ABA 509 Profile · Private · Detroit, MI
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law: admission requirements and 509 data
A median LSAT of 156 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.52 describe the class that entered in 2025. 1,478 people applied, 612 were admitted and 247 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 154 to p75 159
Median UGPA
3.52
p25 3.16 to p75 3.73
Acceptance Rate
41.4%
612 offers of 1,478 applications
First-Year Class
247
239 full time, 8 part time
Tuition Per Credit
$1,616/cr
billed by credit hour, not by year
Living Estimate
$23,983
school's own figure, single student off campus
Median Grant
$18,636
58% of students hold one
First-Time Bar Pass
70.8%
jurisdiction average 73.3%
How the acceptance rate is worked out
612 offers of admission ÷ 1,478 completed applications = 41.4%
We divide offers by completed applications rather than reprinting a rate. The 509 report states 41.41%, 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 University of Detroit Mercy
University of Detroit Mercy received 1,478 completed applications for the 2025 entering class and made 612 offers of admission, an acceptance rate of 41.4%. 247 of those admitted enrolled, a yield of 40.4%. Counting deferred admits and part-time entrants, the first-year class came to 247 students: 239 full time and 8 part time. Total JD enrollment across all years is 664.
Enrolled students posted a median LSAT of 156, with a 25th percentile of 154 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 3.16 at the 25th percentile, 3.52 at the median and 3.73 at the 75th.
The school bills tuition by the credit hour rather than by the year, at $1,616 a credit, against the 90 credits the JD requires. The school's own living-expense estimate for a single student off campus is $23,983. 364 JD students hold a grant or scholarship, 58% of the student body, and the median full-time award is $18,636. 6 awards cover full tuition or more.
Of the graduating class that sat a bar exam for the first time, 102 of 144 passed, a rate of 70.83%. The weighted average across the jurisdictions where those graduates sat was 73.25%, so the school ran 2.42 points behind the jurisdictions it feeds. Ten months after graduation, 168 of 190 graduates (88.4%) held a job requiring bar admission. 14 joined law firms of 251 lawyers or more (7.4% of the class), of whom 5 went to firms of 501 or more. The largest single destination was Michigan with 113 graduates, followed by Arizona with 2.
University of Detroit Mercy has been approved by the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education since 1933. It is a private school based in Detroit, MI. No first-year students left for academic reasons in the reporting year. 1 students transferred in from other law schools.
The full 509 record
Admitted class profile, 2025 entering class
| Completed applications | 1,478 |
|---|---|
| Offers of admission | 612 |
| Matriculants from the applicant pool | 247 |
| Yield (matriculants per offer) | 40.4% |
| LSAT 75th percentile | 159 |
| LSAT 50th percentile | 156 |
| LSAT 25th percentile | 154 |
| UGPA 75th percentile | 3.73 |
| UGPA 50th percentile | 3.52 |
| UGPA 25th percentile | 3.16 |
| Students admitted on an LSAT score | 247 |
| Students admitted on a GRE score | 0 |
Program, faculty and calendar
| Total JD enrollment | 664 |
|---|---|
| JD degrees awarded | 190 |
| Credit hours required for the JD | 90 |
| Academic term | Semesters |
| Full-time faculty | 29 |
| Faculty other than full time | 73 |
| Course titles beyond the first year | 108 |
| Law clinic seats filled297 available | 235 |
| Field placements filled | 119 |
| Application deadline | Aug 1 |
| Application fee | No fee |
Tuition, fees and living costs, 2025 to 2026
| Full-time annual fees, resident | $0 |
|---|---|
| Full-time annual fees, non-resident | $0 |
| Full-time tuition per credit, resident | $1,616 |
| Full-time tuition per credit, non-resident | $1,616 |
| Living expenses, off campus | $23,983 |
| Tuition guarantee program | No |
Grants and scholarships
| JD students receiving a grantof 628 students | 364 |
|---|---|
| Share receiving a grant | 58% |
| Awards below half tuition | 178 |
| Awards from half to full tuition | 180 |
| Awards at full tuition | 1 |
| Awards above full tuition | 5 |
| Full-time grant, 75th percentile | $32,614 |
| Full-time grant, 50th percentile | $18,636 |
| Full-time grant, 25th percentile | $10,504 |
| Conditional scholarships offered | No |
Attrition, transfers and outcomes
| First-year academic attrition0.0% of the first-year class | 0 |
|---|---|
| First-year other attrition | 5 |
| Students transferring in | 1 |
| First-year students transferring out | 11 |
| First-time bar takers | 144 |
| First-time bar passers | 102 |
| Gap to the jurisdiction average | -2.42 points |
| Graduates in a job requiring bar admission88.4% of 190 graduates | 168 |
| Graduates at firms of 251 or more lawyers7.4% of graduates | 14 |
| Graduates at firms of 501 or more lawyers | 5 |
| Graduates in federal clerkships | 0 |
| Graduates seeking work at the reporting date | 11 |
As listed on the 509 report
651 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48226
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 596-0200
Council approved since 1933
Michigan has 5 ABA-approved law schools. The Michigan 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 University of Detroit Mercy
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 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law 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.