Navigating Admissions at Northeastern University School of Law: LSAT Scores, Academic Profile, and Holistic Review

Gaining admission to law school is a competitive process, and Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is no exception. NUSL seeks a diverse student body with a broad set of interests, backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives. In making admission decisions, the school considers a range of factors, including academic achievements, standardized test scores, and personal qualities.

Understanding the LSAT and GPA Landscape at Northeastern

Northeastern University School of Law considers the undergraduate GPA, LSAT score, and other factors candidates bring to the process. The median LSAT score and GPA for admitted students provide a general benchmark for applicants. However, it's important to remember that these are just averages, and the Admissions Committee conducts a holistic review of each application.

According to ILRG's analysis based on the ABA's most recent 509 disclosures (released December 2025), which report the fall 2025 entering class, NUSL's LSAT/GPA data reflects the Fall 2025 entering class:

LSAT Composite: NUSL ranks #49 in LSAT composite (163.7), an average of its 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile LSAT scores (161 · 164 · 166).
GPA Composite: NUSL ranks #57 in GPA composite (3.75), an average of its 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile GPAs (3.61 · 3.77 · 3.86).

These figures provide a snapshot of the academic profile of recent entering classes. While a strong LSAT score and GPA can certainly strengthen an application, they are not the only factors considered.

Beyond the Numbers: A Holistic Admission Review

NUSL employs a holistic admission review process, meaning that they evaluate applicants based on a wide range of factors, not just numbers. The Admissions Committee considers letters of recommendation, essays, graduate training, special academic distinctions or honors, difficulty of the academic program completed, work experience, and significant achievement in nonacademic activities or public service.

Letters of Recommendation: Strong letters of recommendation from professors or mentors who know the applicant well can provide valuable insights into their academic abilities, work ethic, and character.
Essays: The personal statement and optional essays offer applicants the opportunity to showcase their writing skills, share their unique experiences and perspectives, and demonstrate their passion for law.
Work Experience and Extracurricular Activities: Meaningful work experience and involvement in extracurricular activities can demonstrate an applicant's leadership skills, teamwork abilities, and commitment to service.

The Personal Statement: Telling Your Story

The personal statement is a crucial part of the application. The application instructions state that you must provide a personal statement on any topic. A hallmark of a Northeastern University School of Law education is the freedom to pursue the areas of law that interest you, both in and out of the classroom, and we are granting you the same freedom in deciding what topic(s) to cover in your personal statement. This is your chance to help us get to know you in a more personal way.

Optional Essays: Showcasing Your Strengths

Applicants are encouraged to respond to one of our three optional essay questions. Your response must be in your own words, one page, double-spaced in 12-point font. The optional essays provide a space for you to showcase your writing abilities and share additional information with us.

Experiential Learning: Over the past few years, most law schools have come to recognize the importance of hands-on legal experience. At Northeastern, we have been incorporating practice directly into the curriculum since 1968.
Public Interest Law Scholarship (PILS): Applicants may submit this essay to bolster their candidacy for the Public Interest Law Scholarship (PILS). Students who wish to bolster their candidacy for PILS may respond to the optional essay question asking about a specific social justice issue they are most passionate about.
Diversity and Inclusion: Diversity is about excellence and inclusion. Northeastern University School of Law, in keeping with the mission of Northeastern University, is committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff that welcomes and respects all persons, regardless of race, gender identity or expression, family structure, socio-economic status, or ability status. We strive to develop an open and respectful environment that draws on talent from every sector or society and engages the global community. We are dedicated to the integration of multiple, divergent perspectives, and to the principle that a diverse and inclusive community not only supports innovation and creativity, but also creates and promotes cultural understanding throughout Northeastern's community.

Addressing Weaknesses: The Addendum

Yes, you are welcome to submit an addendum to address anything in your application that might require further explanation, such as a gap in schooling or employment. Please be specific but brief. We kindly ask that you refrain from submitting additional, supplemental materials, including, but not limited to, senior theses, works of art, creative writing, publications, reports, videography, music or other materials.

Character and Fitness

Northeastern asks applicants to answer a series of character and fitness questions. Because of the high ethical standards to which lawyers are held, the failure to disclose an act or event can lead to more serious consequences than the act or event itself. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. For detailed information on professional licensure disclosures, please visit our Professional Licensure Disclosure Page.

Applying Again

The School of Law welcomes applications from candidates who have previously applied. If you applied to Northeastern in a previous year, you are encouraged to include an updated résumé, personal statement, letter(s) of recommendation and/or an optional essay, though these are not required.

Application Process and Requirements

The School of Law begins to receive applications in September for the next year’s class (about a year prior to enrollment).

Application Materials: You must submit a completed application form, résumé and personal statement. You must submit your transcript(s) and letter(s) of recommendation through the Law School Admission Council’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Once the law school receives your application, we will contact the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) in order to obtain copies of your transcript(s), letter(s) of recommendation and any other information you have sent to LSAC. Additionally, applicants whose foreign degree program was not taught in English must submit a TOEFL score report directly to Northeastern University School of Law (institution code 3658). You are not required to submit an LSAT score if you hold a law degree from a non-US law school. If your foreign degree program was not taught in English, you will need to submit a TOEFL score report directly to Northeastern University School of Law (institution code 3658).
Application Deadline: Your application and supporting documents should be received by Admissions by March 1 of the year you would like to enter. The later you apply, the fewer seats will be available in our class.
Résumé Guidelines: Applicants are encouraged to limit their résumé to one page in 12-point font.
Early Decision and Early Action Programs: Northeastern University School of Law offers a binding early decision (ED) program to full-time JD applicants whose first choice is Northeastern Law. Candidates to the binding ED program may apply to other law schools but may not apply to any other binding decision programs. Applicants must sign and submit a binding early decision contract to confirm their intent to apply for early decision. The deadline for ED is December 1 and applicants must take the LSAT exam on (or before) the November test date. Admission decisions for ED applicants will be released no later than December 31 and admitted students will be required to submit the non-refundable $500 enrollment deposit by January 5. If you apply through the ED program, you will either be admitted, waitlisted or denied by December 31. If you are offered a place on the waitlist, however, you are no longer bound to attend Northeastern Law. The School of Law offers an early action program for students who view Northeastern University School of Law among their top choices and would like to receive an admission decision sooner. The deadline for early action is December 1 and applicants must take the LSAT exam by (or before) the November test date in order to be complete by the deadline.
Regular Decision: Applicants who complete applications by the March 1 regular decision deadline receive a decision by April 15. Applicants must take the LSAT no later than February.
Visiting the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid: The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is open to visitors from 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, with the exception of University holidays and breaks. The admissions team is available to answer any questions you may have about the application process.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Northeastern University School of Law offers a variety of financial aid and scholarship opportunities to help students finance their legal education.

FAFSA: All students interested in being considered for need-based financial aid must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available at fafsa.ed.gov. The priority filing window for the FAFSA is October 1 through February 15.
Merit-Based Scholarships: A variety of merit-based scholarships are awarded to incoming first-year students. Applicants will typically be notified about merit-based tuition scholarships within three weeks of receiving an offer of admission.
Public Interest Law Scholars (PILS) Program: Northeastern’s most generous and prestigious scholarship program is the Public Interest Law Scholars (PILS) Program. This program offers full tuition to students with strong social justice and public interest backgrounds and is renewable each year so long as the student remains in good standing.
Scholarship Negotiation: The School of Law reviews every application in detail, and merit-based scholarships are awarded to students based on their individual applications. It is our policy to be fully upfront with our merit scholarship offers. With such a deep and talented applicant pool, we are required to make some very difficult decisions about the limited merit aid we are able to award, and, unfortunately, not every admitted student receives a merit scholarship due to the competitive nature of our pool. We are therefore unable to provide additional merit scholarships after admission.

Transfer Students

Transfer Application Deadline: *This is the priority deadline for transfer students.
Evaluation Criteria: We will focus primarily on your performance in your first year of law school, but we will also consider your undergraduate work, LSAT score, outside activities and connection to the mission of Northeastern University School of Law.
Credit Transfer: Academic and Student Affairs determines which credits transfer on a case-by-case basis.
Required Courses: First-year students at Northeastern take seven courses (Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law, Contracts and Legal Skills in Social Context). Transfer students are not required to take Legal Skills in Social Context, but must complete a first-year legal writing course.
Program Length: Students admitted with advanced standing typically complete the JD program in two years.

Waitlist Information

Waitlist Monitoring: The waitlist is monitored throughout the summer. No, we do not rank our waitlist. Should we activate the waitlist, we will give every file consideration.
Interviews: Unfortunately, we do not interview or formally meet with applicants, but we have staff on hand to answer any questions you may have.
Scholarships for Waitlisted Students: Students admitted from the waitlist are not typically awarded merit scholarships. It is also our policy not to negotiate scholarship aid. You are encouraged to submit a FAFSA to be eligible for need-based loans.

Academic Environment and Culture

Northeastern University School of Law offers a distinctive academic environment characterized by collaboration, experiential learning, and a commitment to social justice.

Cooperative Legal Education Program: Northeastern's unique approach to training law students for a career in the legal profession is known as Cooperative Legal Education. This program ensures that you will graduate in three years with nearly a full year of practical legal experience gained through terms of full-time work ("co-ops"). You will complete a traditional first year of academic study. Then, during your second and third years, you will alternate between full-time classes and full-time legal work. The co-op application process begins in the fall of your first year with an information session with the Center for Co-op and Career Development to introduce the co-op program. Students who will be going out on their first co-op in the summer will have subsequent trainings through the fall covering the co-op application process, policies and procedures, résumés, cover letters and other topics. Students receive a weekly newsletter from the Center for Co-op and Career Development listing all new co-op positions and will receive regular reminders for all deadlines for the quarters during which they will be going on co-op.
Experiential Learning Opportunities: Clinics, simulation courses, moot court competitions and other experiential learning opportunities are all part of the mix at Northeastern.
Public Interest Focus: Nationally recognized for its commitment to public interest law, Northeastern University School of Law is a dynamic institution for service as well as learning. You’ll find that social justice is a theme in your law school courses and discussions throughout your career at Northeastern. As a first-year student, you’ll complete Northeastern’s year-long Legal Skills in Social Context program, where you’ll develop legal research, writing and advocacy skills and put those new skills to use in a social justice project on behalf of a real-world nonprofit or community-based organization. In addition, students undertaking public interest co-ops may also be eligible for co-op stipends.
Collaborative Environment: Law schools have a reputation for being environments of ruthless competition; not Northeastern. We cultivate a collegial and supportive atmosphere that begins in the classroom and extends throughout campus. Students receive written evaluations from faculty and co-op employers. Without an onerous class rank, students are free to work together and take intellectual risks. Students regard one another as peers rather than rivals, teaming up for projects and study sessions, collaborating as members of student groups, and forging professional and personal bonds that endure long after graduation. Rather than a number or letter grade, you will receive a narrative evaluation from your professor for each class you take throughout your law school career as well as from your supervisor for each of your co-ops. Copies of all of these evaluations are included in your law school transcript. There are no class rankings or GPAs. The Cooperative Income Sharing Program (CISP) is a student-run and student-managed organization dedicated to increasing awareness of, and student participation in, public service.
Faculty Accessibility: Absolutely! Most professors have open door policies, meaning that if they are in the building, students are free to come by to say hello, ask questions or get help with difficult course material.

Student Life

Diversity: Our law school community is one of the most diverse in the country. Approximately 75 percent of the students in the first-year class are women, 41 percent identify as people of color, and 19 percent identify as LGBTQ+.
Location and Accessibility: Northeastern is accessible via two lines of the MBTA subway system, the Orange Line and Green E-Line, as well as multiple bus lines.
Housing: Most students prefer to live in an apartment off-campus. There are many apartments available near the school, and even more apartments in surrounding areas close to public transportation. The most popular neighborhoods for students to live are Jamaica Plain (a 15-20 minute commute on the Orange Line or bus), Cambridge (especially Central Square - a short commute on the #1 Bus or Red/Orange Lines), and the Fenway area (a 10-15 minute walk).
University Resources: As part of the broader Northeastern University community, our students enjoy access to extensive facilities and resources that range from state-of-the-art fitness centers to a fully modernized library available to students 24/7.

Career Development

Center for Co-op and Career Development: You'll receive one-on-one guidance from a professional development advisor in the Center for Co-op and Career Development throughout your three years of law school. With assistance, you'll design a professional development strategy that includes both co-op and post-graduate planning. The School of Law’s Center for Co-Op and Career Development supports students through every step of the co-op process and during postgraduate career development. Advisors help students create personalized career plans and aid students as they make choices about co-op and career opportunities.
Co-op Program Employers: More than 1,000 employers worldwide currently participate in the co-op program, representing virtually every practice area, including law firms of all sizes, trial and appellate judges in federal and state courts, public defender and legal services organizations, corporate and union legal departments, and government agencies and international nongovernmental organizations, among many other additional advocacy groups.
Co-op Compensation: Students may be paid on co-op, with salaries ranging from minimal compensation for public interest positions to more than $3,500 per week in large private firms.

Outcomes

Employment Prospects: It is no surprise that our students find their postgraduate employment prospects enhanced through the co-op program. Northeastern graduates are employed throughout the world in every practice area. They may be found teaching at distinguished law schools, sitting on the bench at both the state and federal levels, practicing as partners in prominent law firms and serving as directors of legal service organizations throughout the nation. Graduates of Northeastern enter public service careers at a rate far greater than the national average.
Bar Passage: NUSL ranks #61 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (87.4%), and it outperforms by +4.5% the state of Massachusetts's overall bar passage rate of 82.9%. A national comparison on bar passage should be taken with caution because every state has a different bar passage rate. The most meaningful comparison is between a school's passage rate and the state's overall rate for the same exam administration.

Additional Programs

LLM Programs: On-Campus LLM students may choose the General Program, which offers maximum flexibility to let you take the courses you want and need - to qualify for a US bar exam or to do whatever you choose as a lawyer who wants to make a difference - or one of our concentrations, which provide a competitive advantage in specific fields of interest. The Online LLM offers a 100 percent online flexible learning format designed for working attorneys.
Dual-Degree Programs: Northeastern offers a number of dual-degree programs.

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