Northern Illinois University School of Law is a public law school in Illinois. In the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle it reported a 57.1% first-time bar passage rate (state average 78.7%). 77.6% of graduates landed full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs, and 0.9% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. Resident tuition is $23,667 per year; a median grant of $8,274 brings median net tuition to about $15,393. The median LSAT is 150 with a 44.3% acceptance rate.
No placements reported (0%): MegaLaw 500+, Academia. 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 school57.1%
State avg78.7%
first-time -21.5 pts vs state · 2-yr ultimate 83.0% · class of 2025 first-time 61.9% (reported early 2026) · Different cohort than the admissions class above.
Admissions · 25 / 50 / 75
LSATmedian 150
148154
uGPAmedian 3.41
3.173.64
Applications to offers to enrolled
Applied951
Offered421
Enrolled 1L134
Offer rate 44% · yield 32%.
Grant distribution
No grant 22.2%Under half 52.4%Half to full 25.4%
Demographics
Women 56%Men 44%
White
222
Black
39
Hispanic
38
Asian
21
Two or more
27
Other / unreported
5
Cost detail
Resident tuition
$23,667
Non-resident
$23,667
Mandatory fees
$400
Living estimate
$22,742
Median grant
$8,274
Grant 25 / 75
$4,137 / $12,411
Cond. schol. loss
—
Faculty & market
Total faculty
48
Full-time faculty
26
Faculty of color
11
Total JD enrollment
352
Graduates
107
Mean attorney salary · state
$175,180
Trajectory
Trajectory since 2011
LSAT · 25-75 band
LSAT scoredown 2 since 2011
Middle-50% LSAT band by entering class.
uGPA · 25-75 band
Undergraduate GPAup 0.21 since 2011
Middle-50% uGPA band by entering class.
First-time bar passage
First-time bar passage ratedown 25% since 2011
First-time bar passage rate by year.
Full-time resident tuition
Resident tuitionup $5k since 2011
Sticker resident tuition by year.
Total JD enrollment
Students enrolledup 20 since 2011
Total JD enrollment by year.
Admissions
Admissions
LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
148 / 150 / 154
uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.17 / 3.41 / 3.64
Acceptance rate
44.3%
Applications received
951
Offers extended
421
1L enrollment
134
Total JD enrollment
352
GRE-only takers
0
1L attrition (academic / other)
8 / 0
Transfers in / out
4 / 1
Cost
Cost & scholarships
Resident tuition
$23,667
Non-resident tuition
$23,667
Mandatory fees
$400
Living-expense estimate
$22,742
Median grant
$8,274
Grant 25 / 75 percentile
$4,137 / $12,411
No-grant share
22.2%
< half-tuition grants
52.4%
Half-to-full grants
25.4%
Full-tuition grants
0.0%
Above-full grants (stipend)
0.0%
Conditional-scholarship loss rate
—
Bar passage
Bar passage
First-Time Bar (2024 cohort)
57.1%
Two-Year Ultimate Bar
83.0%
State average (same exam)
78.7%
Difference vs. state
-21.5 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 Northern Illinois University School of Law?
Northern Illinois University School of Law reported a 57.1% first-time bar passage rate in the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure, versus a 78.7% state average.
How much does Northern Illinois University School of Law cost?
Resident tuition at Northern Illinois University School of Law is $23,667 per year (about $71,001 over three years). The median grant is $8,274, bringing median net tuition to roughly $15,393 per year.
What LSAT and GPA do you need for Northern Illinois University School of Law?
The median (50th-percentile) LSAT at Northern Illinois University School of Law is 150 and the median GPA is 3.41; the acceptance rate is 44.3%.
What are the job outcomes at Northern Illinois University School of Law?
77.6% of Northern Illinois University School of Law graduates held full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs about ten months after graduation. 0.9% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. 10.3% were still seeking employment.
Consult
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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.