Admissions and Costs Terms

Key Stats Terms

A quartile is the result of spliting a populaion into four equal groups. The 50th percentile, or median, is the middle point between the smallest and highest value in a population. The 25th percentile is the middle point between the smallest value and the median value. The 75th percentile uses the same calculation, but with the highest value. The interquartile range is the range between the 25th and 75th percentile (inclusive). A median is a type of average; another common average is the mean.

Admissions Data Terms

Admissions data reflect all students who matriculate between October and September, e.g. between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020. All enrollment data, unless otherwise indicated, reflect all matriculants whether they start in the winter, spring, summer, or fall, or attend class part time or full time.

1L Enrollment

Total students starting law school, whether they start in the winter, spring, summer, or fall, or attend class part time or full time.

LSAT

The Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT, is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It's designed to assess reading comprehension, logical, and verbal reasoning proficiencies. The test is an integral part of the law school admission process in the United States.

GRE

The Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, is a standardized test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) for prospective graduate school candidates. It's designed to assess verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills. The test is accepted by more than 25% of law schools in the United States (as of the 2020-21 admissions cycle).

GPA

You may have many GPAs to your name: undergraduate, degree, masters, PhD, etc. However, only your LSDAS GPA truly matters for law school admissions. That's the GPA that schools report to the ABA and other parties. The LSDAS GPA is calculated by LSAC using all college-level work, whether at your degree-granting institution or elsewhere, before your first undergraduate degree is granted.

Admissions Data Quartiles

Refers to the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles for all enrollees included in the admissions dataset.

Cost Terms

Tuition Discount

Sometimes referred to as scholarships. The discount is the amount of need-based or non-need-based discount a student receives to attend the law school. These often come with strings attached.

Conditional Scholarships

Any financial aid award, the retention of which is dependent upon the student maintaining a minimum grade point average or class standing, other than that ordinarily required to remain in good academic standing.

Median Discount

The middle tuition discount received by those who receive tuition discounts. If 60% of the school's enrollment receives a $5,000 discount, then 30% of the school received at least a $5,000 discount. In this scenario, 30% also received between $0 and $5,000 and 40% received no discount.

Percent Receiving Discount

The percentage of all enrolled students (not just 1Ls) in a given academic year that receives some tuition discount, whether need-based or not, or with strings or without.

Percent Paying Full Price

The percentage of all enrolled students (not just 1Ls) in a given academic year that receive no tuition discount, whether need-based or not, or with strings or without.

Projected Debt at Repayment

The projected debt owed by a graduate who borrows to attend the law school. The figure is as of six months following graduation when the first loan payment is due; assumes no interest pre-payments; and accounts for tuition increases based on previous years of change. Interest accumulation calculations are time-sensitive—based on semester disbursement periods—and use a blended rate based on projected interest rates.

Various parts of this site allow you to factor in assumptions that adjust the maximum amount you may borrow, which is determined by the law school's self-reported cost of attendance. Factors include residency (for state schools), LDS faith (for BYU), tuition discounts, and monetary contributions. Each factor offsets the need to fully debt-finance the cost of attending a law school.

Monthly Payment

The monthly payment based upon total law school debt as of six months after graduation, when the first payment is due.