Law School Scholarship Retention: Where Students Keep Their Awards
Elon, Liberty, and the University of North Dakota did not reduce or eliminate any of the conditional scholarships they awarded to students entering in 2022-2023 through 2024-2025, according to ABA data. Another 133 ABA-approved law schools reported no conditional scholarships for 2024-2025 entrants, so awards there aren’t tied to a law school GPA or class-rank cutoff.
Losing a scholarship after the first year is a worry students raise again and again in Reddit’s law school communities, often when the award depended on first-year grades. Outside those discussions, the numbers mostly reach applicants in two places: each school’s ABA report, and the retention data a school has to send with a conditional offer.
A conditional scholarship is one you keep only if your law school grades or class rank remain above a cutoff set by the school. This page ranks 56 schools by how many of those awards were reduced or eliminated and lists the 133 that reported none for their newest class.
How We Chose These Schools
Every figure on this page comes from the American Bar Association’s 2025 Standard 509 data, the consumer information each ABA-approved law school reports every October and the ABA publishes at abarequireddisclosures.org. For each of its last three entering classes, a school reports how many students started with a conditional scholarship and how many of those scholarships were reduced or eliminated after the first year.
The ranking uses one formula. Share reduced or eliminated = conditional scholarships reduced or eliminated ÷ conditional scholarships awarded, with both counts added up across the students who entered in 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. It’s shown as a percentage to one decimal place. A lower share ranks higher, and schools with the same share have the same rank.
These shares are historical reduction rates. They describe what schools reported for the three entering classes named here, and they don’t guarantee that future students will keep their awards. Scholarship conditions and renewal terms can differ by school, by award and by entering year.
A school is ranked if it awarded at least one conditional scholarship to students entering in 2024-2025 and at least 20 across the three entering classes. Five schools awarded fewer than 20, so they’re listed separately with their counts and no rank. At that size, one student moves a school’s share by more than 5 percentage points.
Each school’s ABA report also says whether it offers conditional scholarships. Baylor, Quinnipiac and Seton Hall say they don’t, but each reported conditional awards to students entering in 2024-2025, so they’re ranked from those counts. If you’re considering one of them, ask the school whether a current offer comes with a GPA or class-rank condition. Texas Southern reported conditional scholarships only for students entering in 2024-2025, so its share comes from one class. Puerto Rico’s three ABA-approved law schools are included.
Profile figures come from the same reports: tuition and fees for the 2025-2026 academic year, grants for 2024-2025, and median LSAT score and GPA for the 2025 entering class. Nothing on this page is estimated. The ranking is independent of the sponsored school listings on this page, and we review and update it each December using the latest ABA Standard 509 data.
First-time bar passage (2025) comes from the ABA’s 2026 bar admission reports. It covers graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2025, including those from earlier years. Each profile compares that rate with the school’s Council weighted average, the figure the ABA reports alongside it: the first-time pass rate for graduates of all ABA-approved law schools in the jurisdictions where the school’s graduates tested, weighted by how many of them tested in each jurisdiction. (The Council is the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.)
Law Schools Ranked by Scholarship Retention
Each row shows the conditional scholarships a school awarded to its 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 entering classes combined, the number reduced or eliminated after the first year, and the share that number represents.
| Rank | School | Awarded / reduced or eliminated | Share reduced or eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon University | 133 / 0 | 0.0% |
| 1 | Liberty University | 331 / 0 | 0.0% |
| 1 | University of North Dakota | 24 / 0 | 0.0% |
| 4 | University of Montana | 184 / 3 | 1.6% |
| 5 | University of Denver | 514 / 11 | 2.1% |
| 6 | West Virginia University | 25 / 1 | 4.0% |
| 7 | Howard University | 453 / 19 | 4.2% |
| 8 | University of Wyoming | 208 / 13 | 6.2% |
| 9 | Quinnipiac University* | 235 / 16 | 6.8% |
| 10 | Baylor University* | 371 / 26 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Georgia State University | 218 / 16 | 7.3% |
| 12 | Loyola University New Orleans | 488 / 36 | 7.4% |
| 13 | Samford University | 448 / 44 | 9.8% |
| 14 | Indiana University Indianapolis | 345 / 35 | 10.1% |
| 15 | University of New Mexico | 111 / 12 | 10.8% |
| 16 | Roger Williams University | 317 / 42 | 13.2% |
| 17 | University of San Diego | 720 / 105 | 14.6% |
| 18 | University of Baltimore | 423 / 66 | 15.6% |
| 19 | Loyola Marymount University | 652 / 103 | 15.8% |
| 20 | University of California, San Francisco | 821 / 133 | 16.2% |
| 21 | University of Missouri | 72 / 12 | 16.7% |
| 22 | Brooklyn Law School | 1086 / 204 | 18.8% |
| 23 | Florida International University | 318 / 62 | 19.5% |
| 24 | Belmont University | 152 / 30 | 19.7% |
| 25 | Seattle University | 406 / 87 | 21.4% |
| 26 | Pepperdine University | 364 / 79 | 21.7% |
| 27 | University of Kansas | 228 / 50 | 21.9% |
| 28 | Washburn University | 171 / 39 | 22.8% |
| 29 | Drexel University | 98 / 23 | 23.5% |
| 30 | New England Law | Boston | 826 / 195 | 23.6% |
| 31 | Seton Hall University* | 362 / 89 | 24.6% |
| 32 | Ave Maria School of Law | 293 / 76 | 25.9% |
| 33 | Louisiana State University | 516 / 134 | 26.0% |
| 34 | Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | 247 / 69 | 27.9% |
| 35 | The Catholic University of America | 129 / 39 | 30.2% |
| 36 | University of Memphis | 114 / 36 | 31.6% |
| 37 | University of the Pacific | 338 / 108 | 32.0% |
| 38 | Mississippi Christian University | 231 / 76 | 32.9% |
| 39 | Santa Clara University | 218 / 73 | 33.5% |
| 40 | Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School | 380 / 140 | 36.8% |
| 41 | Pace University | 830 / 315 | 38.0% |
| 42 | University of San Francisco | 238 / 92 | 38.7% |
| 43 | South Texas College of Law Houston | 779 / 319 | 40.9% |
| 44 | Chapman University | 294 / 122 | 41.5% |
| 45 | New York Law School | 557 / 254 | 45.6% |
| 46 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 247 / 114 | 46.2% |
| 47 | University of Illinois Chicago | 448 / 219 | 48.9% |
| 48 | Southwestern Law School | 711 / 350 | 49.2% |
| 49 | Hofstra University | 676 / 350 | 51.8% |
| 50 | St. Thomas University (Florida) | 305 / 163 | 53.4% |
| 51 | Southern University | 279 / 153 | 54.8% |
| 52 | Touro University | 537 / 310 | 57.7% |
| 53 | Barry University | 757 / 438 | 57.9% |
| 54 | California Western School of Law | 584 / 380 | 65.1% |
| 55 | Texas Southern University† | 83 / 56 | 67.5% |
| 56 | Westcliff University (Western State) | 360 / 258 | 71.7% |
* The school’s ABA report says it doesn’t offer conditional scholarships, but it reported these awards.
† Reported conditional scholarships for students entering in 2024-2025 only, so the share covers one class.
Schools With Too Few Awards to Rank
These five schools awarded conditional scholarships to 2024-2025 entrants but fewer than 20 across the three entering classes. Their counts are shown as reported, without a share or rank.
| School | Awarded / reduced or eliminated | Awarded to 2024-2025 entrants |
|---|---|---|
| Brigham Young University | 8 / 1 | 3 |
| Inter American University of Puerto Rico | 15 / 5 | 2 |
| Oklahoma City University | 10 / 1 | 3 |
| Southern Methodist University | 18 / 2 | 6 |
| University of South Dakota | 3 / 0 | 1 |
The 15 Top-Ranked Schools for Scholarship Retention
These profiles cover the first 15 schools in the ranking. Each one shows the school’s conditional scholarships by entering class. Each school’s name and city were checked on its own website in November 2026.
1. Elon University School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 0.0% (tied for rank 1)
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $45,333 tuition, no required fees reported
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 92%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $23,571
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 154 and 3.40
- First-time bar passage (2025): 69.92%, compared with a Council weighted average of 81.39%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 35 | 0 |
| 2023-2024 | 37 | 0 |
| 2024-2025 | 61 | 0 |
| All three classes | 133 | 0 |
1. Liberty University School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 0.0% (tied for rank 1)
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $43,150 tuition + $2,198 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 100%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $24,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 154 and 3.54
- First-time bar passage (2025): 85.29%, compared with a Council weighted average of 80.14%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 127 | 0 |
| 2023-2024 | 108 | 0 |
| 2024-2025 | 96 | 0 |
| All three classes | 331 | 0 |
1. University of North Dakota School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 0.0% (tied for rank 1)
- Full-time tuition (2025-2026): $591 per credit hour for residents, $1,181 for nonresidents, plus $1,855 in annual fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 52%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $3,875
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 151 and 3.48
- First-time bar passage (2025): 72.31%, compared with a Council weighted average of 75.24%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023-2024 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024-2025 | 14 | 0 |
| All three classes | 24 | 0 |
4. Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 1.6%
- Resident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $24,582 tuition + $2,930 fees
- Nonresident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $51,582 tuition + $3,502 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 89%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $10,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 156 and 3.64
- First-time bar passage (2025): 82.5%, compared with a Council weighted average of 82.31%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 62 | 1 |
| 2023-2024 | 58 | 2 |
| 2024-2025 | 64 | 0 |
| All three classes | 184 | 3 |
5. University of Denver Sturm College of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 2.1%
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $63,390 tuition + $422 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 81%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $30,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 160 and 3.66
- First-time bar passage (2025): 81.47%, compared with a Council weighted average of 80.31%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 171 | 8 |
| 2023-2024 | 165 | 3 |
| 2024-2025 | 178 | 0 |
| All three classes | 514 | 11 |
6. West Virginia University College of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 4.0%
- Resident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $26,370 tuition + $1,404 fees
- Nonresident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $45,666 tuition + $1,404 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 76%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $17,500
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 155 and 3.65
- First-time bar passage (2025): 78.72%, compared with a Council weighted average of 79.81%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 12 | 1 |
| 2023-2024 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024-2025 | 7 | 0 |
| All three classes | 25 | 1 |
7. Howard University School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 4.2%
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $39,780 tuition + $1,632 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 48%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $23,657
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 156 and 3.63
- First-time bar passage (2025): 78.01%, compared with a Council weighted average of 84.74%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 87 | 8 |
| 2023-2024 | 105 | 11 |
| 2024-2025 | 261 | 0 |
| All three classes | 453 | 19 |
8. University of Wyoming College of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 6.2%
- Full-time tuition (2025-2026): $576 per credit hour for residents, $1,229 for nonresidents, plus $1,964 in annual fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 89%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $8,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 156 and 3.55
- First-time bar passage (2025): 83.05%, compared with a Council weighted average of 76.01%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 61 | 7 |
| 2023-2024 | 80 | 3 |
| 2024-2025 | 67 | 3 |
| All three classes | 208 | 13 |
9. Quinnipiac University School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 6.8%
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $56,610 tuition + $1,150 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 88%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $25,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 155 and 3.65
- First-time bar passage (2025): 75.44%, compared with a Council weighted average of 71.29%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 77 | 4 |
| 2023-2024 | 61 | 5 |
| 2024-2025 | 97 | 7 |
| All three classes | 235 | 16 |
Quinnipiac’s ABA report says it doesn’t offer conditional scholarships, but it reported the awards shown here, so ask the school whether a current offer comes with a GPA or class-rank condition.
10. Baylor Law School
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 7.0%
- Full-time tuition (2025-2026): $1,606 per credit hour for all students, plus $95 in annual fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 97%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $33,518
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 164 and 3.77
- First-time bar passage (2025): 93.69%, compared with a Council weighted average of 82.65%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 110 | 23 |
| 2023-2024 | 121 | 3 |
| 2024-2025 | 140 | 0 |
| All three classes | 371 | 26 |
Baylor’s ABA report says it doesn’t offer conditional scholarships, but it reported the awards shown here, so ask the school whether a current offer comes with a GPA or class-rank condition.
11. Georgia State University College of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 7.3%
- Resident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $16,162 tuition + $1,434 fees
- Nonresident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $37,886 tuition + $1,434 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 54%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $7,776
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 160 and 3.64
- First-time bar passage (2025): 87.43%, compared with a Council weighted average of 79.55%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 70 | 4 |
| 2023-2024 | 76 | 7 |
| 2024-2025 | 72 | 5 |
| All three classes | 218 | 16 |
12. Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 7.4%
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $55,024 tuition + $1,870 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 78%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $26,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 154 and 3.47
- First-time bar passage (2025): 71.17%, compared with a Council weighted average of 79.65%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 162 | 12 |
| 2023-2024 | 168 | 6 |
| 2024-2025 | 158 | 18 |
| All three classes | 488 | 36 |
13. Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 9.8%
- Full-time tuition and fees (2025-2026): $46,334 tuition + $1,000 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 93%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $20,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 156 and 3.63
- First-time bar passage (2025): 90.44%, compared with a Council weighted average of 81.87%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 144 | 17 |
| 2023-2024 | 149 | 20 |
| 2024-2025 | 155 | 7 |
| All three classes | 448 | 44 |
14. Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 10.1%
- Full-time tuition (2025-2026): $1,028 per credit hour for residents, $1,655 for nonresidents, plus $1,243 in annual fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 95%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $15,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 155 and 3.58
- First-time bar passage (2025): 80.38%, compared with a Council weighted average of 80.78%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 154 | 1 |
| 2023-2024 | 19 | 14 |
| 2024-2025 | 172 | 20 |
| All three classes | 345 | 35 |
15. University of New Mexico School of Law
- Share reduced or eliminated (three entering classes): 10.8%
- Resident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $19,474 tuition + $1,546 fees
- Nonresident tuition and fees (2025-2026): $43,192 tuition + $1,546 fees
- Full-time students receiving grants (2024-2025): 60%
- Median full-time grant (2024-2025): $10,000
- Median LSAT and GPA (2025 entering class): 157 and 3.56
- First-time bar passage (2025): 77%, compared with a Council weighted average of 77.9%
| Entering class | Conditional scholarships awarded | Reduced or eliminated after the first year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 31 | 3 |
| 2023-2024 | 39 | 3 |
| 2024-2025 | 41 | 6 |
| All three classes | 111 | 12 |
Law Schools That Don’t Award Conditional Scholarships
These 133 ABA-approved law schools reported no conditional scholarships for students entering in 2024-2025, and none of them says it offers them. Western New England University School of Law, for example, states on its ABA disclosures page that scholarships awarded at admission are non-conditional and automatically renewed while students remain in good academic standing.
At these schools, a scholarship you’re offered at admission isn’t tied to a law school GPA or class-rank cutoff under the ABA’s definition. You’ll still need to stay in good academic standing, and the renewal terms are in your offer letter. The grant columns show how many full-time students received any grant in 2024-2025 and the median full-time grant, from each school’s 509 report.
| School | Public or private | Full-time students receiving grants | Median full-time grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Law School | Private | 89% | $38,000 |
| American University | Private | 60% | $40,000 |
| Appalachian School of Law | Private | 87% | $10,250 |
| Arizona State University | Public | 96% | $20,000 |
| Boston College | Private | 89% | $24,000 |
| Boston University | Private | 91% | $29,000 |
| Campbell University | Private | 99% | $21,771 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Private | 97% | $42,500 |
| Charleston School of Law | Private | 95% | $20,000 |
| City University of New York | Public | 14% | $8,000 |
| Cleveland State University | Public | 99% | $11,000 |
| Columbia University | Private | 54% | $32,000 |
| Cooley Law School | Private | 45% | $13,746 |
| Cornell University | Private | 91% | $30,000 |
| Creighton University | Private | 89% | $25,600 |
| DePaul University | Private | 100% | $34,950 |
| Drake University | Private | 82% | $31,000 |
| Duke University | Private | 94% | $35,000 |
| Duquesne University | Private | 97% | $30,000 |
| Emory University | Private | 98% | $36,000 |
| Faulkner University | Private | 72% | $15,960 |
| Florida A&M University | Public | 45% | $7,500 |
| Florida State University | Public | 78% | $15,464 |
| Fordham University | Private | 89% | $35,000 |
| George Mason University | Public | 85% | $21,000 |
| Georgetown University | Private | 61% | $35,000 |
| Gonzaga University | Private | 98% | $32,000 |
| Harvard University | Private | 38% | $27,510 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent) | Private | 95% | $35,000 |
| Indiana University Bloomington | Public | 100% | $33,000 |
| Jacksonville University | Private | 100% | $18,000 |
| Lewis & Clark Law School | Private | 89% | $26,000 |
| Lincoln Memorial University | Private | 100% | $28,000 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Private | 95% | $30,000 |
| Marquette University | Private | 94% | $23,000 |
| Mercer University | Private | 87% | $20,000 |
| Michigan State University | Public | 100% | $42,682 |
| Mitchell Hamline School of Law | Private | N/A (inconsistent ABA data)‡ | $34,730 |
| New York University | Private | 66% | $20,000 |
| North Carolina Central University | Public | 75% | $12,982 |
| Northeastern University | Private | 96% | $31,000 |
| Northern Illinois University | Public | 78% | $8,274 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Public | 66% | $18,000 |
| Northwestern University | Private | 76% | $40,000 |
| Nova Southeastern University* | Private | 82% | $15,000 |
| Ohio Northern University | Private | N/A (inconsistent ABA data)§ | N/A (inconsistent ABA data)§ |
| Penn State Dickinson Law | Public | 100% | $36,000 |
| Regent University | Private | 97% | $22,500 |
| Rutgers University | Public | 92% | $16,000 |
| Saint Louis University | Private | 99% | $25,000 |
| Southern Illinois University (SIU Simmons Law School) | Public | 64% | $9,500 |
| St. John’s University* | Private | 84% | $60,000 |
| St. Mary’s University | Private | 93% | $12,500 |
| Stanford University | Private | 50% | $52,797 |
| Stetson University* | Private | 94% | $25,000 |
| Suffolk University | Private | 83% | $22,445 |
| Syracuse University | Private | 91% | $24,351 |
| Temple University* | Public | 90% | $31,334 |
| Texas A&M University | Public | 95% | $26,048 |
| Texas Tech University | Public | 88% | $12,000 |
| The George Washington University | Private | 78% | $28,000 |
| The Ohio State University | Public | 90% | $29,984 |
| Tulane University | Private | 87% | $37,500 |
| University at Buffalo | Public | 51% | $7,500 |
| University of Akron | Public | 93% | $9,000 |
| University of Alabama | Public | 96% | $21,500 |
| University of Arizona | Public | 88% | $25,235 |
| University of Arkansas | Public | 87% | $9,000 |
| University of California, Berkeley | Public | 86% | $31,158 |
| University of California, Davis | Public | 99% | $25,000 |
| University of California, Irvine | Public | 95% | $25,000 |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Public | 83% | $24,456 |
| University of Chicago | Private | 78% | $15,000 |
| University of Cincinnati | Public | 100% | $19,000 |
| University of Colorado | Public | 87% | $15,000 |
| University of Connecticut | Public | 94% | $15,177 |
| University of Dayton* | Private | 100% | $33,000 |
| University of Detroit Mercy | Private | 58% | $18,636 |
| University of Florida | Public | 88% | $19,000 |
| University of Georgia | Public | 84% | $19,460 |
| University of Hawaii | Public | 73% | $7,000 |
| University of Houston | Public | 79% | $11,500 |
| University of Idaho | Public | 51% | $8,000 |
| University of Illinois | Public | 99% | $32,000 |
| University of Iowa | Public | 77% | $30,043 |
| University of Kentucky | Public | 98% | $11,000 |
| University of Louisville | Public | 75% | $12,000 |
| University of Maine | Public | 72% | $23,535 |
| University of Maryland | Public | 82% | $28,000 |
| University of Massachusetts Dartmouth | Public | 85% | $15,000 |
| University of Miami | Private | 65% | $47,000 |
| University of Michigan | Public | 91% | $32,000 |
| University of Minnesota | Public | 94% | $35,000 |
| University of Mississippi | Public | 87% | $7,000 |
| University of Nebraska | Public | 85% | $20,000 |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas | Public | 81% | $22,998 |
| University of New Hampshire | Public | 87% | $20,000 |
| University of North Carolina | Public | 95% | $17,000 |
| University of North Texas at Dallas | Public | 61% | $5,000 |
| University of Notre Dame | Private | 92% | $30,000 |
| University of Oklahoma | Public | 89% | $12,000 |
| University of Oregon | Public | 74% | $25,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Private | 59% | $42,246 |
| University of Pittsburgh* | Public | 82% | $30,000 |
| University of Puerto Rico | Public | 51% | $1,000 |
| University of Richmond | Private | 81% | $40,000 |
| University of South Carolina | Public | 90% | $12,562 |
| University of Southern California | Private | 95% | $40,092 |
| University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) | Private | 100% | $26,865 |
| University of Tennessee | Public | 89% | $10,550 |
| University of Texas | Public | 94% | $23,375 |
| University of Toledo | Public | 79% | $20,000 |
| University of Tulsa | Private | 99% | $12,500 |
| University of Utah | Public | 91% | $28,410 |
| University of Virginia | Public | 66% | $35,000 |
| University of Washington | Public | 70% | $14,000 |
| University of Wisconsin | Public | 94% | $35,000 |
| University of the District of Columbia* | Public | 69% | $8,292 |
| Vanderbilt University | Private | 90% | $32,792 |
| Vermont Law and Graduate School | Private | N/A (inconsistent ABA data)‡ | $28,000 |
| Villanova University | Private | 87% | $40,000 |
| Wake Forest University | Private | 76% | $40,000 |
| Washington University (St. Louis) | Private | 94% | $48,000 |
| Washington and Lee University | Private | 97% | $33,500 |
| Wayne State University | Public | 84% | $34,636 |
| Western New England University | Private | 82% | $30,000 |
| Widener University Commonwealth Law School | Private | 96% | $25,000 |
| Widener University Delaware Law School | Private | 97% | $32,000 |
| Willamette University | Private | 94% | $20,000 |
| William & Mary | Public | 66% | $29,302 |
| Wilmington University Farnan School of Law | Private | 63% | $6,000 |
| Yale University | Private | 63% | $34,747 |
| Yeshiva University (Cardozo) | Private | 98% | $40,000 |
* Reported conditional scholarships for an earlier entering class (see below).
‡ The figures this school reported to the ABA list more full-time grant recipients than full-time students, so no percentage is shown.
§ The figures this school reported to the ABA show no full-time grant recipients but a median full-time grant amount, so neither figure is shown.
Schools That Reported Conditional Scholarships Only for Earlier Classes
Seven schools on the list reported conditional scholarships for students who entered in 2022-2023 or 2023-2024, but none for 2024-2025: University of Dayton, University of the District of Columbia, Nova Southeastern University, University of Pittsburgh, St. John’s University, Stetson University and Temple University. If you’re comparing offers from one of them, ask the financial aid office whether any current awards have GPA or class-rank conditions.
Capital University Law School and the University of Missouri-Kansas City say in their ABA reports that they offer conditional scholarships. Still, neither reported any for 2024-2025 entrants, so they appear on neither list. Across the two earlier classes, Capital reported 327 conditional scholarships with 80 reduced or eliminated, and Missouri-Kansas City reported 5 with none reduced or eliminated.
What Counts as a Conditional Scholarship
The ABA defines a conditional scholarship as any financial aid award you keep only if you maintain a GPA or class standing above the school’s minimum for good academic standing. An award that lasts as long as you stay in good standing isn’t conditional under that definition.
ABA Standard 509 requires a school to publish its conditional scholarship counts and provide that data to every applicant to whom it offers a conditional scholarship at the time of the offer. So if an offer letter says your award depends on your grades, the retention numbers should come with it.
What the ABA Data Doesn’t Show
The 509 report counts scholarships, not dollars. It doesn’t say how much a student lost, whether an award was cut or ended, or what GPA or class rank the school required. Those terms are in each school’s offer letters and scholarship policy.
The counts also can’t explain a share. A low number of reductions could come from a low cutoff, or from awards that went mostly to students likely to clear it, and the data doesn’t separate the two. Read the share alongside the condition in your own offer.
How to Use This List
Start with your offer letter. If the award is conditional, find the cutoff, which grades count toward it, and when the school checks. Then ask the financial aid office whether the cutoff is GPA or class rank, since class rank depends on how your classmates do as well as on your own grades. If you’re weighing whether you’d clear a cutoff, our guide to how hard law school is is a good place to start.
Weigh the award against the price. The same ABA reports list tuition, and our ranking of the lowest tuition law schools sorts schools by full-time sticker price. A conditional award at a high-tuition school is worth less if there’s a real chance you’ll lose part of it after the first year.
Each profile lists the entering class’s median LSAT score and GPA, so you can see where your numbers fall at that school. If you’re planning a retake, our guide to the LSAT covers test dates and scoring.
ABA approval applies to the law school, not to your license to practice. Each jurisdiction decides who’s eligible for bar admission. Some require a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school, and others allow other educational paths. You may also need to pass a character and fitness review (the jurisdiction’s check of your background and conduct), the jurisdiction’s bar exam, and a professional responsibility exam, along with other requirements that vary by jurisdiction. Confirm the current rules with the bar admission authority in the jurisdiction where you plan to practice, using the NCBE jurisdiction directory. The bar passage figures in the profiles cover one year of exams and can change from year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a conditional scholarship in law school?
It’s a scholarship you keep only if your law school GPA or class rank stays above a cutoff the school sets, beyond ordinary good academic standing. That’s the ABA’s definition. Schools report how many they award and how many are reduced or eliminated after the first year.
Do all law schools reduce scholarships after the first year?
No. In the ABA’s 2025 Standard 509 data, 133 ABA-approved law schools reported no conditional scholarships for students entering in 2024-2025. Among the 56 schools ranked here, the share reduced or eliminated across three entering classes ran from 0.0% to 71.7%.
Is a non-conditional scholarship guaranteed for all three years?
Not automatically. A non-conditional award isn’t tied to a GPA or class-rank cutoff, but you still need to stay in good academic standing. Read the renewal terms in your offer letter and confirm them with the school’s financial aid office.
Where do I find a law school’s scholarship retention data?
It’s in the school’s Standard 509 Information Report, which the school posts on its website and the ABA publishes at abarequireddisclosures.org. A school that offers you a conditional scholarship must also give you its retention data with the offer.
Does the ABA data show the GPA a school requires to keep a scholarship?
No. The report shows only how many conditional scholarships a school awarded and how many were reduced or eliminated. The cutoff, and whether it’s a GPA or a class rank, is in your offer letter and the school’s scholarship policy.
- No reductions at three schools: Elon, Liberty and the University of North Dakota reduced or eliminated none of the conditional scholarships awarded to their 2022-2023 through 2024-2025 entering classes, according to ABA data.
- 133 schools reported none: These ABA-approved law schools reported no conditional scholarships for students entering in 2024-2025, according to the 2025 ABA Standard 509 data.
- How the ranking works: Each school’s share is its reduced or eliminated scholarships, divided by its conditional scholarships awarded, across three entering classes, based on the ABA’s 2025 Standard 509 data.
- The cutoff is in your offer: ABA data shows counts only, so read your offer letter for the GPA or class rank you’d need to keep the award.
A scholarship you’ll keep can be worth more than a bigger one you might lose, so the school matters as much as the award. Compare J.D. programs by ABA approval, format and cost, and ask each one for its scholarship terms in writing before you pay a seat deposit.
