The Best Universities for Law in California

Stanford University

• Stanford Law School ranks among the elite legal institutions in America, joining Harvard and Yale to form the big three of law education. Stanford Law School is located between San Francisco and San Jose in Silicon Valley. The campus appeal draws many top law students that are accepted to Yale and Harvard as well. The school reviews around 4.000 applications per year to fill a 170-student class. Admission standards are high, with the average LSAT score around 170 and the average undergraduate GPA at 3.87. Stanford does look beyond the numbers though, as it seeks to have a diverse student body.

  Stanford Law School
  Crown Quadrangle
  559 Nathan Abbott Way
  Stanford, CA 94305-8610
  (650) 723-4985
  law.stanford.edu

California-Berkeley

• The Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley is one of California's top law schools. Berkeley is part of the state's best public university system and has the advantage of being one of the most affordable of California's best law schools. However, it is one of the toughest to be admitted to because of its lower tuition and popularity. Boalt Hall only has an acceptance rate of around 11 percent, but they encourage applicants to share their life experiences on the application. Boalt Hall tries to take the student's story into consideration as opposed to relying solely on LSAT and GPA numbers. The ideal student Is described as intellectually curious with strong academic potential with an interest in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law, according to the school's Dean of Admissions, Edward Tom.

  University of California
  Berkeley School of Law Admissions Office
  5 Boalt Hall
  Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
  (510) 642-2274
  law.berkeley.edu

UCLA

• The University of California at Los Angeles is also part of the UC family and has lower graduate tuition than its Berkeley counterpart. However, the total cost of the UCLA law program is estimated at more than $50,000 per year. including room, board, books and fees. UCLA's Law School is the youngest of the nation's top law schools at just 60 years. The school tries to break the mold by keeping its focus on innovative studies and teaching techniques. The idea is to bridge the gap between what lawyers learn in a typical law school and what they actually do once they begin practicing law in the world.

  UCLA Law School
  71 Dodd Hall
  Los Angeles, CA 90095
  (310) 825-2080
  law.ucla.edu