is not easy!
UVA has a low acceptance rate of only 9.7%.
Up until this point in this guide, we have focused on how to get into UVA Law by discussing its general application requirements. Now, we’ll focus on the specific numbers so you know exactly what to aim for to maximize your chances of admission.
First, let’s begin by detailing just how distinguished UVA is. Aside from ranking as the eighth-best law school in the nation, it also ranks fifth in tax and constitutional law, sixth in international law, seventh in commercial and criminal law, and 10th in corporate law!
Considering its recognition, the exceptionally high LSAT and GPA requirements shouldn’t come as a surprise. We will cover them below.
To be considered a competitive applicant, students that choose to write the LSAT should aim to score between 166-173. The UVA Law LSAT median is 171. To achieve these high scores, students must create comprehensive study plans and rectify any weaknesses before test day!
However, achieving such a high LSAT score may be challenging without guidance! If you’re finding it challenging to surpass a certain score, consider enlisting the help of experts who know how to strengthen your skills to get you to your target score!
Juris has a team of LSAT tutors who have helped students increase their scores by 12 points on average!
If you’re looking to apply with the GRE or GMAT, note that since these scores have only recently been accepted by law schools, there isn’t a significant amount of data to produce an accurate median. However, you can convert your GRE score using a conversion tool to see its equivalent LSAT score.
Most accepted students have a 3.94 GPA, but students with GPAs as low as 3.64 have been accepted to UVA.
If you’re applying with a low LSAT score or GPA, you can consider writing an addendum if you have a stellar application otherwise! Or, you might want to take a gap year to study longer for the LSAT and retake it.
According to UVA, the 2025 class has the strongest academic numbers and is the most racially diverse in the school’s history! Here are the stats to prove it:
The 2025 class came from over 130 different colleges of varying ranks, proving your undergrad college doesn’t matter as much as your grades do!
Aside from high admission requirements and rankings, UVA also has high tuition costs. Tuition costs $66,500 for in-state students and $69,500 for out-of-state students.
Luckily, prospective UVA students can receive significant financial aid to help pay off these high costs. For instance, UVA participates in the Karsh-Dillard Scholarships that award students enough money to cover the full cost of tuition for three years of legal study.
UVA Law also offers all incoming students merit-based and needs-based scholarships that range from $5,000 to total tuition costs.
If these UVA-specific scholarships aren't enough, students can apply to various external scholarships to alleviate law school's financial burden!
To apply to UVA on time, you should keep the following important dates in mind:
To avoid being waitlisted or getting a late admission answer, keep note of these deadlines and ensure you meet them!
While we’ve gone over everything you need to know about how to get into UVA Law, you might have remaining questions. In case you do, here are the answers to frequently asked questions about UVA.
You should aim to score 171 on your LSAT. However, 25% of the students accepted to UVA have LSAT scores of 166, meaning you still have a decent chance of admission with this score!
As a highly prestigious school, getting into UVA Law is challenging! Only 9.7% of all applicants have what it takes to get in, and this small percentage are academically and personally accomplished!
To join this percentage, students must focus on comprehensively showcasing their abilities and skills. While your LSAT score and GPA must be high to be a competitive candidate, you must also prove your potential through useful extracurriculars, a stellar personal statement, and strong letters of recommendation.
Yes, UVA Law is an excellent law school that many students dream of attending! Aside from its high rankings, it offers ample resources and opportunities to ensure its graduates succeed! For instance, it offers students the opportunity to participate in 24 clinics of varying specialties.
Its reputation as a T14 school, coupled with these opportunities, makes its graduates highly sought after by employers. 94% of all UVA alums are able to find employment within just ten months of graduation!
A GPA between 3.64 to 3.97 is considered competitive at UVA Law.
UVA is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, just two hours from Washington, D.C. As such, UVA students are in close proximity to various law firms, legal and governmental institutions, and nonprofits that can help propel their careers!
While UVA is known for various areas of law, it ranks the highest in constitutional and tax law.
Aside from its renowned curriculums, UVA is also known for its beautiful campus! According to Thomas Jefferson, locating an intellectual community within a beautiful environment fosters learning and personal growth. Accordingly, UVA takes care to keep its campus well-maintained and green!
Now that you know more about how to get into UVA Law, you can decide if it's the right school to begin your legal journey! If you maintain a high GPA, ace your tests, and perfect your application, UVA will surely equip you with the right education and opportunities to have a successful legal career!
