BU Law Acceptance Rate 2025: Medians and Essays

BU Law Acceptance Rate 2025: Medians and Essays

Boston University School of Law's acceptance rate was 12.08% for the class that entered in fall 2025: 953 offers from 7,892 completed applications, according to its ABA Standard 509 report. The class medians were a 170 LSAT and a 3.88 GPA.

A year earlier the rate was 20.61%. BU's own preliminary profile of the class that entered in fall 2026 (the Class of 2029) reports 9,008 applicants, 234 students, and medians of 171 and 3.90.

Our reading: the scores held steady and the offers did not. Across four reports BU's median LSAT sat at 170 and the GPA median moved only a few hundredths. What changed in 2025 was that BU made 25% fewer offers and filled a larger class. Numbers still get you into range. But BU gives you no interview, no reconsideration and no "why BU" prompt, so the statement and letters carry most of the file's persuasive weight.

The 509 trend, 2022–2025

Each row is one ABA "First Year Class", meaning the class that started that fall. BU has no part-time program, so every figure is full-time.

And the school's own preliminary figures for the class that has just started:

The 2026 profile is BU's snapshot as of August 26, not the audited ABA filing, which is published later. If the 171 median holds in that filing, it will be the first change in BU's median LSAT across these five classes.

What changed in 2025, and what did not

Selectivity moved and the scores did not. Between the 2024 and 2025 classes, completed applications rose about 27% (6,207 to 7,892) while offers fell about 25% (1,279 to 953). The rate went from roughly one admit in five to about one in eight. Over the same period the median LSAT stayed at 170 and the 25th percentile moved one point.

Yield jumped. Enrollment from offers rose from 16.26% to 24.55%, and the class still grew from 215 to 238. With fewer offers and more students enrolling, each offer counted for more. The 509 does not explain why. We simply note that BU's binding programs, described below, are the only formal way BU lets you tell it that it is your first choice.

The GRE route is narrow. In the fall 2025 class, all 238 1Ls were admitted with the LSAT. BU says: "We accept the GRE with pre-approval only and on a limited basis." That is a sharp contrast with schools that treat the tests as interchangeable.

Folklore to drop

• "BU admits about one in five." That was the fall 2024 class. For fall 2025 it was 12.08%.
• "Send a GRE, it's the same." Not at BU. It has a "strong preference" for the LSAT, and the GRE is accepted only by pre-approval.
• "BU scholarships can disappear after 1L." Both BU's disclosures page and its 509 state that the school does not award conditional scholarships. In the 2024–25 year, 604 of 662 students (91%) received grants. The median grant was $29,000. If conditional aid is a worry on your other offers, the conditional scholarship guide explains what to look for.

What BU asks you to write

All read on BU Law's personal documents, how to apply and recommendations pages on 2026-09-24.

What the numbers imply about the essays

These are our opinions, each tied to something BU publishes.

1. BU's statement asks "why law," not "who are you." Georgetown lets you write about anything. BU asks for the experiences "that have contributed to your decision to study law." A statement that never reaches that decision has not answered BU's prompt. BU posts three admitted students' statements on its personal statements page: an engineer drawn to regulatory law, a student shaped by an early police encounter, and a jazz musician. By our count they run roughly 650 to 870 words. Each one arrives at the decision to pursue law.
2. Experience is the norm, so use it. BU's profile says 74% of the Class of 2029 has at least a year of postgraduate experience. BU's recommendations page says "two-thirds of the incoming class takes time" off, and accepts letters from employers when professors are out of reach. A statement that turns work into a reason to study law fits this pool. Our guide to writing the statement after years of work covers that shape.
3. The optional essay is a specific prompt, not a general diversity slot. BU asks about bias, cross-cultural competency and racism, "consistent with the American Bar Association." Write it only if you have real material on that question. The post-SFFA perspective statement map shows how BU's prompt differs from other schools' versions.
4. There is no second chance to explain. BU says a decision "is final" and that there is no reconsideration process. Anything a reader needs to understand, such as a transcript dip or a gap, belongs in a short addendum at submission. See the law school addendum examples.

Binding programs: two very different deals

If either binding program admits you, BU requires you to withdraw all other law school applications within five days and a $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due two weeks after admission. BU says it plainly: applicants who need financial aid to enroll "should not apply through the BU Bound Binding Decision Program." Take that literally.

A decision procedure for this week

1. Place yourself against the fall 2025 509 row, then look at the Class of 2029 snapshot. Do not rely on a pre-2025 admit rate.
2. Choose a track by money first. If you need merit aid, your options are the Distinguished Scholar program by November 9 or regular decision. BU Bound excludes merit scholarships.
3. Book your LSAT dates against BU's cutoffs. November for the Distinguished Scholar program and the January 5 scholar programs; January for BU Bound and as the latest recommended date for regular decision.
4. Confirm two recommenders now. Your file does not reach BU until LSAC has processed two letters. See how LSAC letters work.
5. Write the statement to answer BU's actual question, then decide whether you have real material for the optional essay or the ASPIRE or Public Interest essays.

Compare BU with a school that asks for something very different in Georgetown Law's acceptance rate and essays. For peer schools, see the T14 medians and essays table. BU's $85 fee can be waived "in some circumstances." The fee waiver guide compares school policies.

Test your draft before you submit

When you have a draft, run it through GradPilot's free review against the law school personal statement rubric and paste BU's prompt with it. You get qualitative feedback on your own writing, including whether it actually reaches the decision to study law and where it stays general. It does not predict admission and it does not write or edit the statement for you. Start at law school personal statement review.

FAQ

What is BU Law's acceptance rate?

For the class that entered in fall 2025, 12.08%: 953 offers from 7,892 completed applications, according to BU's 2025 ABA Standard 509 report. The previous three classes were 20.61% (2024), 17.82% (2023) and 16.33% (2022).

What LSAT and GPA does BU Law expect?

BU says "there is no combination of GPA and test score that necessarily results in admission or denial." The fall 2025 class had a 170 median LSAT (164 at the 25th percentile, 171 at the 75th) and a 3.88 median GPA. BU's preliminary Class of 2029 profile reports a 171 median LSAT and a 3.90 median GPA.

Does BU Law accept the GRE?

Only "with pre-approval only and on a limited basis." BU states a "strong preference" for the LSAT. All 238 students in the fall 2025 class were admitted with the LSAT.

How long is the BU Law personal statement?

BU sets no hard limit. It says "Most personal statements are approximately two pages long" and asks you to double-space.

Does BU Law interview applicants?

No. BU offers non-evaluative phone appointments with an admissions counselor, but these are not interviews and are not part of the evaluation.

Sources

All read 2026-09-24.

1. ABA Required Disclosures, Standard 509 reports for Boston University, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 (via abarequireddisclosures.org); BU's own ABA required disclosures page.
2. BU Law, Class Profile (Class of 2029, as of August 26, 2026).
3. BU Law, How to Apply, Personal Documents, Standardized Tests, Letters of Recommendation.
4. BU Law, Dates, Deadlines, & Fees and Binding Decision Programs.
5. BU Law, Application FAQs and Personal Statements from Previous Applicants.