Suffolk University Law School is in downtown Boston, with day and evening divisions. Its strengths include legal technology, trial advocacy, intellectual property, and clinical education, supported by the Legal Innovation and Technology Center and client-facing programs.
This guide walks you through how to get into Suffolk Law.
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1. Suffolk Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Suffolk Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 161 | Median: 156 | 25th: 152
- GPA: 75th: 3.81 | Median: 3.63 | 25th: 3.41
Suffolk Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 159 | Median: 155 | 25th: 152
- GPA: 75th: 3.79 | Median: 3.58 | 25th: 3.37
These are the fall entering classes across JD divisions. From 2025 to 2026, the LSAT median rose one point and the GPA median rose 0.05. The class grew slightly, from 544 to 546. The LSAT's upper quartile moved up two points, while its lower quartile stayed at 152; GPA rose at all three reported percentiles.
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. Suffolk Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
The school's instructions:
“The applicant personal statement should address your motivation and preparation for the study of law; illustrate your proficiency in written, professional communications; and highlight any circumstances that you believe are relevant to the evaluation of your credentials. The personal statement should be 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12-point font.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
Adversity/Diversity Addendum (optional)
Suffolk identifies an adversity/diversity statement as an optional supplemental addendum. This is separate from the required personal statement.
For more on how to write a diversity or perspective statement, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
Dual-Degree Statement (required for specified programs)
JD/MBA, JD/MPA, JD/MSF, and the College of Arts & Sciences dual-degree applicants submit a second essay explaining their interest in the particular combined program.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness (if applicable)
Suffolk requires separate explanations for education or employment gaps. Character and fitness disclosures require the charge, court date, and outcome where applicable.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Suffolk Law Resume Requirements
An updated resume is required. Explain gaps in education or employment in a separate addendum rather than leaving them unaddressed.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Suffolk Law Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required; Suffolk accepts up to three through CAS. Applicants within three years of college graduation should provide a professor's letter. Professional recommendations are acceptable for those further removed from college; family and friends are not appropriate recommenders.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Suffolk Law Interview Process
Suffolk conducts admissions interviews only at the Admissions Committee's request.
6. Suffolk Law Deadlines and Early Decision
Testing Policy
Suffolk accepts the LSAT, GRE, and JD-Next. Applicants using GRE or JD-Next instead of the LSAT must submit all scores from that test within the past five years. Reportable LSAT scores are considered even when another test is submitted. CAS is required.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
Application Dates and Fees
- Binding Early Decision Deadline: December 1, 2026, with every component and the signed agreement received.
- Application Deadline: April 1, 2027, is the priority deadline for May and August entry.
- Application Fee: $60.
- Last Eligible Test Date: November 2026 LSAT for Early Decision. February 2027 LSAT is recommended for April priority consideration.
- Decisions Begin: Early Decision results arrive by mid-December 2026; its $500 nonrefundable deposit is due January 13, 2027.
Regular admission is rolling. Applying early leaves more of the cycle available for review.
Early Decision
Early Decision includes a full-tuition Dean's Scholar award, but acceptance requires withdrawing other applications. Applicants cannot submit another binding application, and admitted ED applicants cannot defer. The financial benefit comes with a real loss of choice.
For a full breakdown of early decision strategy, see Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
Program Formats
Evening Division: Classes meet after 6 p.m.; the traditional program takes four years, with summer acceleration available. Evening students share clinics, journals, and facilities with day students. Select one division when applying.
7. Suffolk Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Admissions awards merit aid with admission decisions. Trustee Academic Scholarships are tuition-only; award letters establish renewal terms. Combined tuition assistance cannot exceed tuition, and outside awards can reduce Suffolk funding.
First Generation College Merit Scholarship
Eligible first-generation college graduates from designated partner institutions receive $20,000 annually. This award cannot be combined with Trustee Academic or Kitchener scholarships.
Thaddeus Alexander Kitchener Scholarship
Eligible HBCU graduates entering in 2027 receive full tuition through the binding route, requiring completion by March 1, 2027, and a commitment agreement. The $500 deposit is due January 13 or 21 days after admission, whichever is later. Other eligible admitted HBCU graduates receive $35,000 annually full-time or $25,000 part-time. Renewal requires good academic standing.
Academic Leadership Scholarships
After 1L, top students in day and regular evening sections receive half- or quarter-tuition awards. Renewal requires remaining in the top 20%; the Accelerated Part-Time Online program limits eligibility to its highest-ranked student.
Need-Based Aid
Need-based endowed and named funds use the FAFSA; Suffolk's priority date is March 1. International students are not eligible for Suffolk need-based aid. Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness is available to qualifying borrowers.
Cost of Attendance
For 2026-2027, day tuition is $65,640 and evening tuition is $49,230. Nine-month independent off-campus budgets total $110,096 and $92,992 respectively, including fees and living expenses.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Suffolk Law Dual Degree Programs
Suffolk combines the JD with business, policy, and specialized legal degrees.
- JD/MBA: Sawyer Business School; four years full-time or five to six part-time, with a three-year accelerated option.
- JD/MPA and JD/MSF: Sawyer Business School; four years full-time or five to six part-time.
- JD/MPH: Tufts University School of Medicine; 3.5 years full-time or 4.5 part-time, including two summers. Apply separately to both schools.
- JD/MS in Criminal Justice, JD/MA in Applied Politics, and JD/MA in Global Public Policy: Suffolk's College of Arts & Sciences; four years full-time or five to six part-time.
- JD/LLM in Taxation: Suffolk Law; three years full-time including summer study, or four part-time.
- JD/LLM in Legal Innovation and Technology: Suffolk Law; 3.5 years full-time or 4.5 part-time, with acceleration available. A 3.0 GPA is required to apply.
New applicants to the Sawyer and Arts & Sciences combinations apply through the law-school application and must meet both programs' requirements.
9. Suffolk Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Suffolk 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): 18.2%
- Federal clerkships: 1.1%
- Public service (including government): 17.0%
Massachusetts is overwhelmingly the leading destination, followed by New York and Maine. Suffolk's large-firm placements are meaningful, but its broader identity is regional practice across firms, government, and public-interest organizations. This is principally a Boston and Massachusetts investment, not a school whose employment pattern centers on national large-firm recruiting.
10. Suffolk Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Legal Innovation and Technology: The Legal Innovation and Technology Center connects legal practice with process improvement and technology. Students can pursue a concentration, work in the Legal Innovation and Technology Clinic, and continue into the specialized LLM.
Intellectual Property: The Intellectual Property Law Center anchors programming in patents, copyrights, and technology. The IP concentration and Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic connect that academic work to counseling clients and handling transactional matters.
Health and Biomedical Law: The Health and Biomedical Law concentration, directed by Renée Landers, combines health regulation with legal practice. The Health Law Clinic adds representation in guardianship and disability-benefits matters, while a dedicated student journal covers the field.
Housing and Advocacy: The Center for Housing Justice & Policy connects housing research, discrimination work, and advocacy. The Trial and Appellate Advocacy concentration and litigation clinics offer complementary training in the procedural and client-facing work behind legal representation.
11. Suffolk Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Suffolk's clinics place students in supervised client representation and policy work.
- Accelerator Practice: Represent average-income clients while learning the operation of a small practice.
- Environmental Law and Policy Clinic: Draft regulatory comments, legislative testimony, and community advocacy materials.
- Family Advocacy Clinic: Handle divorce, custody, and support matters from interviewing through litigation.
- Immigrant Justice Clinic: Represent noncitizens in removal, asylum, and related immigration proceedings.
- Innocence Clinic: Investigate potential wrongful convictions with the New England Innocence Project.
- Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic: Counsel clients and prepare transactional documents involving intellectual property and businesses.
- Juvenile Defenders Clinic: Represent young people in Boston Juvenile Court, including bail hearings, motions, and trials.
- Supreme Court Clinic: Prepare appellate briefs and other submissions for state and federal appellate litigation.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Suffolk's voluntary Pro Bono Program recognizes 50 hours of service. Named volunteer opportunities include Kids in Need of Defense and Massachusetts Advocates for Children. The separate JD curriculum requires six experiential credits and two continuing-legal-education programs; the 50-hour practice-based requirement exempts part-time evening students. Civil and judicial externships provide credit for approved placements. First-year summer judicial internships have included the First Circuit and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Suffolk Prosecutors Program is an externship, not an in-house clinic.
12. Suffolk Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Gabriel H. Teninbaum: Professor of Legal Writing and Assistant Dean for Innovation, Strategic Initiatives, and Distance Education. A legal-technology scholar and author of Productizing Legal Work.
- David C. Yamada: Professor of Law and Director of the New Workplace Institute. His workplace-bullying scholarship includes model legislation addressing abusive work environments.
- Renée M. Landers: Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Health and Biomedical Law concentration. A former Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Michael Rustad: Thomas F. Lambert Jr. Professor of Law and co-director of the IP concentration. His scholarship addresses torts, software, and consumer protection; he is an American Law Institute member.
Journals
- Suffolk University Law Review: Legal commentary by professionals and students, including student notes and case analysis.
- Suffolk Transnational Law Review: Scholarship on public and private international law, international institutions and global legal developments.
- Journal of Trial & Appellate Advocacy: Practical analysis of current trial and appellate issues, with professional articles and student notes and case comments.
- Journal of High Technology Law: Student-edited scholarship at the intersection of technology and law.
- Journal of Health & Biomedical Law: Academic scholarship on health and biomedical law.
13. Suffolk Law Culture and Student Life
Sargent Hall places a large law-school community beside Boston Common rather than on a secluded campus. Day, evening, accelerated, and hybrid schedules bring students with different professional timelines into the same institution. Journals and client work extend that community beyond the classroom.
Downtown Boston supplies the practical setting: courts, government offices, established firms, and public-interest organizations are part of the surrounding legal market. Suffolk's Massachusetts-heavy placement makes local professional relationships particularly relevant. Housing is also a substantial part of the cost, even before tuition enters the calculation.
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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 Suffolk 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.
