These are the toughest US law schools to get into

29 Apr 2019

Despite it’s reputation for being a challenging field of study, law remains a popular discipline among current and prospective students.

We’re governed by the law – something that affects just about every aspect of our lives. The legal system is complex, and its application in the real-world isn’t always straightforward, giving rise to the need for highly-trained lawyers.

Good luck getting into one of these law schools. You’ll need it. https://t.co/VIISdx5GEE

— U.S. News Education (@USNewsEducation) April 24, 2019

Many of the world’s movers and shakers have studied law, including former US President Barack Obama, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, British-Lebanese barrister Amal Clooney and former South African President Nelson Mandela, among many more.

It’s not surprising, seeing that a career in the profession can lead to good employment prospects and great earning potential. Even for students who don’t go on to work in law after graduation, a degree in this subject will equip them with a unique range of skills that could be used across a range of careers, including academia, media and social work, among others.

For aspiring lawyers, the US can hold a lot of appeal in the study of law, as it’s home to some of the world’s leading law schools.

According to US News and World Report, these are the 10 toughest law schools to get into in the US:

Institution	Full-time and part-time applicants (Fall 2018)	Full-time and part-time acceptances (Fall 2018)	Acceptance Rate
Yale University	3,473	238	6.9%
Stanford University	4,360	380	8.7%
Harvard University	7,551	971	12.9%
University of Pennsylvania	6,413	935	14.6%
University of Virginia	5,631	863	15.3%
Columbia University	6,957	1,168	16.8%
University of Chicago	5,110	893	17.5%
University of Southern California	5,695	1,096	19.2%
Northwestern University	5,313	1,027	19.3%
University of Michigan – Ann Harbor	5,698	1,117	19.6%

Source: US News & World Report

The list primarily consists of private universities, while a total of four Ivy League schools making the list, including Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

Yale University has the lowest acceptance rates on the list at 6.9 percent.

A total of 201 schools were surveyed for their law programmes.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 by subject: law notes that the following universities are among the best in the world:

Rank	Institution	THEWUR 2019 Ranking
1	Stanford University, US	3
2	Duke University, US	18
3	University of Cambridge, UK	2
4	Yale University, UK	8
5	University of Oxford, UK	1