The University of Pennsylvania Law School was founded in 1850. It is the first law school in the United States to be affiliated with an Ivy League university. The school’s first class had only 32 students and two faculty members, but it quickly grew over the next few decades. In 1891, the school moved to its current location on Penn’s campus and by 1895, it had graduated its first class. Throughout its history, Penn Law has produced some of the most influential legal minds in America, including Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis and William J. Brennan Jr., as well as prominent attorneys such as John W. Davis and Alan Dershowitz. The school has also been a leader in legal education and scholarship, producing over 1,000 books and articles since its founding in 1850. In addition to traditional courses of study, Penn Law offers several specialized programs such as environmental law, business law, health law and global studies that allow students to explore their interests more deeply. The school is also committed to providing a high-quality legal education for all students regardless of background or financial means through generous scholarship programs and public service opportunities.
University of Pennsylvania Law School is located in the state of Pennsylvania. As one of the leading law programs, University of Pennsylvania Law School has a high average LSAT score of 166-171 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 University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Admissions: University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania Law School is one of the top law schools in the country and has an impressive admissions rate. The school’s acceptance rate for 2019 was 21.3%, with 4,096 applicants and 882 matriculants. Of those accepted, 49% identified as domestic students of color and 43% were female. The median LSAT score for admitted students was 173, with a 25th percentile score of 170 and a 75th percentile score of 175. The median GPA for admitted students was 3.7, with a 25th percentile GPA of 3.5 and a 75th percentile GPA of 3.9. Among admitted students, 39% held undergraduate degrees from Ivy League institutions or other top-tier universities, while 61% came from lower-tier schools or community colleges. In addition to strong academic credentials, the university looks for evidence that applicants have contributed to their communities in meaningful ways through service or advocacy work.
Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
Total number of full- and part-time applicants
6,205
Total number of full- and part-time acceptances
895
Overall acceptance rate
14.4%
Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled
255
Number of full-time program applicants
6,205
Number of full-time program acceptances
895
Full-time acceptance rate
14.4%
Number of first-year full-time students enrolled
255
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
3.57-3.9
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students
166-171
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students
3.57-3.9
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students
166-171
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students
N/A
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students
N/A
Careers: University of Pennsylvania
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
98.4%
Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers
80.7%
Class of 2018 Graduates
Total graduates
257
Graduates employed at graduation
97.6%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation
99.6%
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
81%
Median public service starting salary
$53,626
Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018)
Percent employed in academia
0.0%
Percent employed in business and industry
3.9%
Percent employed in government
0.0%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships
16.5%
Percent employed in law firms
76.8%
Percent employed in public interest
2.8%
Percent employed in an unknown field
0.0%
Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge
12.8%
2018 Graduates Employment Location
Graduates employed in-state
16%
Graduates employed in foreign countries
2%
Number of states where graduates are employed
22
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
3.2%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA)
60.5%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
3.9%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
0.4%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)
14.6%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
0.4%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)
1.6%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)
11.8%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY)
1.6%
Employment location unknown
0.0%
Career Services
(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)
Career services operations
Career Planning and Professionalism counseling: career planning, job search, judicial clerkships, fellowships, alumni career services. Eight career counselors (all J.D.s). Robust recruiting program (300+ employers from around the nation and globe), access to over 5,000 job opportunities. Educational programming built into 1L program. Online alumni networking. Center on Professionalism programming.
Job Type
Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks)
97.0%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent)
1.0%
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)
2.0%
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)
