St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, offers a full-time campus JD and a part-time online program. Its Marianist tradition connects with community service and strengths in advocacy, immigration, small-business representation, and military law.
This guide walks you through how to get into St. Mary's Law.
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1. St. Mary's Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
St. Mary's Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 153 | 25th: 151
- GPA: 75th: 3.73 | Median: 3.48 | 25th: 3.14
St. Mary's Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 153 | 25th: 151
- GPA: 75th: 3.68 | Median: 3.49 | 25th: 3.13
These are the full-time entering classes of fall 2026 and fall 2025. The LSAT distribution stayed unchanged, while the GPA median slipped slightly and the upper quartile rose. The 2026 online class had a 157 LSAT median and a 3.56 GPA median. Treat that as a separate admissions comparison, not the campus program with an easier schedule.
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. St. Mary's Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Submit a personal statement of no more than three pages. In reviewing applications, St. Mary's considers qualities such as leadership, perseverance, and intellectual ability alongside the academic record.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on making your whole application work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
St. Mary's requires a separate attachment for each affirmative academic-discipline or Character & Fitness answer.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. St. Mary's Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required and may not exceed two pages. Show employment, education, service, and leadership with clear dates and substantive responsibilities. Describe what you actually handled, especially work involving clients, careful judgment, or competing obligations. Use Resume Examples and my Resume Guide for structure.
4. St. Mary's Law Letters of Recommendation
Letters are optional, but St. Mary's strongly recommends at least one and encourages an academic recommendation. Choose someone who can describe your work closely. A detailed professor's or supervisor's account is more useful than a prominent name.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. St. Mary's Law Interview Process
St. Mary's does not use interviews in its JD application process. Campus visits and admissions conversations are opportunities to understand the school, not admissions interviews. Put the evidence you need the committee to consider into the written application.
6. St. Mary's Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Testing Policy
The LSAT is required, and St. Mary's uses the highest valid score for admissions and scholarship consideration. JD-Next may supplement an application; it does not replace the LSAT. Submit transcripts and the required report through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service.
Application Dates and Fees
For fall 2027, both programs opened applications on September 15, 2026. The full-time program has a November 15, 2026 nonbinding early deadline and a March 1, 2027 regular deadline. The online program has the same March 1 regular deadline but no early deadline. Later applications receive space-available consideration. There is no school application fee.
Program Formats
Applicants may apply to the full-time day program or the part-time online program, not both. Online students should expect live evening classes during the workweek, alongside asynchronous work. This is a limited-enrollment program, not an unrestricted alternative to campus admission.
7. St. Mary's Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Every admitted applicant receives automatic consideration for the Dean's Scholarship and endowed awards. No separate scholarship application is required. The school also reviews continuing students for academic-performance awards. Build the strongest file before submitting rather than relying on an award review to repair weak positioning later.
For 2026-2027, annual full-time tuition is $45,808, with $1,490 in fees and a published total cost of attendance of $73,792. The online budget lists $30,460 in tuition and a $58,444 total. Compare total program cost, not just one year's tuition, because the enrollment schedules differ.
Scholarships reported for 2025 did not carry academic conditions beyond remaining in good standing. Separate that from assuming an award covers every summer or every credit. Award amount, covered terms, and duration determine its real value. Submit the FAFSA for eligible financial aid using school code 003623.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. St. Mary's Law Joint Degree Programs
St. Mary's lists seven joint-degree combinations: JD/MBA through the Greehey School of Business; JD/MA in International Relations, Theology, or English Literature and Language; JD/MPA in Public Administration; JD/MS in Computer Science; and JD/MPH with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
The general schedule takes three to four years. Students devote the first year to law and integrate graduate coursework afterward. Admission to the law and graduate programs is separate, and students may seek graduate admission after beginning law school.
Choose the second degree for a defined role. An MBA can make sense for business-facing work; public health or computer science serves a different objective. The existence of a joint degree is not, by itself, a reason to add another credential.
9. St. Mary's Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
St. Mary's Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 80.6%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 6.0%
- Federal clerkships: 3.4%
- Public service (including government): 19.4%
Texas dominates these outcomes. Small firms and government account for much more of the graduating class than large national firms. St. Mary's makes the most straightforward career case for applicants who want to build a Texas practice and use local experience to develop relationships with employers. Compare the scholarship offer against that actual employment pattern.
10. St. Mary's Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Trial and appellate advocacy: The Advocacy Program combines coursework, the Board of Advocates, and national competition teams. The Lone Star Classic adds a concrete connection to mock-trial work. This is a useful focus for applicants drawn to litigation and oral advocacy.
Immigration and human rights: The Center for Legal and Social Justice houses the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Its work connects classroom study to the legal needs of immigrants and refugees, a specific foundation for an interest in client-centered immigration practice.
Business and community development: The Microenterprise and Community Development Clinic and the Greehey JD/MBA offer different approaches to business-facing legal work. One emphasizes representation of small enterprises and community organizations; the other adds formal business study to legal training.
Military law: The Warrior Defense Project brings together research and service concerning military legal issues. Research fellows and pro bono work provide a concrete connection for applicants whose experience involves military service, veterans, or the institutions governing military life.
11. St. Mary's Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
The clinical program gives upper-level students supervised responsibility for clients through six clinics:
- Consumer Protection Clinic: Staff the Housing Hotline, counsel tenants, negotiate with landlords, and represent clients in eviction proceedings and appeals. Supervised work also includes community education and preparing accessible materials about housing rights.
- Criminal Justice Clinic: Represent income-qualified adults and juveniles through case preparation, contested motions, plea negotiations, and trials. Students also prepare appellate briefs and oral arguments, with courtroom simulations supporting the work on actual cases.
- Family Law Clinic: Handle qualifying divorces, adoptions, name changes, and probate matters. Students prepare wills and related documents, counsel clients, and appear in court, including court-appointed work in specified family-law proceedings.
- Immigration and Human Rights Clinic: Interview immigrants and refugees, organize evidence, develop case strategy, and draft motions or applications. Supervised representation includes asylum, removal defense, citizenship, and related matters before immigration agencies and courts.
- Microenterprise and Community Development Clinic: Assist small businesses and community nonprofits with entity formation, contracts, governance, and compliance. The transactional practice connects client counseling to drafting documents and explaining the legal responsibilities involved in operating an organization.
- Real Estate Clinic: Draft property documents, negotiate inheritance disputes, and advise on taxes and foreclosure prevention. Students help homeowners address title problems and estate-planning needs, with community partners connecting the clinic to potential clients.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Graduation requires 30 community-service hours, including at least 15 approved law-related hours. These are unpaid service hours, not academic-credit work. The externship program separately places upper-level students in government, nonprofit, and corporate settings. Examples include the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, CentroMed, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Online clinical offerings vary by term. Match the particular experience you want to the program you are applying to, rather than assuming every clinic runs in every format.
12. St. Mary's Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Michael S. Ariens: Aloysius A. Leopold Professor of Law. He teaches legal history and professional responsibility and wrote Lone Star Law: A Legal History of Texas and The Lawyer's Conscience.
- A.J. Bellido de Luna: Associate Dean of Advocacy and International Partnerships and Hardy Professor of Practice. He teaches trial advocacy and arbitration and directs the national advocacy teams. His background includes clinical teaching and work as a Baltimore special prosecutor.
- Ramona L. Lampley: Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Ernest Clemens Professor in Corporate and Securities Law. Her work addresses commercial law, civil procedure, and corporate responsibility in international supply chains. She previously clerked on the Tenth Circuit.
- Jeffrey Addicott: Professor of Law and Director of the Warrior Defense Project. His military-law work draws on two decades in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, including service advising Army Special Forces.
Journals
- St. Mary's Law Journal: The flagship combines scholarly analysis with practical material for lawyers and judges.
- St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice and Ethics: Focuses on professional responsibility and malpractice.
- The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice: Scholarship on issues affecting minorities, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual identity.
13. St. Mary's Law Culture and Student Life
Service has a formal place in the JD through the graduation requirement and the Center for Legal and Social Justice. The First Generation Professionals Association, Hispanic Law Student Association, and Public Interest Law Foundation give students ways to connect identity, professional development, and community involvement.
San Antonio provides a local setting for the school's Texas-facing practice opportunities. Online students participate through a different daily routine, with virtual faculty access and student organizations alongside live classes. The practical question is how you will build relationships and make room for sustained participation in the format you choose.
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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 St. Mary's 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.