How to Get Into Loyola New Orleans Law (2026-2027 Guide)

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a Jesuit law school in Uptown New Orleans, offering civil-law and common-law curricula. Its strengths include maritime law, environmental law, advocacy, and public-interest practice.

This guide walks you through how to get into Loyola New Orleans Law.

1. Loyola New Orleans Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics

Loyola New Orleans Law Class of 2028:

• LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 154 | 25th: 151
• GPA: 75th: 3.71 | Median: 3.47 | 25th: 3.21

Loyola New Orleans Law Class of 2027:

• LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 152 | 25th: 149
• GPA: 75th: 3.66 | Median: 3.38 | 25th: 3.04

These figures cover the fall 2025 and fall 2024 entering classes across full-time and part-time divisions. All three LSAT percentiles rose two points. The GPA median increased 0.09, with its lower quartile rising 0.17. The entering class grew from 216 to 223 students. The newer class is academically stronger across both measures, not just at the median.

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. Loyola New Orleans Law Application Essays

Personal Statement (required)

The school's instructions:

“A personal statement, up to three pages in length and written in the applicant's own words, is required. The personal statement is an applicant's opportunity to promote and personalize their application, highlighting accomplishments that may not otherwise be addressed in other areas of the application.”

For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.

Diversity Statement (optional)

The school's instructions:

“All candidates are welcome to supplement their application with an optional Diversity Statement. This optional statement does not replace the Personal Statement. It is intended to provide the Faculty Admissions Committee with additional background information, such as an applicant's discussion of how their racial identity or ethnicity has affected their life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise; gender identity or gender expression; the impact of extenuating health issues; the history of overcoming hardships; or, managing socio-economic disparities. The Diversity Statement should not exceed two pages.”

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 and Character & Fitness (if applicable)

Loyola asks for an explanation of significant LSAT variance, such as six or more points. Character and fitness responses may require supporting documentation, attached electronically.

I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.

3. Loyola New Orleans Law Resume Requirements

A resume is required, covering education, extracurricular activities, work history, community service, and awards.

For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.

4. Loyola New Orleans Law Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required; Loyola accepts up to four. For fall 2027, letters must be dated March 1, 2025, or later. Undergraduate or graduate professors are preferred, though other writers who can assess the applicant's ability to succeed are accepted.

For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).

5. Loyola New Orleans Law Interview Process

Loyola offers phone, video, and in-person conferences with JD admissions counselors. These meetings require appointments; walk-ins are not available.

6. Loyola New Orleans Law Deadlines and Decision Options

Testing Policy

Loyola accepts the LSAT, GRE, and JD-Next. JD-Next applicants need a CAS undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and must notify admissions of that test choice. Scores must be no more than five years old. Submit all GRE scores from that period; reportable LSAT scores are also considered. CAS is required. International applicants must take the LSAT unless they hold an international law degree.

If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.

Application Dates and Fees

• Applications Open: October 15, 2026, for fall 2027 entry.
• Scholarship Priority Deadline: February 15, 2027.
• Application Deadline: July 1, 2027, at noon CDT, with all required materials.
• Application Fee: None.
• Last Eligible Test Date: Test scores must reach Loyola by the application deadline.
• Decisions Begin: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis once complete.

The February priority date concerns scholarship consideration. Apply early enough to receive consideration while funding remains available. Loyola does not defer admission or scholarship awards; applicants who postpone attendance must reapply.

A stated future LSAT date holds application review until that score arrives. Loyola makes one decision per application cycle and does not reconsider an application based on a later score after the decision.

Program Formats

Evening Division: The four-year part-time evening JD uses a civil-law curriculum and includes summer terms. Full-time and part-time day students can choose civil or common law. First-year entry is fall only.

7. Loyola New Orleans Law Scholarships and Financial Aid

Merit Scholarships

All applicants receive automatic consideration for Dean's Scholarships. Renewal requires a 2.5 GPA and compliance with award conditions. Fall 2026 awards cover tuition, not fees, for up to 90 JD credits. Failure to meet the GPA requirement or a disciplinary sanction results in loss of the scholarship. Day students' first GPA review follows spring; evening students' follows summer, with semester-by-semester review afterward. Evening awards cover summer tuition, but institutional scholarships do not cover study abroad.

Ignatian Law Scholars

Applicants demonstrating academic excellence and service receive automatic consideration. Scholars receive renewable awards up to full tuition, faculty mentorship, and special programming.

Loyola Lagniappe Scholarship

This one-year first-year award recognizes graduates of Loyola University New Orleans or historically Black colleges and universities.

Need-Based Aid

Federal aid consideration uses the FAFSA. The Louisiana Bar Foundation administers loan repayment assistance for qualifying civil-legal-aid attorneys, with forgivable loans up to $5,000 annually and income and employment requirements.

Cost of Attendance

For 2026-2027, tuition and general fees total $57,994 full-time or $43,972 part-time day. Evening tuition is $1,825 per credit, plus general fees. First-year students also pay a $260 Student Bar Association charge. Living expenses are additional.

For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.

8. Loyola New Orleans Law Joint Degree Programs

Loyola combines its JD with business study or advanced legal specialization.

• JD/MBA: Loyola's College of Business; separate admission to both programs, with nine credits shared in each direction. Both degrees' requirements must be completed before either is awarded.
• JD/LLM in Customized Study: Loyola Law; seven semesters full-time, applying up to nine JD credits toward the LLM and completing an additional semester.
• JD/LLM in Health Law and Administration: Loyola Law; up to nine shared credits allow one additional semester after the JD. The LLM requires 24 credits and a publishable-quality thesis.
• JD/LLM in Environmental Law: Loyola Law; as short as 3.5 years, with a capstone and experiential work. Up to nine JD credits count toward the LLM.

Health and environmental applicants must obtain LLM admission by the beginning of their final JD semester. Not every required course is offered annually.

9. Loyola New Orleans Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

Loyola New Orleans Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):

• Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 80.8%
• BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 13.0%
• Federal clerkships: 1.1%
• Public service (including government): 16.4%

Louisiana is the leading destination by a substantial margin, followed by Texas and Florida. Smaller firms account for a large share of private-practice placements. Loyola provides a route into Louisiana firms, courts, and public-service organizations rather than an employment pattern centered on national large-firm recruiting.

10. Loyola New Orleans Law Areas of Study and Specializations

Environmental Law: The Center on Environment, Land, and Law houses the Policy Lab and Research Lab, where students draft legislation and develop advocacy strategies with community partners. The environmental certificate and specialized LLM connect this work to coastal, land-use, and climate issues.

Maritime Law: Loyola's Maritime Law Certificate and Loyola Maritime Law Journal connect legal study with shipping, marine commerce, and admiralty practice. Faculty member Benjamin Allums brings experience from the Deepwater Horizon litigation to a field closely connected to the Gulf Coast.

Public Interest and Poverty Law: The Gillis Long Poverty Law Center supports public-interest work through student programming and pro bono opportunities. The Law and Poverty requirement makes this field part of the JD curriculum, while clinic sections provide representation in benefits, family, immigration, and criminal matters.

Advocacy: The Advocacy Center brings together moot court, the Becnel Trial Advocacy Program, and alternative dispute resolution teams. Students develop brief writing, oral argument, trial, and negotiation skills through intramural and intercollegiate competitions, with support from faculty and local practitioners.

11. Loyola New Orleans Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

The Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic offers eight sections in which students represent clients under faculty supervision.

• Child Welfare & Domestic Violence: Represent children and adults in child-protection proceedings, protective-order cases, and related custody matters.
• Civil Litigation: Handle adoption, paternity, custody, successions, and reentry-related civil needs.
• Criminal Defense: Represent people charged with misdemeanors and felonies, from investigation and negotiation through trial.
• Criminal Appeals: Review trial records, write briefs, and prepare oral arguments in indigent defendants' felony appeals.
• Disability Justice: Advocate in special-education proceedings, school discipline, and disability-benefits appeals.
• Family: Handle divorce, custody, support, estate planning, and other family matters, including interviewing clients and preparing pleadings.
• Immigration: Represent clients seeking asylum and other relief before immigration agencies and courts; gather evidence and prepare motions and briefs.
• Youth Defense: Defend young people in delinquency proceedings and address related educational and mental-health needs.

Pro Bono and Experiential Learning

Graduation requires nine experiential credits, including Lawyering II. The separate Law and Poverty requirement can be satisfied through designated coursework, clinic participation, or 50 approved volunteer legal hours within one academic year. Pro bono opportunities include Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, CrescentCare, and the Pro Bono Project. Externships provide 1-3 credits for supervised legal work at courts, government agencies, or nonprofit organizations after 1L, alongside a seminar.

12. Loyola New Orleans Law Notable Faculty and Journals

Faculty

• Robert R. M. Verchick: Gauthier-St. Martin Eminent Scholar and Chair in Environmental Law. Climate and disaster law. Author of The Octopus in the Parking Garage and a 2023-2024 Harvard Radcliffe Fellow.
• Mary Garvey Algero: Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Janet Mary Riley Distinguished Professor of Law, and Philip and Eugenie Brooks Distinguished Professor of Law. Civil procedure and legal research. Author of Louisiana Legal Research and former president of the Association of Legal Writing Directors.
• Benjamin Allums: Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor in International or Maritime Law Studies. Maritime law, procedure, and torts. A longtime judicial clerk who worked on the Deepwater Horizon multidistrict litigation.
• Andrea Armstrong: Dr. Norman C. Francis Distinguished Professor of Law. Incarceration law and civil rights. A 2023 MacArthur Fellow and founder of Incarceration Transparency.

Journals

• Loyola Law Review: General legal scholarship edited by students.
• Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law: Public-interest issues at the national and international levels.
• Loyola Maritime Law Journal: Admiralty and maritime scholarship.

13. Loyola New Orleans Law Culture and Student Life

The Broadway Campus places Loyola Law in Uptown New Orleans, near St. Charles Avenue. The Jesuit emphasis on service connects student life with clinic work, pro bono organizations, and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center. Day and evening divisions bring students with different professional schedules into the same law-school community.

New Orleans supplies a distinctive setting for legal study: civil-law institutions, maritime commerce, and environmental questions sit alongside the everyday work of firms, courts, and legal-services organizations. Loyola's Louisiana-heavy employment makes that local context central rather than incidental.

Want Help Getting Into Loyola New Orleans Law?

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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 Loyola New Orleans 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.