Southwestern Law School is a private law school in California. In the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle it reported a 64.9% first-time bar passage rate (state average 77.8%). 83.4% of graduates landed full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs, and 5.5% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. Resident tuition is $63,160 per year; a median grant of $29,166 brings median net tuition to about $33,994. The median LSAT is 157 with a 36.5% 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 school64.9%
State avg77.8%
first-time -12.8 pts vs state · 2-yr ultimate 87.8% · class of 2025 first-time 72.1% (reported early 2026) · Different cohort than the admissions class above.
Admissions · 25 / 50 / 75
LSATmedian 157
154160
uGPAmedian 3.51
3.233.72
Applications to offers to enrolled
Applied3,584
Offered1,307
Enrolled 1L459
Offer rate 36% · yield 35%.
Grant distribution
No grant 28.2%Under half 37.1%Half to full 31.8%Full 1.2%Stipend 1.7%
Demographics
Women 60%Men 40%
White
562
Black
31
Hispanic
309
Asian
127
Two or more
56
Other / unreported
23
Cost detail
Resident tuition
$63,160
Non-resident
$63,160
Mandatory fees
—
Living estimate
$38,033
Median grant
$29,166
Grant 25 / 75
$12,500 / $42,372
Cond. schol. loss
—
Faculty & market
Total faculty
185
Full-time faculty
70
Faculty of color
57
Total JD enrollment
1,108
Graduates
290
Mean attorney salary · state
$213,860
Trajectory
Trajectory since 2011
LSAT · 25-75 band
LSAT scoreup 3 since 2011
Middle-50% LSAT band by entering class.
uGPA · 25-75 band
Undergraduate GPAup 0.22 since 2011
Middle-50% uGPA band by entering class.
First-time bar passage
First-time bar passage rateup 6% since 2011
First-time bar passage rate by year.
Full-time resident tuition
Resident tuitionup $21k since 2011
Sticker resident tuition by year.
Total JD enrollment
Students enrolledup 13 since 2011
Total JD enrollment by year.
Admissions
Admissions
LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
154 / 157 / 160
uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.23 / 3.51 / 3.72
Acceptance rate
36.5%
Applications received
3,584
Offers extended
1,307
1L enrollment
459
Total JD enrollment
1,108
GRE-only takers
0
1L attrition (academic / other)
51 / 4
Transfers in / out
0 / 9
Cost
Cost & scholarships
Resident tuition
$63,160
Non-resident tuition
$63,160
Mandatory fees
—
Living-expense estimate
$38,033
Median grant
$29,166
Grant 25 / 75 percentile
$12,500 / $42,372
No-grant share
28.2%
< half-tuition grants
37.1%
Half-to-full grants
31.8%
Full-tuition grants
1.2%
Above-full grants (stipend)
1.7%
Conditional-scholarship loss rate
—
Part-time JD
Part-time 1L enrollment
76
PT LSAT (25 / 50 / 75)
155 / 158 / 160
PT uGPA (25 / 50 / 75)
3.17 / 3.48 / 3.68
Part-time tuition
$42,124
Part-time JD figures, most recent ABA 509 cycle.
Bar passage
Bar passage
First-Time Bar (2024 cohort)
64.9%
Two-Year Ultimate Bar
87.8%
State average (same exam)
77.8%
Difference vs. state
-12.8 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 Southwestern Law School?
Southwestern Law School reported a 64.9% first-time bar passage rate in the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure, versus a 77.8% state average.
How much does Southwestern Law School cost?
Resident tuition at Southwestern Law School is $63,160 per year (about $189,480 over three years). The median grant is $29,166, bringing median net tuition to roughly $33,994 per year.
What LSAT and GPA do you need for Southwestern Law School?
The median (50th-percentile) LSAT at Southwestern Law School is 157 and the median GPA is 3.51; the acceptance rate is 36.5%.
What are the job outcomes at Southwestern Law School?
83.4% of Southwestern Law School graduates held full-time, long-term JD-required or JD-advantage jobs about ten months after graduation. 5.5% joined large firms of 251+ attorneys. 7.6% 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.