ABA-approved law schools in Washington DC area

Seven law schools are inside the Capital Beltway that surrounds Washington, D.C. They are in the Eleventh Circuit of the ABA's Law Student Division. First are the basic facts for each of those seven law schools:

DC-area ABA
law schools

(alphabetical)
2015 US
News
Rank
2015
accept
rate

LSAT
BC
locator
list
number of
first-year students
Sep. 2015
Attrition rate
(flunk-out rate)
for 1st years
bar pass
rate for
reported
state
state's
overall
pass
rate
First
Amend.
protection
American [AU]
*
apply online
# 71 49% 152-158 M full time: 365
part time: 73
21.1% 81.03%
MD
80.6% no
(private)
Catholic [CUA]
*
apply online
# 108 55% 151-157 P full time: 99
part time: 41
18.6% 79.17%
MD
80.6% no
(private)
George Mason [GMU]
*
apply online
# 42 34% 156-163 H full time: 117
part time: 44
15.9% 87.12%
VA
77.57% yes
(public)
George Washington [GW]
* apply online
# 22 45% 159-166 D full time: 504
part time: 35
6.4% 90.51%
NY
81.55% no
(private)
Georgetown [GULC]
*
apply online
# 14 25% 163-168 D full time: 534
part time: 46
2.8% 92.28%
NY
81.55% no
(private)
Howard [HU]
*
apply online
# 110 41% 148-155 Q full time: 126
(no part time)
9.1% 41.82%
NY
81.55% perhaps
(Congress. $$$)
UDC
*
apply online
4th tier 36% N/A S full time: 48
part time: 42
14.4% 54.55%
MD
80.6% yes
(public)
Links above are to
law schools' sites.
                See Lloyd
and
Pruneyard.
 
The above map shows the Capital Beltway that circles Washington, DC. The red dots show the locations of the seven law schools. A more detailed map is below.
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The charts below show the rankings of the schools against each other. "Number one" on a list below does not mean #1 among all ABA law schools; rather, it means #1 among the ABA law schools being considered here. The number on the right in each grouping is the number being ranked.

             
  U.S. News ranking: April 2015        
 
1) Georgetown   1st tier
# 14        
 
2) George Washington   1st tier
# 22        
 
3) George Mason   1st tier
# 42        
 
4) American   2nd tier
# 71     .  
 
5) Catholic   3rd tier
# 108        
 
6) Howard   3rd tier
# 110        
 
7) UDC   4th tier
N/A        
             
  StartClass.com ranking: 2015        
  1) Georgetown # 17        
  2) George Washington # 30        
  3) George Mason # 40        
  4) American # 104        
  5) Catholic # 122        
  6) Howard # 158        
  7) UDC # 196        
             
  Scholarly impact of faculty: [2012 info] (Leiter)    
  1) George Washington # 16    
  2) Georgetown # 18    
  3) George Mason # 21    
  4) American # 47        
  No other DC-area law school made the list.      
             
  2015-2016 tuition & fees, full-year, full-time: (listed alphabetically)  
  American: $51,002.  
  Catholic: $46,815.  
  George Mason: out-of-state, $40,737; in-state, $25,351.  
  Georgetown: $55,255.  
  George Washington: $54,114.  
  Howard: $32,531.  
  UDC: out-of-state, $43,544; in-state, $21,772.  
             
 

Each of the seven law schools is shown with a red dot. Across the top, from left to right are
American, UDC, Howard, and Catholic.
Across the bottom, left to right, are
George Mason, George Washington, and Georgetown.



P.S. Everything you need to know to survive law school, on a 3 x 5 card:


For a glimpse at the first-year of law school, check
ONE HELL,
by Alice Marie Beard, J.D.