The University of San Francisco School of Law is a private law school with full-time and part-time JD programs. Its strengths include immigration representation, intellectual property, trial advocacy, and tax practice, supported by clinics and practica.
This guide walks you through how to get into USF Law.
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1. USF Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
USF Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 159 | Median: 157 | 25th: 155
- GPA: 75th: 3.74 | Median: 3.54 | 25th: 3.28
USF Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 157 | Median: 155 | 25th: 152
- GPA: 75th: 3.68 | Median: 3.47 | 25th: 3.16
These are the fall 2026 and fall 2025 entering classes, combining full-time and part-time students. The LSAT median rose two points year over year, and the GPA median rose 0.07.
The fall 2026 class enrolled 179 students from 2,588 applicants. For fall 2025, USF received 2,100 completed applications and made 890 offers, an acceptance rate of 42.4%.
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. USF Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The school's instructions:
“The Admissions Committee requires that each applicant submit a personal statement to supplement the application form. The statement is used by the Committee as both a source of additional information and as a writing sample, but it is not a substitute for the application. The statement should focus on your interest in and motivation for the study of law. The Committee is interested in your personal experiences, background, accomplishments and relevant obstacles overcome. You might consider sharing with the Committee relevant information about your work experience and career achievement, community or public service, career goals, the ability to contribute to law school programs and specializations, evidence of and potential for leadership, language ability, unusual life experiences, etc. that indicate you may significantly diversify the student body or make a distinctive contribution to the School of Law or the legal profession.”
USF specifies double spacing and describes statements as usually two to four pages, with no page limit.
For more on discussing your contribution to the law school community within this personal statement, see my Why X Essay Guide.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Supplemental Statement (optional)
This optional essay is separate from the personal statement. USF describes two to four pages as typical, without a page limit, and requires the header Supplemental Statement on each page.
The school's instructions:
“In this statement, we invite you to share more about how your unique voice, perspective, and experience will enrich everyone’s education and to make the law school class stronger than the sum of its parts.”
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)
Answer disclosure questions fully, including applicable expunged matters, and update the school when required information changes.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. USF Law Resume Requirements
A resume is optional. Submit one that makes your education, employment, service, and responsibilities easy to follow. Use clear dates and specific work descriptions rather than repeating the personal statement's narrative.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Law School Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. USF Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit two letters of recommendation, with an optional third, through LSAC. Faculty recommendations are preferred when feasible; supervisors can be appropriate for applicants further from college. Choose people with recent, substantial knowledge of your work. CAS will not release USF's report until two letters arrive.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. USF Law Interview Process
USF does not conduct admission interviews and makes no exceptions. Your written application must carry the explanation of your goals, preparation, and fit.
6. USF Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
The LSAT is required. USF uses the highest score and describes scores as valid for five years. For the 2027 cycle, it recommends testing by February 2027 for maximum consideration. April and June 2027 scores are accepted, with less consideration possible because they arrive late.
Application Dates and Fees
USF uses rolling review, generally beginning in October. The application fee is $60.
Complete the file early enough for your strongest application to receive meaningful review. Do not build the timeline around the last accepted test.
7. USF Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Applicants receive automatic merit consideration. Awards include Provost's, Dean's, Merit Plus, and Kenneth Lloyd scholarships. Some awards renew subject to GPA conditions; others cover only the first year. Separate the award amount from its renewal terms.
Of the students who entered in 2024-2025 with conditional scholarships, 37.5% had their awards reduced or eliminated. Evaluate any renewal condition against the amount you would owe without the award.
For 2026-2027, full-time tuition is $61,530. The off-campus cost-of-attendance budget is $97,117, including fees, insurance, and living expenses. The new-law-student FAFSA priority date for 2027-2028 is February 1, 2027. Need-based Federal Work-Study is available to eligible continuing students, not first-years.
The Keta Taylor Colby Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program supports qualifying graduates in public-interest work, subject to funding, annual review, and income rules. Its 2026 guidelines use a $75,000 income ceiling before applicable adjustments. PILF also offers $4,000 summer grants for qualifying unpaid public-interest work.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. USF Law Joint Degree Programs
JD/MBA: A four-year program with USF's School of Management. Complete the first two years in law, the third in business, and the fourth across both. Admission to each school is required.
JD/Master of Urban and Public Affairs: A four-year pairing with the College of Arts and Sciences. Law-first students spend year one in law, year two in the master's program, and years three and four primarily in law. Separate admission and first-year academic eligibility apply.
JD/LLM in Taxation: Full-time JD students can complete both degrees in approximately three and a half to four years. Apply during the second JD year; up to 12 JD tax credits may count toward the 24-credit LLM. The JD must be conferred before the LLM.
9. USF Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
USF Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 76.3%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 23.7%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 26.3%
California overwhelmingly led employment destinations, followed by Arizona. Large-firm and public-service work each account for a substantial share of the reported outcomes. Evaluate USF around a realistic California job search and the price you would pay, not an assumption that a particular salary will make the debt manageable.
10. USF Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Intellectual Property and Technology: Certificates in intellectual property, privacy, and artificial intelligence and emerging technology complement the CREATE Law Clinic. The Center for Law, Tech, and Social Good adds research and training focused on technology's legal consequences.
Immigration Law: Courses connect to the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic and Immigration Policy Clinic. Students can develop client-interviewing, research, and drafting skills while studying the procedures and legal arguments involved in immigration matters, rather than treating the field as classroom study alone.
Trial Advocacy: The Arns & Brandi Trial Institute connects litigation courses, skills training, and advocacy teams. The trial advocacy certificate and Intensive Advocacy Program give students additional ways to develop courtroom preparation, evidence analysis, and presentation skills.
Taxation: The tax certificate, Tax Law Practicum, and graduate tax curriculum connect technical coursework to advising and dispute resolution. Students interested in this field can explore client representation before deciding whether additional LLM training fits their goals.
11. USF Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Clinics and Practicums
- Criminal Justice Clinic: Work with public defenders on interviews, investigation, motions, and pretrial preparation. Supervised assignments can include courtroom work, connecting criminal procedure to the detailed factual preparation a defense case requires.
- Housing Justice Practicum: Assist Open Door Legal with tenant matters. Students work on intake, discovery, motions, settlement, and trial preparation, developing the ability to translate a client's housing problem into a concrete litigation plan.
- Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic: Help children and families with removal defense, asylum, and related matters. Students develop interviewing, research, and drafting skills while working with supervising attorneys and community partners on individual cases.
- Immigration Policy Clinic: Research legal questions, prepare community resources, and support projects involving immigration policy and appellate matters. The work emphasizes explaining legal developments and developing useful written materials for partner organizations and affected communities.
- In-House Counsel Practicum: Work with corporate legal departments on research, risk assessment, and business counseling. Students see how legal advice interacts with operational decisions and cross-functional teams, rather than learning only through courtroom disputes.
- CREATE Law Clinic: Assist creators and entrepreneurs with intellectual property and related business needs. Projects can involve trademark clearance, registration, licensing, contracts, and privacy questions, with client counseling and supervised drafting at the center.
- Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic: Work with nonprofit partners on interviews, declarations, research, and reports. Projects can involve submissions to international bodies, giving students experience connecting individual accounts to organized legal documentation.
- Racial Justice Clinic: Investigate wrongful-conviction, resentencing, and related matters. Students review records, interview witnesses, visit clients, and prepare legal work under supervision, with assignments shaped by the needs of the particular case.
- Tax Law Practicum: Assist with state tax appeals and federal tax controversies. Students interview clients, research issues, prepare briefs, and participate in negotiations or proceedings under attorney supervision, connecting technical rules to actual disputes.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
The JD requires six experiential credits. Externships include courts, agencies, nonprofits, firms, and corporate offices, paired with academic supervision. Pro bono service is distinct: qualifying work is unpaid and does not receive academic credit. Judicial placements have included the Ninth Circuit and California courts.
12. USF Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Lara Bazelon, Professor and Philip and Muriel Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy, directs the Racial Justice Clinic. Her criminal-practice experience includes federal public defense and innocence work.
- Bill Ong Hing, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, studies immigration law. He is the founding director of USF's Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic.
- George Bach, Professor, teaches civil procedure, constitutional law, and evidence. His background includes civil-rights litigation and service as the ACLU of New Mexico's first staff attorney.
- Jessica L. Fajfar, Associate Professor of Legal Practice, directs CREATE. Her work includes intellectual property, licensing, privacy, and the Artists' Rights Workshop series.
Journals
- University of San Francisco Law Review: Legal scholarship, including student notes and comments. Uses class-standing eligibility and writing routes, including an anonymous first-year competition.
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Journal: Commentary on intellectual property, privacy and Internet law. Accepts spring applications with writing and technical components, offering student research, writing, and editing.
13. USF Law Culture and Student Life
Student organizations include First Generation Law Students Association, Student Immigration Law Association, Intellectual Property and Cyber Law Association, and Public Interest Law Foundation. The Student Bar Association connects students across interests. Participation can turn a broad professional goal into sustained collaboration, events, and relationships with classmates doing related work.
San Francisco makes housing, transportation, and placement schedules part of the law-school decision. Plan around the actual demands of classes and fieldwork, especially when balancing employment or family responsibilities. A part-time degree spreads coursework over more years; it does not remove the need for consistent preparation or a workable financial plan.
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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 USF 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.
