Boston University School of Law is a strong mid-T20 program with a reputation for rigorous academics, a collaborative culture, and excellent placement in the Boston and broader Northeast legal markets. Known for its strength in health law, intellectual property, tax, banking and financial law, and litigation, BU Law benefits from its location in one of the country’s premier higher education cities. The class of ~234 students keeps the program manageable while still offering a full range of clinical, journal, and experiential opportunities.
This guide walks you through how to get into BU Law.
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1. BU Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
BU Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 172 | Median: 171 | 25th: 164
- GPA: 75th: 3.94 | Median: 3.90 | 25th: 3.70
BU Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 171 | Median: 170 | 25th: 164
- GPA: 75th: 3.93 | Median: 3.88 | 25th: 3.71
BU’s LSAT median rose from 170 to 171, while the 25th percentile held at 164. The GPA median rose from 3.88 to 3.90. The class decreased from 238 to 234 students. A 171 median is strong for this tier and puts BU in the same statistical neighborhood as schools like Notre Dame and Duke.
The 164 at the 25th LSAT percentile means applicants in the mid-160s with strong applications can still gain admission. BU is more splitter-friendly than many peer schools given its relatively high LSAT expectations.
Aim to be at or above at least one median to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. BU Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The school's instructions: “Your personal statement should discuss the significant personal, social, or academic experiences that have contributed to your decision to study law. Most personal statements are approximately two pages long. Please double-space your personal statement.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Optional Essay (Diversity / Perspective / Lived Experience / Bias and Cross-Cultural Competency)
BU’s optional essay prompt is distinctive. It asks: “Consistent with the American Bar Association, Boston University School of Law believes that knowledge about bias, cross-cultural competency (ability to understand people from different backgrounds and engage with them effectively), and racism are central to the legal profession. Please tell us how your education, training, or lived experience has deepened your knowledge about ‘bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism’ and/or prepared you to explore these topics at BU Law.”
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda (if applicable)
BU permits additional application documents, including addenda.
Character & Fitness (if applicable)
A yes answer to a Character and Fitness question requires a detailed explanation of the allegations and any sentence or punishment; the Committee may request court documents. Notify the Committee of new information or changes before matriculation. False, misleading, or incomplete statements can lead to denial, rescission, discipline including dismissal, or degree revocation.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. BU Law Resume Requirements
Your resume should reflect all full-time and part-time employment (paid and unpaid) and all extracurricular activities and honors. Format in reverse chronological order. Do not include high school activities or awards.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. BU Law Letters of Recommendation
BU accepts letters of recommendation through LSAC. Two letters is standard.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. BU Law Interview Process
BU does not interview candidates for the JD program. However, any applicant may schedule a non-evaluative telephone appointment with an admissions counselor to gather information and ask questions.
6. BU Law Deadlines and Early Decision
Testing Policy
BU requires the LSAT for most applicants. GRE-only applications are permitted only with advance approval from the admissions office, and only for applicants who have never taken the LSAT and do not plan to take it before September 2027. GRE applicants may not apply through any binding decision program. If you’re considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
- Distinguished Scholar Binding Early Decision: November 9, 2026. Decision by December 18. If admitted, you receive a full-tuition scholarship for three years. Last LSAT: November 2026.
- ASPIRE Scholars Program: January 5, 2027. Offers on a rolling basis. Last LSAT: November 2026.
- Public Interest Scholars: January 5, 2027. Offers on a rolling basis. Last LSAT: November 2026.
- BU Bound Binding Decision: February 1, 2027. Decision by February 15. Last LSAT: January 2027. Non-refundable $1,000 deposit due two weeks after admission. Important: applicants admitted through BU Bound are not considered for merit scholarships. If financial aid is necessary, apply through regular decision instead.
- Standard Application Deadline: April 1, 2027. Rolling admissions beginning in late fall.
- Application Fee: $85
BU’s binding programs are worth serious consideration. The Distinguished Scholar ED is the most competitive but comes with a full ride. The BU Bound program offers a second binding option with a later deadline. Both are binding: if admitted, you must attend and withdraw all other applications.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
7. BU Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
All admitted applicants are automatically considered. BU offers competitive merit awards. Tuition for 2025-2026 is $66,670 per year. The median scholarship is approximately $30,000.
ASPIRE Scholars Program
ASPIRE covers tuition and required fees for all three years. Select candidates are invited to interview. Applicants must submit an essay answering a two-part prompt: (1) What does antiracism mean to you, and how have your life experiences shaped your commitment to antiracism? In your answer, in addition to professional experiences (if any) please draw from your lived experiences, whether as a member of an underrepresented or marginalized group, as an advocate, and/or as an ally. (Word limit: 350 words.) (2) How do you envision using your antiracist education and training in your legal career, whether it be in the private, governmental, or public interest sectors? (Word limit: 250 words.) The ASPIRE application deadline is January 5, 2027.
Public Interest Scholarship
Public Interest Scholarships range from $40,000 to full tuition for all three years, and include required-fee coverage plus a summer stipend of up to $6,000 for both 1L and 2L summers for students taking unpaid public-interest internships. Applicants must submit a separate essay (two pages maximum) describing their public interest career goals and focus. This essay is in addition to the personal statement. The deadline is January 5, 2027.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. BU Law Dual Degree Programs
BU Law offers 17 dual degree programs with other BU graduate schools and international partners:
- JD/MBA with the Questrom School of Business (three-year accelerated or four-year track)
- JD/MPH in Law and Public Health with the School of Public Health
- JD/MA in Law and International Relations with the Pardee School of Global Studies
- JD/MA in Law and English with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- JD/MA in Law and History with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- JD/MA in Law and Philosophy with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- JD/MA in Law and Preservation Studies
- JD/MD with the School of Medicine (six years)
- JD/LLM in Banking and Financial Law (six or seven semesters)
- JD/LLM in Taxation (six or seven semesters)
- International JD/LLM programs with partner universities in Asian Legal Studies, European Law, Law and Finance, International and European Business Law, and International Arbitration
Certificates: BU JD students may also earn the Graduate Certificate in Public Health, the Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and the Certificate in Legal Research Skills for Practice (non-credit, library-based).
Students must apply and be admitted to each program separately.
9. BU Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Boston University Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 92.1%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 52.3%
- Federal clerkships: 1.4%
- Public service (including government): 17.3%
BU Law places primarily into the Boston and New York markets. The 52.3% BigLaw rate is solid but trails peer schools BC and Fordham. The 3.7% law school funded rate is worth noting.
10. BU Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Intellectual Property and Technology Law: BU’s IP law concentration and BU/MIT Student Innovations Law Clinic draw on Boston’s biotech and tech industries. The program covers patent prosecution, tech transactions, and data privacy.
Health Law: BU’s Health Law Program is one of the most developed in the country, with a dedicated concentration, health law clinic, and strong ties to Boston’s medical and biotech ecosystem.
Tax Law: BU’s Graduate Tax Program is well regarded, and JD students benefit from the depth of tax faculty and course offerings.
Criminal Justice and Criminal Law: The Criminal Law Clinical Programs place students in prosecutorial and defense settings. BU’s Wrongful Convictions Practicum focuses on post-conviction innocence work.
International Law: BU’s International Law concentration and study abroad programs support students pursuing international human rights, trade, and comparative law.
11. BU Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
BU Law operates a wide range of clinics and practicums, and guarantees every interested JD student at least one clinical opportunity during their second or third year:
- Access to Justice Clinic: A full-year, award-winning clinic in which students represent individuals living in poverty and analyze the intersection of the legal system with systemic barriers.
- Appellate Clinic: Full-year clinic litigating complex public-interest cases in courts of appeals and the Supreme Court.
- BU/MIT Student Innovations Law Clinic: Full-year clinic providing free legal services related to research, advocacy, and creative projects for students at MIT and BU.
- Civil Litigation Clinic: Full-year clinic representing individuals and families living in poverty in housing, family law, discrimination, wage theft, and other poverty law matters.
- Compassionate Release Practicum: One-semester practicum representing terminally ill and/or permanently incapacitated prisoners.
- Consumer Economic Justice Clinic: Full-year clinic training students in consumer law through client representation.
- Criminal Law Clinical Program: Full-year program in which students formulate trial strategy, file motions, and try cases in Massachusetts courts.
- Environmental Law Practicum: One-semester practicum completing environmental law projects for Boston-based organizations.
- Health Justice Practicum: One-semester practicum addressing the interplay of law, policy, health systems, and health inequities.
- Immigrants’ Rights & Human Trafficking Program: Full-year clinic providing pro bono representation to non-citizens facing deportation and survivors of human trafficking.
- International Human Rights Clinic: Full-year clinic representing non-governmental organizations and group clients in global human rights advocacy.
- Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic: One-semester program teaching the theoretical and practical aspects of law-making.
- Mental Health Litigation Practicum: One-semester practicum representing individuals facing commitment and involuntary treatment petitions.
- Prison Education Practicum: One-semester practicum in which students design and teach a course on criminal procedure and legal research to incarcerated individuals.
- Racial Justice and Movement Lawyering Clinic: One-semester clinic training students in community and movement lawyering to support racial justice projects.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Boston’s legal market provides strong externship opportunities at state and federal courts, major firms, hospitals, biotech companies, and public interest organizations. BU’s Public Interest Program supports students pursuing public service careers.
12. BU Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Stacey Dogan: Professor of Law. Intellectual property, trademark, and innovation.
- Angela Onwuachi-Willig: Dean of BU Law and Professor of Law. Employment discrimination, critical race theory, family law.
- Jack Beermann: Philip S. Beck Professor of Law. Administrative law, government liability, and tax policy.
- Jed Shugerman: Professor of Law and Harry Elwood Warren Scholar. Constitutional law, legal history, and the legal profession.
Journals
- Boston University Law Review: scholarship across all areas of law.
- American Journal of Law & Medicine (reflects BU’s health law strength): health law and policy.
- Review of Banking & Financial Law: banking and financial law.
- Boston University International Law Journal: public and private international law.
- Journal of Science & Technology Law: the intersection of science, technology, and law.
- Public Interest Law Journal: legal issues in the public interest.
13. BU Law Culture and Student Life
BU Law’s campus on Commonwealth Avenue in the heart of Boston gives students access to one of the country’s best cities for young professionals. The class of ~234 students creates a tight-knit community. The culture is collaborative and intellectually serious.
Boston is an exceptional law school city: walkable, transit-accessible, and dense with legal institutions, hospitals, universities, and tech companies. The cost of living is higher than many peer cities but lower than New York.
14. Tips for Your BU Law Application
Leverage Boston’s ecosystem. If you want to work in health law, reference Boston’s hospital and biotech network. If banking and financial law interest you, connect to Boston’s financial sector. If IP is your path, reference the tech and biotech corridor.
BU punches above its weight on specific programs. Health law, tax, and banking/financial law are areas where BU competes with T14 schools. If your interests align with these, make the connection explicit.
Boston vs. NYC. If you are choosing between BU and NYC-based schools, address why Boston specifically suits your goals and career path.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the BU Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn’t look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
