ABA 509 Profile · Private · Salem, OR
Willamette University School of Law: admission requirements and 509 data
A median LSAT of 154 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.48 describe the class that entered in 2025. 858 people applied, 527 were admitted and 139 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
154
p25 151 to p75 157
Median UGPA
3.48
p25 3.22 to p75 3.70
Acceptance Rate
61.4%
527 offers of 858 applications
First-Year Class
139
all full time
Full-Time Tuition
$56,600
plus $80 fees
Living Estimate
$22,828
school's own figure, single student off campus
Median Grant
$20,000
94% of students hold one
First-Time Bar Pass
66.7%
jurisdiction average 75.2%
How the acceptance rate is worked out
527 offers of admission ÷ 858 completed applications = 61.4%
We divide offers by completed applications rather than reprinting a rate. The 509 report states 61.42%, 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 Willamette University
Willamette University received 858 completed applications for the 2025 entering class and made 527 offers of admission, an acceptance rate of 61.4%. 139 of those admitted enrolled, a yield of 26.4%. The full first-year class came to 139 students, all full time. Total JD enrollment across all years is 365.
Enrolled students posted a median LSAT of 154, with a 25th percentile of 151 and a 75th of 157. That is 5 points below the 159 median across the 196 ABA-approved schools in this data. It ranks 148 of 196 on LSAT median. Undergraduate GPA ran 3.22 at the 25th percentile, 3.48 at the median and 3.70 at the 75th. 5 of the entering class were admitted on a GRE score rather than an LSAT score.
Full-time tuition is $56,600 a year at a single rate for residents and non-residents. Mandatory fees add $80. The school's own living-expense estimate for a single student off campus is $22,828. Tuition, fees and that living estimate add up to $79,508 for one year, or $238,524 across three, before any grant. 319 JD students hold a grant or scholarship, 94% of the student body, and the median full-time award is $20,000. 12 awards cover full tuition or more.
Of the graduating class that sat a bar exam for the first time, 60 of 90 passed, a rate of 66.67%. The weighted average across the jurisdictions where those graduates sat was 75.22%, so the school ran 8.55 points behind the jurisdictions it feeds. Ten months after graduation, 77 of 105 graduates (73.3%) held a job requiring bar admission. 1 joined law firms of 251 lawyers or more (1.0% of the class), of whom 1 went to firms of 501 or more. The largest single destination was Oregon with 63 graduates, followed by Washington with 7.
Willamette University has been approved by the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education since 1938. It is a private school based in Salem, OR. 4 first-year students left for academic reasons, 3.0% of the class. 1 students transferred in from other law schools.
The full 509 record
Admitted class profile, 2025 entering class
| Completed applications | 858 |
|---|---|
| Offers of admission | 527 |
| Matriculants from the applicant pool | 139 |
| Yield (matriculants per offer) | 26.4% |
| LSAT 75th percentile | 157 |
| LSAT 50th percentile | 154 |
| LSAT 25th percentile | 151 |
| UGPA 75th percentile | 3.70 |
| UGPA 50th percentile | 3.48 |
| UGPA 25th percentile | 3.22 |
| Students admitted on an LSAT score | 134 |
| Students admitted on a GRE score | 5 |
Program, faculty and calendar
| Total JD enrollment | 365 |
|---|---|
| JD degrees awarded | 106 |
| Credit hours required for the JD | 90 |
| Academic term | Semesters |
| Full-time faculty | 27 |
| Faculty other than full time | 25 |
| Course titles beyond the first year | 90 |
| Law clinic seats filled83 available | 75 |
| Field placements filled | 136 |
| Application deadline | August 1 |
| Application fee | No fee |
Tuition, fees and living costs, 2025 to 2026
| Full-time tuition, resident | $56,600 |
|---|---|
| Full-time annual fees, resident | $80 |
| Full-time tuition, non-resident | $56,600 |
| Full-time annual fees, non-resident | $80 |
| First-year tuition plus fees, resident | $56,680 |
| First-year tuition plus fees, non-resident | $56,680 |
| Living expenses, off campus | $22,828 |
| Living expenses, at home | $22,828 |
| Tuition, fees and living, one yearthe three published figures added together | $79,508 |
| The same three figures over three yearsbefore any grant or scholarship | $238,524 |
| Tuition guarantee program | No |
Grants and scholarships
| JD students receiving a grantof 341 students | 319 |
|---|---|
| Share receiving a grant | 94% |
| Awards below half tuition | 226 |
| Awards from half to full tuition | 81 |
| Awards at full tuition | 3 |
| Awards above full tuition | 9 |
| Full-time grant, 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| Full-time grant, 50th percentile | $20,000 |
| Full-time grant, 25th percentile | $10,000 |
| Conditional scholarships offered | No |
Attrition, transfers and outcomes
| First-year academic attrition3.0% of the first-year class | 4 |
|---|---|
| First-year other attrition | 4 |
| Students transferring in | 1 |
| First-year students transferring out | 4 |
| First-time bar takers | 90 |
| First-time bar passers | 60 |
| Gap to the jurisdiction average | -8.55 points |
| Graduates in a job requiring bar admission73.3% of 105 graduates | 77 |
| Graduates at firms of 251 or more lawyers1.0% of graduates | 1 |
| Graduates at firms of 501 or more lawyers | 1 |
| Graduates in federal clerkships | 0 |
| Graduates seeking work at the reporting date | 18 |
As listed on the 509 report
245 Winter St. SE, Salem, OR 97301
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 370-6605
Council approved since 1938
Oregon has 3 ABA-approved law schools. The Oregon 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 Willamette University
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 Willamette University 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.