Law school

Yale Law School

New Haven, CT

#2 in U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools (2026-27)

Admissions profile

Fall 2025 entering class

LSAT (25th / median / 75th)
171 / 174 / 177
GPA (25th / median / 75th)
3.90 / 3.96 / 4.00
Admit rate
4.1%
Entering class
175
Applications
5,562
Admitted
226

Source: Yale Law School — Standard 509 Information Report (2025 cycle)

Where your numbers sit

Against the published percentiles above — not an estimate, not a prediction.

LSAT

Published LSAT: 25th 171 · median 174 · 75th 177.

GPA

Published GPA: 25th 3.90 · median 3.96 · 75th 4.00.

See your chances at Yale

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

Application deadlines

2026–27 application cycle

Regular decision deadline
February 15
Verified August 29, 2026

Source: Yale Law School — J.D. Application Process

Essay prompts

2026–27 application cycle · quoted from the school

Personal Statement

Required · about 2 pages

Applicants must submit a personal statement that explores their reasons for attending law school and any specific legal interests they have, as well as the personal, professional, and/or academic qualities they would bring to the Law School community and the legal profession. Applicants often submit the personal statement they have prepared for other law school applications. Personal statements should focus on relevant personal, professional, and/or academic experiences and not on specific reasons they would wish to attend Yale Law School. Personal statements should be approximately two double-spaced pages, formatted in a professional 12-point font, and include their name, LSAC number, and "Personal Statement" in the header.

Source: Yale Law School — Application Components

250-Word Essay

Required · 250 words

The Law School is a vibrant intellectual community where students are expected to engage academically with faculty and fellow students. In no more than 250 words, applicants must write about an idea or issue from their academic, extracurricular, or professional work that is of particular interest to them. The idea or issue they choose does not have to be law-related; this is an opportunity for readers to learn more about how the applicant would engage intellectually in the Law School community. The 250-word essay should be double-spaced, formatted in a professional 12-point font, and include their name, LSAC number, and "250-Word Essay" in the header.

Source: Yale Law School — Application Components

Optional Essay

about 1 page

We encourage applicants to submit an essay in response to one of the four questions below, each related to a value that is central to the Law School community. This is an opportunity to provide readers with relevant information that may not be found elsewhere in their application. If they choose to answer one of these questions, the essay should focus on relevant personal, professional, and/or academic experiences and not on specific reasons why they wish to attend Yale Law School. The optional essay should be approximately one page double-spaced, formatted in a professional 12-point font, and include their name, LSAC number, and "Optional Essay X" in the header (X should be the number of the question selected; e.g. Optional Essay 3). The prompts for the optional essay are as follows: Option 1: The Law School has a strong tradition of public service and encourages its students to contribute to the community in a wide variety of ways. Describe a community that has been particularly meaningful to you. Discuss what you have gained from being a part of this community and what you have contributed to this community. Option 2: The Law School encourages its students and alumni to be leaders, innovators, and changemakers across many different sectors. Describe one of your most important accomplishments and explain why it is important to you. Discuss how you demonstrated leadership, helped innovate, and/or drove change as part of that accomplishment. Option 3: The Law School values determination and resilience and recognizes that these traits are critical to success at the Law School and in the legal profession. Describe a significant challenge, disappointment, or setback that you have faced. Discuss how you approached this experience and what you learned from it. Option 4: In order to succeed at the Law School and in the legal profession, you must be able to have discussions across difference and be open to changing your mind. Describe a time when you changed your mind on an important topic after discussing it with a person with whom you disagreed or learning additional information. Discuss what you learned from this experience.

Source: Yale Law School — Application Components

Addenda

Optional

Applicants may submit addenda to their application if any are necessary for a full representation of their candidacy. These addenda may include, for example, explanations related to transcripts or test scores, including a history of under-performance on standardized tests. It is not necessary to include any addenda, and many applicants do not include any.

Source: Yale Law School — Application Components

College Activities

Required · 2 pages

Applicants are required to submit a statement of activities to help us understand what they did during their undergraduate education and after graduation (if applicable). The college activities section asks three questions: 1) what applicants did during those terms when they were not in school, including summers and any other terms off (e.g., employment, internships, or study abroad); 2) what applicants did during the terms while they were also taking classes (e.g., extracurricular activities, employment, or internships); and 3) a catch-all question where they may briefly describe any other activities that they consider relevant (e.g., a significant thesis or capstone project, or significant personal or familial responsibilities). While applicants may choose to do this in a variety of formats, we ask that it be in a structured manner such as a list or chart. The activities in these sections should be listed in order of their relative importance to the applicant. For each activity, they must provide a brief description, state the approximate start and end dates, estimate the weekly hourly commitment, and note whether the activity was paid or unpaid. Please note that we anticipate significant duplication between these sections and the résumé. These sections should be brief, and, in general, applicants should answer the college activities questions in no more than 1–2 pages and the post-college activities question in no more than one page.

Source: Yale Law School — Application Components

Sources

Schools in CT, and others at a nearby published rank.

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