Southern Methodist University School of Law is a private law school in Texas. In the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle it reported a 90.2% first-time bar passage rate (state average 81.4%). 98.2% of graduates landed full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs, and 38.2% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. Resident tuition is $60,844 per year; a median grant of $26,000 brings median net tuition to about $34,844. The median LSAT is 167 with a 24.6% acceptance rate.
No placements reported (0%): Solo, Academia, Still seeking. 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 school90.2%
State avg81.4%
first-time +8.8 pts vs state · 2-yr ultimate 94.4% · class of 2025 first-time 97.8% (reported early 2026) · Different cohort than the admissions class above.
Admissions · 25 / 50 / 75
LSATmedian 167
163168
uGPAmedian 3.81
3.523.92
Applications to offers to enrolled
Applied3,038
Offered747
Enrolled 1L254
Offer rate 25% · yield 34%.
Grant distribution
No grant 5.9%Under half 63.9%Half to full 26.7%Stipend 3.5%
Demographics
Women 53%Men 47%
White
437
Black
27
Hispanic
97
Asian
55
Two or more
24
Other / unreported
32
Cost detail
Resident tuition
$60,844
Non-resident
$60,844
Mandatory fees
$7,842
Living estimate
$17,834
Median grant
$26,000
Grant 25 / 75
$22,000 / $33,333
Cond. schol. loss
—
Faculty & market
Total faculty
198
Full-time faculty
59
Faculty of color
39
Total JD enrollment
672
Graduates
225
Mean attorney salary · state
$177,890
Trajectory
Trajectory since 2011
LSAT · 25-75 band
LSAT scoreup 4 since 2011
Middle-50% LSAT band by entering class.
uGPA · 25-75 band
Undergraduate GPAup 0.14 since 2011
Middle-50% uGPA band by entering class.
First-time bar passage
First-time bar passage rateup 8% since 2011
First-time bar passage rate by year.
Full-time resident tuition
Resident tuitionup $19k since 2011
Sticker resident tuition by year.
Total JD enrollment
Students enrolleddown 215 since 2011
Total JD enrollment by year.
Admissions
Admissions
LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
163 / 167 / 168
uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.52 / 3.81 / 3.92
Acceptance rate
24.6%
Applications received
3,038
Offers extended
747
1L enrollment
254
Total JD enrollment
672
GRE-only takers
1
1L attrition (academic / other)
0 / 0
Transfers in / out
8 / 5
Cost
Cost & scholarships
Resident tuition
$60,844
Non-resident tuition
$60,844
Mandatory fees
$7,842
Living-expense estimate
$17,834
Median grant
$26,000
Grant 25 / 75 percentile
$22,000 / $33,333
No-grant share
5.9%
< half-tuition grants
63.9%
Half-to-full grants
26.7%
Full-tuition grants
0.0%
Above-full grants (stipend)
3.5%
Conditional-scholarship loss rate
—
Bar passage
Bar passage
First-Time Bar (2024 cohort)
90.2%
Two-Year Ultimate Bar
94.4%
State average (same exam)
81.4%
Difference vs. state
+8.8 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 Southern Methodist University School of Law?
Southern Methodist University School of Law reported a 90.2% first-time bar passage rate in the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure, versus a 81.4% state average.
How much does Southern Methodist University School of Law cost?
Resident tuition at Southern Methodist University School of Law is $60,844 per year (about $182,532 over three years). The median grant is $26,000, bringing median net tuition to roughly $34,844 per year.
What LSAT and GPA do you need for Southern Methodist University School of Law?
The median (50th-percentile) LSAT at Southern Methodist University School of Law is 167 and the median GPA is 3.81; the acceptance rate is 24.6%.
What are the job outcomes at Southern Methodist University School of Law?
98.2% of Southern Methodist University School of Law graduates held full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs about ten months after graduation. 38.2% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. 0.0% 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.