Law school
American University Washington College of Law
Washington, DC
#108 in U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools (2026-27)
Published admissions data for the Fall 2025 entering class, an estimate of where your own numbers land, this cycle's deadlines, the school's own essay prompts and the ABA employment outcomes it reports.
Admissions profile
- Median LSAT
- 162
- Median GPA
- 3.63
- Admit rate
- 33.3%
- Entering class
- 400
- Applications
- 5,952
- Admitted
- 1,981
Source: American WCL — Standard 509 Information Report (2025) · Fall 2025 entering class
How competitive is American University?
Reported for the Fall 2025 entering class.
For the Fall 2025 entering class, American University reported a median LSAT of 162 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.63.
Its published LSAT band runs 157 / 162 / 163: the 25th percentile sits five points below the median and the 75th sits one point above it.
American University admitted 1,981 applicants from 5,952 applications, an admit rate of 33.3%.
400 students enrolled.
What LSAT and GPA do you need for American University?
The ABA reports where the entering class landed — three percentiles, not a cut-off. No score is required, and none guarantees anything.
Published LSAT: 25th 157 · median 162 · 75th 163.
Published GPA: 25th 3.32 · median 3.63 · 75th 3.75.
Percentiles: American Bar Association Standard 509 Information Report · Fall 2025 entering class
Add your own numbers — nothing is saved, and no account is needed.
Two numbers only. The full analysis also weighs your softs, your residency, your application round and when you submit.
2026–27 application timeline
Dates the school publishes for this cycle, in the order they fall.
- Application opensSeptember 1
Source: American University Washington College of Law — First-Year J.D., Apply · verified August 29, 2026
Essay prompts
2026–27 cycle, quoted from the school. Never summarised, never behind a control.
Personal Statement
Required · about 3 pages
Our personal statement prompt is open-ended in order to give you the chance to discuss what you feel is important for the Committee on Admissions to know about you. Your personal statement should focus on who you are and why you want to attend law school, either in general or at AUWCL specifically.
Source: American University Washington College of Law — JD application instructions
Community Impact Statement (Optional)
about 1 page
When submitting the electronic application, there is an optional Community Impact Statement where you can attach a separate statement explaining how your personal circumstances are of special relevance to your application. Suggested length is one page and should cover topics not already addressed in your personal statement.
Source: American University Washington College of Law — JD application instructions
Addendum (Optional)
1 page
If there is information the Committee on Admissions should know about you or your educational background that would be better addressed separately from the personal statement or optional diversity statement, you may attach an addendum to your application. Please make this addendum concise and one page or less.
Source: American University Washington College of Law — JD application instructions
Resume
Required · about 2 pages
Your resume should give further context to your application and give an overview of your experiences and accomplishments. You can include academic achievements, scholarships, study abroad, volunteer experiences, and/or relevant hobbies in addition to professional experience.
Source: American University Washington College of Law — JD application instructions
Class of 2025 employment outcomes
Reported by the school to the American Bar Association, about ten months after graduation.
- Employed in a professional position85.7%342 of 399 graduates
Bar-admission-required + J.D.-advantage + professional-position + law-school-funded jobs / total graduates, about ten months after graduation. Excludes the ABA's non-professional 'Other Position', 'Undeterminable', and 'Start Date After' rows, so it reads lower than a school's headline employment figure.
- Bar admission required70.7%282 of 399 graduates
Jobs requiring bar admission / total graduates. The ABA's Bar Admission Required/Anticipated row only — J.D. Advantage is a different measure and is NOT added to it.
- Firms of 501+ attorneys12.3%49 of 399 graduates
Jobs at law firms of 501+ attorneys / total graduates. Exactly the ABA's 501+ band — not 251+, not 100+, not a private-practice share.
- Federal clerkship1.0%4 of 399 graduates
Federal clerkships / total graduates. Excludes state, local, territorial, tribal and international clerkships.
Share of the whole graduating class, counting every position the ABA reports (full- or part-time, long- or short-term), measured about ten months after graduation.
Sources and methodology
Last verified September 1, 2026.
Where each figure comes from
- Admissions figures
- Percentiles, admit rate and class size as reported to the American Bar Association under Standard 509, or published by the school in its own class profile. The source for each figure is linked beside it.
- Deadlines and essay prompts
- Taken from the school's own current-cycle application instructions and quoted exactly. A date or a prompt we have not re-verified for this cycle is withheld rather than carried over from last year.
- Employment outcomes
- Counts from the school's ABA Employment Summary for the class year shown, over one denominator: every graduate. The share is those two counts divided, and both are printed so it can be checked.
- Chance estimate
- Litigator One's own model, not school-published data and not a prediction of a decision. It reads your two numbers against this school's published percentiles and its overall admit rate.
Cited on this page
- American WCL — Standard 509 Information Report (2025) — American Bar Association
- American University Washington College of Law — First-Year J.D., Apply — American University Washington College of Law
- American University Washington College of Law — JD application instructions — American University Washington College of Law
- Best Law Schools (2026-27) — U.S. News & World Report
Other schools on Litigator
Schools in DC, and others at a nearby published rank.