Law school

University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law

Honolulu, HI

#91 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, the school's own essay prompts and the ABA employment outcomes it reports.

Admissions profile

Median LSAT
158
Median GPA
3.62
Admit rate
26.2%
Entering class
140
Applications
1,654
Admitted
434

Source: Richardson Law — Standard 509 Information Report (2025) · Fall 2025 entering class

How competitive is Hawaii?

Reported for the Fall 2025 entering class.

For the Fall 2025 entering class, Hawaii reported a median LSAT of 158 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.62.

Its published LSAT band runs 155 / 158 / 162: the 25th percentile sits three points below the median and the 75th sits four points above it.

Hawaii admitted 434 applicants from 1,654 applications, an admit rate of 26.2%.

140 students enrolled.

What LSAT and GPA do you need for Hawaii?

The ABA reports where the entering class landed — three percentiles, not a cut-off. No score is required, and none guarantees anything.

LSAT

Published LSAT: 25th 155 · median 158 · 75th 162.

GPA

Published GPA: 25th 3.40 · median 3.62 · 75th 3.80.

Percentiles: American Bar Association Standard 509 Information Report · Fall 2025 entering class

Add your own numbers — nothing is saved, and no account is needed.

See the full analysis

Two numbers only. The full analysis also weighs your softs, your residency, your application round and when you submit.

Essay prompts

2026–27 cycle, quoted from the school. Never summarised, never behind a control.

Personal Statement

Required · 500 words

Personal Statement : Compose a 500-word personal statement on a subject of your choice. Many applicants write about their goals, achievements, influences, and their interest in our Law School.

Source: University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law — JD application requirements

Why Richardson?

Required

Why Richardson? Please tell us why you would like to study at our Law School in approximately 250 words.

Source: University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law — JD application requirements

Résumé

Required

Résumé : Write a résumé detailing your education, extracurricular activity, professional experience, and community service.

Source: University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law — JD application requirements

Class of 2025 employment outcomes

Reported by the school to the American Bar Association, about ten months after graduation.

  • Employed in a professional position92.9%91 of 98 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.

    ABA Employment Summary

  • Bar admission required76.5%75 of 98 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.

    ABA Employment Summary

  • Firms of 501+ attorneys0.0%0 of 98 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.

    ABA Employment Summary

  • Federal clerkship3.1%3 of 98 graduates

    Federal clerkships / total graduates. Excludes state, local, territorial, tribal and international clerkships.

    ABA Employment Summary

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.

Not published for this school

Application deadlines

We haven't re-verified this school's current-cycle deadlines yet, so none are published here. Check the school's own admissions page for dates.

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

  1. Richardson Law — Standard 509 Information Report (2025) — American Bar Association
  2. University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law — JD application requirements — University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law
  3. Best Law Schools (2026-27) — U.S. News & World Report

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