Santa Clara University School of Law is a private law school in California. In the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle it reported a 74.77% first-time bar passage rate (state average 78.0%). 79.8% of graduates landed full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs, and 19.2% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. Resident tuition is $65,540 per year; a median grant of $40,000 brings median net tuition to about $25,540. The median LSAT is 159 with a 52.6% acceptance rate.
These shares count where every employed graduate landed, by sector and firm size, across all job types; they can total more than the full-time long-term (FTLT) employment headline, which counts only the stricter full-time, long-term, JD-required or JD-advantage subset.
Bar passage · first-time
This school74.77%
State avg78%
first-time -3.2 pts vs state · 2-yr ultimate 83.1% · class of 2025 first-time 81.95% (reported early 2026) · Different cohort than the admissions class above.
Admissions · 25 / 50 / 75
LSATmedian 159
157162
uGPAmedian 3.50
3.213.74
Applications → offers → enrolled
Applied2,575
Offered1,354
Enrolled 1L256
Offer rate 53% · yield 19%.
Grant distribution
No grant 38.6%Under half 17.4%Half to full 24.1%Full 18.4%Stipend 1.4%
Demographics
Women 60%Men 40%
White
310
Black
19
Hispanic
146
Asian
204
Two or more
47
Other / unreported
20
Cost detail
Resident tuition
$65,540
Non-resident
$65,540
Mandatory fees
—
Living estimate
$35,618
Median grant
$40,000
Grant 25 / 75
$30,000 / $57,262
Cond. schol. loss
—
Faculty & market
Total faculty
139
Full-time faculty
53
Faculty of color
31
Total JD enrollment
746
Graduates
198
Mean attorney salary · state
$213,860
Trajectory since 2011
LSAT · 25-75 band
Middle-50% LSAT band by entering class.
uGPA · 25-75 band
Middle-50% uGPA band by entering class.
First-time bar passage
First-time bar passage rate by year.
Full-time resident tuition
Sticker resident tuition by year.
Total JD enrollment
Total JD enrollment by year.
Admissions
LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
157 / 159 / 162
uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.21 / 3.50 / 3.74
Acceptance rate
52.6%
Applications received
2,575
Offers extended
1,354
1L enrollment
256
Total JD enrollment
746
GRE-only takers
18
GRE Verbal (25 / 50 / 75)
154 / 158 / 161
GRE Quant (25 / 50 / 75)
153 / 156 / 162
GRE Analytical (25 / 50 / 75)
4 / 4 / 5
1L attrition (academic / other)
3 / 6
Transfers in / out
4 / 4
Cost & scholarships
Resident tuition
$65,540
Non-resident tuition
$65,540
Mandatory fees
—
Living-expense estimate
$35,618
Median grant
$40,000
Grant 25 / 75 percentile
$30,000 / $57,262
No-grant share
38.6%
< half-tuition grants
17.4%
Half-to-full grants
24.1%
Full-tuition grants
18.4%
Above-full grants (stipend)
1.4%
Conditional-scholarship loss rate
—
Part-time JD
Part-time 1L enrollment
50
PT LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
157 / 160 / 163
PT uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.09 / 3.42 / 3.59
Part-time tuition
$2,260 per credit
Part-time JD figures, most recent ABA 509 cycle. Tuition is reported per credit; annual cost depends on the part-time load taken.
Bar passage
First-Time Bar (2024 cohort)
74.77%
Two-Year Ultimate Bar
83.1%
State average (same exam)
78.0%
Difference vs. state
-3.2 pts
Different cohorts: first-time bar passage reflects graduates who entered law school about three years before the current admissions class shown above. Read the two as separate snapshots, not a single pipeline.
What is the first-time bar passage rate at Santa Clara University School of Law?
Santa Clara University School of Law reported a 74.77% first-time bar passage rate in the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure, versus a 78.0% state average.
How much does Santa Clara University School of Law cost?
Resident tuition at Santa Clara University School of Law is $65,540 per year (about $196,620 over three years). The median grant is $40,000, bringing median net tuition to roughly $25,540 per year.
What LSAT and GPA do you need for Santa Clara University School of Law?
The median (50th-percentile) LSAT at Santa Clara University School of Law is 159 and the median GPA is 3.50; the acceptance rate is 52.6%.
What are the job outcomes at Santa Clara University School of Law?
79.8% of Santa Clara University School of Law graduates held full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs about ten months after graduation. 19.2% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. 11.1% were still seeking employment.
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Data from the ABA Standard 509 disclosures, self-reported by law schools and not guaranteed (raw data may have errors or omissions). State attorney-salary context: U.S. BLS OEWS 2024 (SOC 23-1011); cost-of-living: U.S. BEA Regional Price Parities. How the data is sourced & validated: Methodology. Unfamiliar with a term (FTLT, net tuition, bimodal)? Glossary. Copyright basis & permitted use: Terms.