Overview
Applicants
3,844
Acceptance Rate
11%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.87
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
180
Test Scores
LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
(enrolled students)
168 - 173
Deadlines
Application Deadlines
February 1
Application Process
Rolling Admissions
Yes
CAS Service Used
Yes
Applicants accepted in terms other than fall
No
Transfer Applicants Accepted
Yes
Deferred Admission
Yes
Other Admission Factors
Academic
LSAT Score
Undergraduate GPA
Letters of Recommendation
Essay / Personal Statement
Non-Academic
Extracurricular Activities
Work Experience
Selectivity Rating
Faculty Information
Total Faculty
65
35
Female
15
Underrepresented Minorities
Students Say
People are happy at Stanford Law School, and why wouldnt they be? There are tons of programs, an array of specialized centers, and a couple dozen joint-degree options. The eleven clinics here include a Supreme Court litigation clinic and an IP Innovation clinic, just to list a couple. The resources available to us at Stanford are fantastic, and sometimes unbelievable, gushes a 2L. The amazingly brilliant and diverse faculty is a great mix of practically minded and experiencedprofessors and wild-minded theorists. Professors are incredible lecturers and easy to approach outside of the classroom. I have yet to meet a professor who is not only doing something amazing but is completely approachable and dying to help us get jobs and do research, gloats a 2L. Moreover, Stanford is so small that everything is very easy to do. All of my seminars have had fewer than ten people, gloats a 2L. The university as a whole has a lot of red tape, but the law schools administration is very receptive and accessible at almost every level. Its the opposite of the factory feeling at large professional schools, explains a 3L. If you want to do something new or nontraditional, just ask. Usually you can work something out.
The Stanford campus is sprawling and beautiful, with acres of rolling green hills for hiking, and palm trees everywhere. The law school is hideous from the outside but, inside, its quite nice. The library is a world-class research facility and all law students have twenty-four-hour access to study there. I cant study in any other university library, admits a comfortable 1L, because I have become too accustomed to the law schools Aeron chairs.
A few students call Career Services underwhelming, but pretty much everyone can get a firm job if they want one. They can get that job anywhere in the country, too. Less than 50 percent of all newly minted Stanford Law grads take jobs in California. Stanford is also seriously committed to public interest law, and the great loan repayment program here is arguably the best in the country. Also worth noting is the impressive historical fact that more than 100 Stanford law graduates have clerked for one of the Supreme Court Justices.
Of course, nothing is perfect, even at Stanford. Some students love the pass/fail grading system while others say it provides little incentive to work hard. Despite these complaints, though, students call Stanford the best law school west of the Appalachians, and they have a hard time seeing why anyone would choose to go to law school anywhere else.
The Stanford campus is sprawling and beautiful, with acres of rolling green hills for hiking, and palm trees everywhere. The law school is hideous from the outside but, inside, its quite nice. The library is a world-class research facility and all law students have twenty-four-hour access to study there. I cant study in any other university library, admits a comfortable 1L, because I have become too accustomed to the law schools Aeron chairs.
A few students call Career Services underwhelming, but pretty much everyone can get a firm job if they want one. They can get that job anywhere in the country, too. Less than 50 percent of all newly minted Stanford Law grads take jobs in California. Stanford is also seriously committed to public interest law, and the great loan repayment program here is arguably the best in the country. Also worth noting is the impressive historical fact that more than 100 Stanford law graduates have clerked for one of the Supreme Court Justices.
Of course, nothing is perfect, even at Stanford. Some students love the pass/fail grading system while others say it provides little incentive to work hard. Despite these complaints, though, students call Stanford the best law school west of the Appalachians, and they have a hard time seeing why anyone would choose to go to law school anywhere else.
Career overview
Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
93%
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
96%
Career Services
On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
Yes
On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes
# of Employers that Recruit on Campus Each Year
220
Graduates Employed by Area
52%
Private Practice
27%
Judicial Clerkships
7%
Public Interes
5%
Business/Industry
5%
Government
Graduates Employed by Region
45%
Pacific
19%
South
15%
Mid-Atlantic
5%
Mountain
4%
South West
3%
MidWest
3%
New England
2%
International
Prominent Alumni
Sandra Day O'Connor
First female Supreme Court Justice (1981 to 2006)
Warren Christopher
Former Secretary of State (1993 to 1997)
Anthony Romero
Executive Director of ACLU (2001-Present)
Max Baucus
US Senator (1979 to Present)
Ron Noble
Secretary General of Interpol and law professor
Dates
Financial Aid Rating
Mar 15
Application Deadlines
Mar 15
Financial Aid Statistics
Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded
$62,691
% Students Receiving Some Aid
71%
Expenses per Academic Year
Estimated On-Campus Room and Board
$23,205
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$24,192
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$1,530
Student Body Profile
Total Enrollment
579
Average Age at Entry
25
% International
2%
Demographics
34.70%
% Under-represented Minorities
100% are full time
0% are part time
49% female
51% male
Campus Life
Students Say
Small size makes for a more personal experience at Stanford. Here, you really get to know your classmates, and there is consequently no competitive behavior. The academic atmosphere is very collaborative. There are study groups galore. Students describe themselves as ridiculously smart people who are highly ambitious and work extremely hard. It easy to feel like you must have been admitted by mistake, confesses an awed 1L. There is lots of diversity in terms of age, background, ethnicity, and pretty much every other attribute. Some students call the political environment overwhelmingly liberal. Other students say theres a critical mass of right-of-center
students, and they point out that you definitely wont see too many protests among law students. Perhaps thats because everyone harbors secret Supreme Court ambitions and wouldnt want to pigeonhole their position on an issue somewhere the Senate Confirmation Committee could find it, suggests a 1L.
THE SCHOOLS 233 Certainly, you wont have to contend with snow or gloomy weather at this school. The weather is perfect 90 percent of the time. Some students call Palo Alto a cultural wonderland that has everything you need including incredibly nice graduate student housing located right next to the law school. Other students gripe, Living in Palo Alto is like living in a suburb, which to anyone who is coming from an urban area will be a shock. A big percentage of Stanford students are married, or commute from San Francisco, so they have their own lives away from the school. Extracurricular activity is constant for everyone, though. Having the law school right in the middle of Silicon Valley allows for many practitioners, general counsels, venture capitalists, and the like to drop by. Student organizations are profuse. Everyone at Stanford is president of a club, editor of a journal, director of a pro bono, and a board member of a society, claims a 2L. Social events are plentiful, and they are always a hoot. There is something of a fraternity-like culture if thats what you are looking for, but its not [an] overwhelming scene, and we arent talking about people doing multiple keg stands. You have to remember that everyone had to be pretty studious and dorky in order to get in here, says a 1L.
THE SCHOOLS 233 Certainly, you wont have to contend with snow or gloomy weather at this school. The weather is perfect 90 percent of the time. Some students call Palo Alto a cultural wonderland that has everything you need including incredibly nice graduate student housing located right next to the law school. Other students gripe, Living in Palo Alto is like living in a suburb, which to anyone who is coming from an urban area will be a shock. A big percentage of Stanford students are married, or commute from San Francisco, so they have their own lives away from the school. Extracurricular activity is constant for everyone, though. Having the law school right in the middle of Silicon Valley allows for many practitioners, general counsels, venture capitalists, and the like to drop by. Student organizations are profuse. Everyone at Stanford is president of a club, editor of a journal, director of a pro bono, and a board member of a society, claims a 2L. Social events are plentiful, and they are always a hoot. There is something of a fraternity-like culture if thats what you are looking for, but its not [an] overwhelming scene, and we arent talking about people doing multiple keg stands. You have to remember that everyone had to be pretty studious and dorky in order to get in here, says a 1L.
More Information
% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%
Admissions Office Contact
Contact
Dean Faye Deal
Office of Admissions
Office of Admissions
Address
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
Phone
650-723-4985
Email
admissions@law.stanford.edu
