ABA 509 Profile · Private · Des Moines, IA
Drake University Law School: admission requirements and 509 data
A median LSAT of 156 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.67 describe the class that entered in 2025. 788 people applied, 432 were admitted and 141 enrolled. Every figure below is taken from this school's ABA Standard 509 Information Report, the disclosure the ABA requires each approved law school to publish for applicants.
Median LSAT
156
p25 153 to p75 159
Median UGPA
3.67
p25 3.38 to p75 3.89
Acceptance Rate
54.8%
432 offers of 788 applications
First-Year Class
141
all full time
Full-Time Tuition
$50,920
plus $470 fees
Living Estimate
$20,923
school's own figure, single student off campus
Median Grant
$31,000
82% of students hold one
First-Time Bar Pass
85.7%
jurisdiction average 83.7%
How the acceptance rate is worked out
432 offers of admission ÷ 788 completed applications = 54.8%
We divide offers by completed applications rather than reprinting a rate. The 509 report states 54.82%, which agrees with the division above. The rate counts every completed application, including applicants who never became competitive, so it is a measure of volume as much as of standards.
What the 2025 numbers say about Drake University
Drake University received 788 completed applications for the 2025 entering class and made 432 offers of admission, an acceptance rate of 54.8%. 141 of those admitted enrolled, a yield of 32.6%. The full first-year class came to 141 students, all full time. Total JD enrollment across all years is 369.
Enrolled students posted a median LSAT of 156, with a 25th percentile of 153 and a 75th of 159. That is 3 points below the 159 median across the 196 ABA-approved schools in this data. It ranks 122 of 196 on LSAT median. Undergraduate GPA ran 3.38 at the 25th percentile, 3.67 at the median and 3.89 at the 75th.
Full-time tuition is $50,920 a year at a single rate for residents and non-residents. Mandatory fees add $470. The school's own living-expense estimate for a single student off campus is $20,923. Tuition, fees and that living estimate add up to $72,313 for one year, or $216,939 across three, before any grant. 286 JD students hold a grant or scholarship, 82% of the student body, and the median full-time award is $31,000. 31 awards cover full tuition or more.
Of the graduating class that sat a bar exam for the first time, 90 of 105 passed, a rate of 85.71%. The weighted average across the jurisdictions where those graduates sat was 83.73%, so the school ran 1.98 points ahead of the jurisdictions it feeds. Ten months after graduation, 98 of 114 graduates (86.0%) held a job requiring bar admission. 1 took federal clerkships. The largest single destination was Iowa with 80 graduates, followed by Illinois with 6.
It is a private school based in Des Moines, IA. 3 first-year students left for academic reasons, 2.0% of the class.
The full 509 record
Admitted class profile, 2025 entering class
| Completed applications | 788 |
|---|---|
| Offers of admission | 432 |
| Matriculants from the applicant pool | 141 |
| Yield (matriculants per offer) | 32.6% |
| LSAT 75th percentile | 159 |
| LSAT 50th percentile | 156 |
| LSAT 25th percentile | 153 |
| UGPA 75th percentile | 3.89 |
| UGPA 50th percentile | 3.67 |
| UGPA 25th percentile | 3.38 |
| Students admitted on an LSAT score | 141 |
| Students admitted on a GRE score | 0 |
Program, faculty and calendar
| Total JD enrollment | 369 |
|---|---|
| JD degrees awarded | 114 |
| Credit hours required for the JD | 90 |
| Academic term | Semesters |
| Full-time faculty | 34 |
| Faculty other than full time | 58 |
| Course titles beyond the first year | 123 |
| Law clinic seats filled145 available | 87 |
| Field placements filled | 91 |
| Application deadline | April 1 |
| Application fee | No fee |
Tuition, fees and living costs, 2025 to 2026
| Full-time tuition, resident | $50,920 |
|---|---|
| Full-time annual fees, resident | $470 |
| Full-time tuition, non-resident | $50,920 |
| Full-time annual fees, non-resident | $470 |
| First-year tuition plus fees, resident | $51,390 |
| First-year tuition plus fees, non-resident | $51,390 |
| Living expenses, on campus | $20,328 |
| Living expenses, off campus | $20,923 |
| Living expenses, at home | $14,861 |
| Tuition, fees and living, one yearthe three published figures added together | $72,313 |
| The same three figures over three yearsbefore any grant or scholarship | $216,939 |
| Tuition guarantee program | No |
Grants and scholarships
| JD students receiving a grantof 349 students | 286 |
|---|---|
| Share receiving a grant | 82% |
| Awards below half tuition | 76 |
| Awards from half to full tuition | 179 |
| Awards at full tuition | 22 |
| Awards above full tuition | 9 |
| Full-time grant, 75th percentile | $37,080 |
| Full-time grant, 50th percentile | $31,000 |
| Full-time grant, 25th percentile | $24,000 |
| Conditional scholarships offered | No |
Attrition, transfers and outcomes
| First-year academic attrition2.0% of the first-year class | 3 |
|---|---|
| First-year other attrition | 4 |
| Students transferring in | 0 |
| First-year students transferring out | 3 |
| First-time bar takers | 105 |
| First-time bar passers | 90 |
| Gap to the jurisdiction average | +1.98 points |
| Graduates in a job requiring bar admission86.0% of 114 graduates | 98 |
| Graduates at firms of 251 or more lawyers0.0% of graduates | 0 |
| Graduates at firms of 501 or more lawyers | 0 |
| Graduates in federal clerkships | 1 |
| Graduates seeking work at the reporting date | 9 |
As listed on the 509 report
2507 University Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50311
(515) 271-2824
Iowa has 2 ABA-approved law schools. The Iowa guide compares them on LSAT median, cost and bar passage, and covers the state's admission rules.
Closest on the numbers
Schools with the nearest LSAT median to Drake University
Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
156 LSAT, 3.64 GPA, 51.4% accept
University of Missouri - Kansas City
156 LSAT, 3.65 GPA, 45.9% accept
Samford University Cumberland
156 LSAT, 3.63 GPA, 49.0% accept
McGeorge School of Law
156 LSAT, 3.52 GPA, 54.4% accept
Campbell University
156 LSAT, 3.51 GPA, 50.7% accept
Data: ABA Standard 509 Information Report (2025), published for consumer disclosure, retrieved from the ABA Required Disclosures portal on 2026-09-01. Bar passage and employment figures come from the same portal's Bar Passage Outcomes and Employment Summary reports for the class of 2024. Figures describe the 2025 to 2026 reporting cycle for Drake University Law School and are restated in our own structure; no ABA document or file is reproduced here. Verify anything decision-critical with the school.
Related reading: LSAT score guide, GPA benchmarks, law school cost and ROI, application timeline, all 196 ABA-approved schools, and the Yale profile for the top of the range.