Pepperdine University (McConnell)

24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
(310) 506-4631

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National Comparison: Overview of Facts

#11 in Public Sector Salary

Pepperdine Law is tied for #11 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($64,500).

#32 in Highest Tuition

Pepperdine Law ranks #32 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($55,890). We rank from a total of 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, ranking twice those law schools that have different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.

#41 in Median Undergraduate GPA

Pepperdine Law ranks #41 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.63) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.

#48 in Presence of Minority Students

Pepperdine Law ranks #48 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (42.0%).

#52 in Median LSAT

Pepperdine Law is tied for #52 in terms of the median LSAT score (160) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.

#59 in Acceptance Rate

Pepperdine Law ranks #59 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 36.3% among those who applied for admission.

#63 in Presence of Minority Faculty

Pepperdine Law ranks #63 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (15.1%).

#67 in Student to Faculty Ratio

Pepperdine Law is tied for #67 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (6.4:1).

#81 in Private Sector Salary

Pepperdine Law is tied for #81 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($75,000).

#107 in Library Size

Pepperdine Law ranks #107 in terms of library size with 386,296 volumes or equivalents.

#111 in Employment Rate at 10 Months

#135 in Employment Rate at Graduation
Pepperdine Law ranks #111 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (75.3%) and #135 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (34.1%) .

#163 in Bar Passage Rate

Pepperdine Law ranks #163 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (63.8%), and it outperforms by +5.5% the state of California’s overall bar passage rate of 58.3%. (A national comparison on this metric should be taken in a qualified sense and with caution, because every state has a different bar passage rate.)

#170 in Presence of Female Faculty

Pepperdine Law is tied for #170 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (31.7%).

Fall 2020 Application Information

Application Deadline: April 1
Application Fee: $0

Admissions Statistics

2020 2017
Acceptance Rate 36.3% 48.7%
LSAT Score (Median) 160 158
LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) 155-161 154-161
GPA (Median) 3.63 3.48
GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) 3.35-3.79 3.24-3.71

Bar Exam Statistics

2020 2017
State in which most graduates took bar exam: CA CA
School's bar passage rate: 63.8% 78.9%
State overall bar passage rate: 58.3% 60.2%
School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: +5.5% +18.7%

Employment Statistics

2020 2017
Graduates employed at graduation: 34.1% 34.3%
Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: 75.3% 59.6%

Tuition and Expenses

2020 2017
Tuition: $55,890 $51,180
Room and Board: $17,500 $17,384
Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: 75.3% 60.5%
Median grant amount among full-time students: $30,000 $24,485
Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: $148,165 $148,959
Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: 75.0% 73.6%
View National Comparison

Students & Faculty

2020 2017
Total Students: 481 598
Men: 48.0% 48.7%
Women: 52.0% 51.3%
Student Racial Demographics:

White: 58.0% N/A
Black: 5.2% N/A
Hispanic: 13.3% N/A
Asian: 6.0% N/A
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 6.4 : 1 N/A
Total Faculty: 139 N/A
Male: 68.3% N/A
Female: 31.7% N/A
Minority: 15.1% N/A

Full-Time Starting Salaries

2020 2017
Private Sector (Median): $75,000 $70,000
Public Sector (Median): $64,500 $60,000
View National Comparison

Library Resources

2020 2017
Volumes and equivalents: 386,296 411,526