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ABA 509 Profile · Private · Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School: admission requirements and 509 data

A median LSAT of 173 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.95 describe the class that entered in 2025. 8,074 people applied, 650 were admitted and 254 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

173

p25 167 to p75 174

Median UGPA

3.95

p25 3.77 to p75 4.00

Acceptance Rate

8.1%

650 offers of 8,074 applications

First-Year Class

265

all full time

Full-Time Tuition

$78,348

plus $6,144 fees

Living Estimate

$31,640

school's own figure, single student off campus

Median Grant

$42,246

59% of students hold one

First-Time Bar Pass

96.7%

jurisdiction average 82.9%

How the acceptance rate is worked out

650 offers of admission ÷ 8,074 completed applications = 8.1%

We divide offers by completed applications rather than reprinting a rate. The 509 report states 8.05%, 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 Pennsylvania Carey

University of Pennsylvania Carey received 8,074 completed applications for the 2025 entering class and made 650 offers of admission, an acceptance rate of 8.1%. 254 of those admitted enrolled, a yield of 39.1%. The full first-year class came to 265 students, all full time. Total JD enrollment across all years is 764.

Enrolled students posted a median LSAT of 173, with a 25th percentile of 167 and a 75th of 174. That is 14 points above the 159 median across the 196 ABA-approved schools in this data. It ranks 5 of 196 on LSAT median. Undergraduate GPA ran 3.77 at the 25th percentile, 3.95 at the median and 4.00 at the 75th. 5 of the entering class were admitted on a GRE score rather than an LSAT score.

Full-time tuition is $78,348 a year at a single rate for residents and non-residents. Mandatory fees add $6,144. The school's own living-expense estimate for a single student off campus is $31,640. Tuition, fees and that living estimate add up to $116,132 for one year, or $348,396 across three, before any grant. 450 JD students hold a grant or scholarship, 59% of the student body, and the median full-time award is $42,246. 105 awards cover full tuition or more.

Of the graduating class that sat a bar exam for the first time, 293 of 303 passed, a rate of 96.70%. The weighted average across the jurisdictions where those graduates sat was 82.93%, so the school ran 13.77 points ahead of the jurisdictions it feeds. Ten months after graduation, 245 of 252 graduates (97.2%) held a job requiring bar admission. 178 joined law firms of 251 lawyers or more (70.6% of the class), of whom 169 went to firms of 501 or more. 20 took federal clerkships. The largest single destination was New York with 104 graduates, followed by Pennsylvania with 44.

University of Pennsylvania Carey has been approved by the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education since 1923. It is a private school based in Philadelphia, PA. No first-year students left for academic reasons in the reporting year. 8 students transferred in from other law schools.

The full 509 record

Admitted class profile, 2025 entering class

Completed applications8,074
Offers of admission650
Matriculants from the applicant pool254
Yield (matriculants per offer)39.1%
LSAT 75th percentile174
LSAT 50th percentile173
LSAT 25th percentile167
UGPA 75th percentile4.00
UGPA 50th percentile3.95
UGPA 25th percentile3.77
Students admitted on an LSAT score256
Students admitted on a GRE score5

Program, faculty and calendar

Total JD enrollment764
JD degrees awarded251
Credit hours required for the JD86
Academic termSemesters
Full-time faculty105
Faculty other than full time165
Course titles beyond the first year233
Law clinic seats filled132 available140
Field placements filled145
Application deadlineMarch 1
Application fee$85

Tuition, fees and living costs, 2025 to 2026

Full-time tuition, resident$78,348
Full-time annual fees, resident$6,144
Full-time tuition, non-resident$78,348
Full-time annual fees, non-resident$6,144
First-year tuition plus fees, resident$84,492
First-year tuition plus fees, non-resident$84,492
Living expenses, on campus$31,640
Living expenses, off campus$31,640
Tuition, fees and living, one yearthe three published figures added together$116,132
The same three figures over three yearsbefore any grant or scholarship$348,396
Tuition guarantee programNo

Grants and scholarships

JD students receiving a grantof 759 students450
Share receiving a grant59%
Awards below half tuition188
Awards from half to full tuition157
Awards at full tuition96
Awards above full tuition9
Full-time grant, 75th percentile$60,000
Full-time grant, 50th percentile$42,246
Full-time grant, 25th percentile$29,512
Conditional scholarships offeredNo

Attrition, transfers and outcomes

First-year academic attrition0.0% of the first-year class0
First-year other attrition0
Students transferring in8
First-year students transferring out4
First-time bar takers303
First-time bar passers293
Gap to the jurisdiction average+13.77 points
Graduates in a job requiring bar admission97.2% of 252 graduates245
Graduates at firms of 251 or more lawyers70.6% of graduates178
Graduates at firms of 501 or more lawyers169
Graduates in federal clerkships20
Graduates seeking work at the reporting date0

As listed on the 509 report

3501 Sansom Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

(215) 898-7483

www.law.upenn.edu/

Council approved since 1923

Pennsylvania has 8 ABA-approved law schools. The Pennsylvania guide compares them on LSAT median, cost and bar passage, and covers the state's admission rules.

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 Pennsylvania Carey 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.

Updated 7 June 2026