How Many Law Schools Are in the US?

If you’re applying to law school, your favorite choices are probably at the top of your mind. But, as a solid application strategy, you should also consider which safety schools you’ll apply to. Safety schools are those where you can be certain you meet or exceed the admissions criteria. For example, if your LSAT score and GPA falls into or above its 75th LSAT percentile, you can feel more secure that your chances of admission are higher. But, you might be struggling to choose from so many choices. Or, you might want to know how many choices you have to secure your chances of admission to at least one. So, how many law schools are in the US?

Number of Law Schools in the US

There are 205 ABA-approved law schools and about 32 Non-ABA approved law schools. That means there are 237 law schools in the United States. We can refer to the Law School Admissions Council and the American Bar Association for this information.

ABA-Approved Law Schools

/”ABA-approved law schools offer a legal education that meets certain ABA standards set forth by the Council and Accreditation Committee of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.” Graduates from ABA-Approved law schools are generally more likely to pass the bar in their states and benefit from the better reputation of these accredited schools. Of the 205 ABA-approved law schools, four are “provisionally approved.” This means that they are not yet fully approved by the accreditation committee.

Provisionally ABA-Approved Law Schools

1. Concordia University School of Law
2. Indiana Tech Law School
3. Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law
4. University of Massachusetts School of Law-Dartmouth

Non-ABA Approved Schools

Here is a list of the 32 Non-ABA approved law schools. The risk is higher when you choose to apply to and attend one of these schools because their reputation is generally not as high. However, depending on your financial plan and career goals, you might be interested in taking advantage of whatever opportunities these schools might offer.

The Non-ABA approved schools are:

1. Abraham Lincoln University School of Law
2. Birmingham School of Law
3. CAL Northern School of Law
4. California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
5. California School of Law
6. California Southern Law School
7. Concord Law School of Kaplan University
8. Empire College School of Law
9. Glendale University College of Law
10. Humphreys College School of Law
11. Irvine University College of Law
12. John F. Kennedy University College of Law
13. Lincoln Law School of Sacramento
14. Lincoln Law School of San Jose
15. Massachusetts School of Law at Andover
16. Miles Law School
17. Monterey College of Law
18. Nashville School of Law
19. University of North Texas Dallas College of Law
20. Oak Brook College of Law
21. Pacific Coast University School of Law
22. Pacific West College of Law
23. Saint Francis School of Law
24. San Francisco Law School at Alliant International University
25. San Joaquin College of Law
26. Santa Barbara College of Law
27. Southern California Institute of Law
28. Taft Law School
29. Trinity Law School
30. Ventura College of Law
31. The University of West Los Angeles School of Law—West Los Angeles
32. Western Sierra Law School

Choice of Law School

So, out of all 237 schools you have to choose from, consider the most important factors: your chances for admission, where you aim to practice law, and how that school will advance your goals. On the Magoosh LSAT blog, you can read next about how many law schools you should apply to.