Boston College Law School was established in 1929 as the first law school in the city of Boston. It was founded by a group of prominent lawyers and educators who wanted to create a top-tier legal education institution. The original faculty consisted of six members, including its first dean, Francis J. Brown. In the ensuing decades, Boston College Law School has grown significantly and now educates more than 800 students annually, making it one of the largest law schools in New England. Throughout its history, BC Law has remained committed to providing an excellent legal education to its students and has been accredited by both the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools since 1934. The school offers a wide range of classes and programs, from traditional courses like torts, contracts and civil procedure to specialized ones such as international law or immigration law practice. Additionally, BC Law also hosts several annual conferences on topics related to legal scholarship, public policy and international affairs.
Boston College Law School is located in the state of Massachusetts. As one of the leading law programs, Boston College Law School has a high average LSAT score of 163-167 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $160,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of Boston College Law School.
Admissions: Boston College
Boston College Law School is one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States. In 2019, it accepted 5,068 applicants out of a total applicant pool of 10,504. The acceptance rate for that year was 48%. Of those accepted applicants, 2,074 enrolled at Boston College Law School. The average LSAT score for enrolled students was 164 and the average GPA was 3.72. Additionally, the median LSAT score was 164 and the median GPA was 3.73. Furthermore, approximately 54% of enrolled students were female and 46% were male. The student body also included many international students with almost 30% coming from countries outside of the United States. With these impressive admission statistics, it’s no wonder that Boston College Law School is a highly sought after institution for prospective law students.
Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
Total number of full- and part-time applicants
7,166
Total number of full- and part-time acceptances
1,431
Overall acceptance rate
20.0%
Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled
264
Number of full-time program applicants
7,166
Number of full-time program acceptances
1,431
Full-time acceptance rate
20.0%
Number of first-year full-time students enrolled
264
Number of part-time program applicants
0
Number of part-time program acceptances
0
Part-time acceptance rate
N/A
Number of first-year part-time students enrolled
0
Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores
25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students
3.34-3.68
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students
163-167
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students
3.34-3.68
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students
163-167
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students
N/A
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students
N/A
Careers: Boston College
Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations)
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar
MA
School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers
94.3%
Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers
89.0%
Class of 2018 Graduates
Total graduates
274
Graduates employed at graduation
86.0%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation
97.4%
Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time
25th percentile private sector starting salary
$160,000
Median private sector starting salary
$160,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary
$160,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information
87%
Median public service starting salary
$49,423
Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018)
Percent employed in academia
4.0%
Percent employed in business and industry
5.0%
Percent employed in government
7.0%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships
14.0%
Percent employed in law firms
67.0%
Percent employed in public interest
3.0%
Percent employed in an unknown field
0.0%
Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge
3.0%
2018 Graduates Employment Location
Graduates employed in-state
50%
Graduates employed in foreign countries
1%
Number of states where graduates are employed
24
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
56.8%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA)
23.5%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
1.9%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
0.4%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)
8.7%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
0.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)
0.4%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)
5.7%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY)
1.5%
Employment location unknown
0.0%
Career Services
(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)
Career services operations
Our C. S. Office works with our students to educate them about the profession and career options, and to help them develop successful job search techniques and market themselves. Approximately 400 employers recruit our students. We sponsor off-campus recruiting programs in NY, LA, San Fran., Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Job Type
Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks)
94.0%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent)
5.0%
Professional/other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse)
1.0%
Nonprofessional/other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path)
