3315 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, TX 75205
(214) 768-2540
Admissions E-mail |
National Comparison: Overview of Facts
#32 in Employment Rate at Graduation
#43 in Employment Rate at 10 MonthsSMU Law ranks #32 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (61.9%) and #43 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (83.5%).
#36 in Median Undergraduate GPA
SMU Law ranks #36 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.68) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.
#37 in Private Sector Salary
SMU Law is tied for #37 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($100,000).
#37 in Library Size
SMU Law ranks #37 in terms of library size with 666,576 volumes or equivalents.
#39 in Highest Tuition
SMU Law ranks #39 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($54,094). We rank from a total of 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, ranking twice those law schools that have different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
#43 in Median LSAT
SMU Law is tied for #43 in terms of the median LSAT score (161) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.
#62 in Public Sector Salary
SMU Law is tied for #62 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($57,000).
#66 in Bar Passage Rate
SMU Law ranks #66 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (85.0%), and it outperforms by +10.5% the state of Texas’s overall bar passage rate of 74.5%. (A national comparison on this metric should be taken in a qualified sense and with caution, because every state has a different bar passage rate.)
#82 in Presence of Minority Students
SMU Law ranks #82 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (34.2%).
#88 in Acceptance Rate
SMU Law ranks #88 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 47.2% among those who applied for admission.
#89 in Student to Faculty Ratio
SMU Law is tied for #89 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (6.9:1).
#144 in Presence of Minority Faculty
SMU Law ranks #144 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (9.7%).
#166 in Presence of Female Faculty
SMU Law is tied for #166 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (31.9%).
About this Report
This report was released in spring 2019.
GPA & LSAT
References to the lowest, median, and highest GPA and LSAT scores reflect those of the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile, respectively, among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall2018.
Acceptance Rates
The acceptance rate is that of applicants granted admission as full-time students for classes commencing in fall2018.The acceptance rate of the applicants does not reflect actual enrollment rates, a subset figure.
Student-to-Faculty Ratios
The student-to-faculty ratio shows the number of students for that class per faculty member. This ratio reflects the applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall2018.
Bar Passage Rates
The bar passage rates reflect those among first-time test takers for the winter and summer2017administrations of the bar examinations. The state noted is that in which the greatest number of the law school's graduates took the bar exam for the reported period.
Employment Rates
The employment rates shown are those of the2017full-time graduates at the time of graduation and ten months after graduation.
Law Library Volumes
The data indicate the number of print and microform volumes, as well as volume equivalents.
Gender, Race & Ethnicity
The data shown indicate the percentage of the faculty that are male and female, respectively, and the percentage of the faculty and students that are racial or ethnic minority(Hispanics of any race, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, non-resident alien, or unknown race).
Salaries
The salary statistics are those of full-time, long-term employed law graduates for the class of2017at the time of graduation and within ten months after graduation (approximately spring2018), as self-reported by the graduates.
The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Private”reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in private practice as law firm associates. The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Public”reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level.
In determining median salaries, jobs classified as “JD advantage” have been excluded (i.e.,positions in which the employer requires a JD or considers it an advantage to hold such a degree, but in which admission to the bar is not required).
Report Title
The rationale behind entitling this report as the “2020” report is that our2020 Law School Rankingsreport and2020 Law School Profilesare of considerable interest to prospective law school applicants who seek to enroll in classes commencing in fall 2020. At the time of our publication of this report in spring 2019, these employment statistics reflected the most current data available.
Source: The data have been compiled from a variety of public sources, including data released by the law schools and from the bar examiner offices in each jurisdiction.
Next Release: Our 2021 report is slated for publication in spring 2020.
Fall 2020 Application Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Application Deadline: | February 15 | |
| Application Fee: | $75 | |
Admissions Statistics | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Rate | 47.2% | 46.9% |
| LSAT Score (Median) | 161 | 160 |
| LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) | 155-163 | 156-163 |
| GPA (Median) | 3.68 | 3.51 |
| GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) | 3.43-3.80 | 3.27-3.75 |
Bar Exam Statistics | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| State in which most graduates took bar exam: | TX | TX |
| School's bar passage rate: | 85.0% | 84.1% |
| State overall bar passage rate: | 74.5% | 77.1% |
| School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: | +10.5% | +7.0% |
Employment Statistics | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Graduates employed at graduation: | 61.9% | 55.1% |
| Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: | 83.5% | 82.7% |
Tuition and Expenses | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition: | $54,094 | $49,962 |
| Room and Board: | $19,800 | $19,800 |
| Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: | 87.1% | 89.1% |
| Median grant amount among full-time students: | $18,000 | $23,000 |
| Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: | $132,600 | $124,723 |
| Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: | 64.7% | 81.5% |
| View National Comparison | ||
Students & Faculty | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Students: | 704 | 560 |
| Men: | 47.9% | 50.0% |
| Women: | 52.1% | 50.0% |
| Student Racial Demographics: | ||
| White: | 65.8% | N/A |
| Black: | 4.1% | N/A |
| Hispanic: | 11.8% | N/A |
| Asian: | 6.0% | N/A |
| Student-to-Faculty Ratio: | 6.9 : 1 | N/A |
| Total Faculty: | 216 | N/A |
| Male: | 68.1% | N/A |
| Female: | 31.9% | N/A |
| Minority: | 9.7% | N/A |
Full-Time Starting Salaries | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Private Sector (Median): | $100,000 | $90,000 |
| Public Sector (Median): | $57,000 | $56,900 |
| View National Comparison | ||
Library Resources | 2020 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Volumes and equivalents: | 666,576 | 666,019 |
About this Report
This report was released in spring 2019.
GPA & LSAT
References to the lowest, median, and highest GPA and LSAT scores reflect those of the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile, respectively, among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall2018.
Acceptance Rates
The acceptance rate is that of applicants granted admission as full-time students for classes commencing in fall2018.The acceptance rate of the applicants does not reflect actual enrollment rates, a subset figure.
Student-to-Faculty Ratios
The student-to-faculty ratio shows the number of students for that class per faculty member. This ratio reflects the applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students in fall2018.
Bar Passage Rates
The bar passage rates reflect those among first-time test takers for the winter and summer2017administrations of the bar examinations. The state noted is that in which the greatest number of the law school's graduates took the bar exam for the reported period.
Employment Rates
The employment rates shown are those of the2017full-time graduates at the time of graduation and ten months after graduation.
Law Library Volumes
The data indicate the number of print and microform volumes, as well as volume equivalents.
Gender, Race & Ethnicity
The data shown indicate the percentage of the faculty that are male and female, respectively, and the percentage of the faculty and students that are racial or ethnic minority(Hispanics of any race, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, non-resident alien, or unknown race).
Salaries
The salary statistics are those of full-time, long-term employed law graduates for the class of2017at the time of graduation and within ten months after graduation (approximately spring2018), as self-reported by the graduates.
The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Private”reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in private practice as law firm associates. The salaries indicated for “Median Salary Public”reflect those salaries of the 50th percentile, among those graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level.
In determining median salaries, jobs classified as “JD advantage” have been excluded (i.e.,positions in which the employer requires a JD or considers it an advantage to hold such a degree, but in which admission to the bar is not required).
Report Title
The rationale behind entitling this report as the “2020” report is that our2020 Law School Rankingsreport and2020 Law School Profilesare of considerable interest to prospective law school applicants who seek to enroll in classes commencing in fall 2020. At the time of our publication of this report in spring 2019, these employment statistics reflected the most current data available.
Source: The data have been compiled from a variety of public sources, including data released by the law schools and from the bar examiner offices in each jurisdiction.
Next Release: Our 2021 report is slated for publication in spring 2020.
