Southwestern University School of Law

3050 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010-1106
(213) 738-6717

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National Comparison: Overview of Facts

#15 in Presence of Minority Faculty

Southwestern Law ranks #15 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (26.6%).

#28 in Presence of Minority Students

Southwestern Law ranks #28 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (52.2%).

#41 in Highest Tuition

Southwestern Law ranks #41 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($53,966). 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.

#62 in Library Size

Southwestern Law ranks #62 in terms of library size with 542,873 volumes or equivalents.

#70 in Presence of Female Faculty

Southwestern Law is tied for #70 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (42.4%).

#85 in Acceptance Rate

Southwestern Law ranks #85 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 46.1% among those who applied for admission.

#95 in Private Sector Salary

Southwestern Law is tied for #95 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($70,000).

#115 in Median LSAT

Southwestern Law is tied for #115 in terms of the median LSAT score (153) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.

#143 in Student to Faculty Ratio

Southwestern Law is tied for #143 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (8.1:1).

#157 in Median Undergraduate GPA

Southwestern Law ranks #157 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.22) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.

#165 in Employment Rate at Graduation

#177 in Employment Rate at 10 Months
Southwestern Law ranks #165 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (19.3%) and #177 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (58.6%).

#181 in Bar Passage Rate

Southwestern Law ranks #181 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (52.3%), and it underperforms by -6.0% 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.)

#183 in Public Sector Salary

Southwestern Law is tied for #183 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($40,000).

Fall 2020 Application Information

Application Deadline: April 3
Application Fee: $60

Admissions Statistics

2020 2017
Acceptance Rate 46.1% 59.4%
LSAT Score (Median) 153 152
LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) 150-155 149-154
GPA (Median) 3.22 3.15
GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) 2.98-3.49 2.91-3.39

Bar Exam Statistics

2020 2017
State in which most graduates took bar exam: CA CA
School's bar passage rate: 52.3% 56.1%
State overall bar passage rate: 58.3% 60.2%
School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: -6.0% -4.1%

Employment Statistics

2020 2017
Graduates employed at graduation: 19.3% 27.5%
Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: 58.6% 55.9%

Tuition and Expenses

2020 2017
Tuition: $53,966 $48,280
Room and Board: $20,520 $20,520
Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: 58.4% 44.2%
Median grant amount among full-time students: $24,446 $16,882
Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: $212,576 N/A
Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: 82.3% N/A
View National Comparison

Students & Faculty

2020 2017
Total Students: 718 659
Men: 47.7% 40.4%
Women: 52.1% 59.6%
Student Racial Demographics:

White: 47.8% N/A
Black: 6.0% N/A
Hispanic: 27.0% N/A
Asian: 8.1% N/A
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 8.1 : 1 N/A
Total Faculty: 139 N/A
Male: 57.6% N/A
Female: 42.4% N/A
Minority: 26.6% N/A

Full-Time Starting Salaries

2020 2017
Private Sector (Median): $70,000 $60,000
Public Sector (Median): $40,000 $50,000
View National Comparison

Library Resources

2020 2017
Volumes and equivalents: 542,873 535,739