New York University School of Law was established in 1835 as the University of the City of New York School of Law. It was the first law school in New York City and one of the oldest law schools in the nation. The school was founded by a group of prominent lawyers, judges, and politicians who wanted to create a top-tier law school that would offer students an education comparable to that available at any other university in the United States. The school has since grown to become one of the premier institutions for legal education in the world.
Over its 185-year history, NYU School of Law has been home to some of the most influential legal thinkers and practitioners in America. It has produced numerous Supreme Court justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor; U.S. Attorneys General; ambassadors; members of Congress; state attorneys general; federal judges; corporate executives; and many more prominent figures in government and business. NYU School of Law also has been at the forefront of legal scholarship, with faculty members publishing highly acclaimed works on a wide range of topics related to public policy, criminal justice, civil liberties, international law, human rights, finance, intellectual property, and more.
New York University School of Law is located in the state of New York. As one of the leading law programs, New York University School of Law has a high average LSAT score of 169-173 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 New York University School of Law.
Admissions: New York University
New York University School of Law is one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Each year, thousands of applicants from all over the world apply to this top-ranked school. In 2020, 8,741 applicants applied for admission to NYU Law, and 1,301 were accepted for an overall acceptance rate of 14.9%. Of those accepted students, the median LSAT score was 172 and the median GPA was 3.72. Additionally, 43% of admitted students were from underrepresented backgrounds, including racial/ethnic minorities and first-generation college students. NYU Law also offers numerous scholarships to help make a legal education accessible to everyone regardless of their financial background. The school also has several joint degree programs that allow students to pursue a JD/MBA or JD/LLM degree in just three years rather than four. These joint degrees provide a unique opportunity for students who want a comprehensive education in both business and law.
| Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total number of full- and part-time applicants | 7,272 |
| Total number of full- and part-time acceptances | 1,644 |
| Overall acceptance rate | 22.6% |
| Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled | 450 |
| Number of full-time program applicants | 7,272 |
| Number of full-time program acceptances | 1,644 |
| Full-time acceptance rate | 22.6% |
| Number of first-year full-time students enrolled | 450 |
| Number of part-time program applicants | N/A |
| Number of part-time program acceptances | N/A |
| Part-time acceptance rate | N/A |
| Number of first-year part-time students enrolled | N/A |
| Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores | |
| 25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students | 3.57-3.86 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students | 169-173 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students | 3.57-3.86 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students | 169-173 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students | N/A |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students | N/A |
Careers: New York University
| Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations) | |
|---|---|
| State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar | NY |
| School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 97.2% |
| Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 80.7% |
| Class of 2018 Graduates | |
| Total graduates | 484 |
| Graduates employed at graduation | 99.0% |
| Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation | 99.2% |
| 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 | 96% |
| Median public service starting salary | $57,354 |
| Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018) | |
| Percent employed in academia | 0.9% |
| Percent employed in business and industry | 2.2% |
| Percent employed in government | 2.2% |
| Percent employed in all judicial clerkships | 10.5% |
| Percent employed in law firms | 75.1% |
| Percent employed in public interest | 9.1% |
| Percent employed in an unknown field | 0.0% |
| Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge | 8.5% |
| 2018 Graduates Employment Location | |
| Graduates employed in-state | 69% |
| Graduates employed in foreign countries | 3% |
| Number of states where graduates are employed | 28 |
| New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | 1.8% |
| Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | 70.5% |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 1.3% |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | 1.1% |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 9.4% |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 1.5% |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 1.1% |
| Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | 9.4% |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | 1.1% |
| Employment location unknown | 0.0% |
| Career Services | |
| (Data appear as originally submitted by this school) | |
| Career services operations | Career planning for first-year students includes personal career counseling, workshops on all aspects of the job search, specialty panels featuring speakers from all areas of practice, and a videotape mock interview program. Each year, more than 500 private law firms, public interest organizations, government agencies, corporations, and public accounting firms interview at the law school. |
| Job Type | |
| Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) | 96.0% |
| J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) | 3.0% |
| 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) | 0.0% |
