Last updated: August 20, 2026

Harvard University

Stanford Law School is the law school of Stanford University, located in Stanford, California. The school is known for its highly selective admissions process, small student body, interdisciplinary approach, and strong connections to the technology and business sectors of Silicon Valley. Stanford offers a full-time J.D. program with extensive opportunities in clinical education, research, and experiential learning. Its graduates pursue careers across major law firms, federal clerkships, government, public interest, business, and academia.

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Harvard Law School at a Glance

Category	Information
Law School	Harvard Law School (HLS)
University	Harvard University
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Founded	1817
ABA Accreditation	Approved by the American Bar Association Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
J.D. Program	Three-year, full-time program
Part-Time J.D.	Not offered
Online J.D.	Not offered
J.D. Enrollment	1,784 students (2025 ABA Standard 509 report)
Most Recent Entering Class	Class of 2028
Entering Class Size	579 students
Applications	8,917 (Harvard Class of 2028 profile); 8,872 completed applications in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 report
Offers of Admission	816 (Class of 2028)
Acceptance Rate	9.2% (Class of 2028)
LSAT	171 / 174 / 176 — 25th percentile / median / 75th percentile (Class of 2028)
GPA	3.89 / 3.96 / 4.00 — 25th percentile / median / 75th percentile (Class of 2028)
2026–27 Tuition	$84,400
2026–27 Estimated Cost of Attendance	$126,650
Class of 2025 Employment	595 of 602 graduates employed as of March 16, 2026
Class of 2025 Employment Rate	Approximately 98.8%
2025 First-Time Bar Passage	97.90%
2026 U.S. News Ranking	No. 6 nationally
Largest Employment Markets	New York, District of Columbia, Massachusetts (Class of 2025)
Notable Academic Areas	Constitutional law, law and government, corporate governance, international law and human rights, technology, health law, environmental law, and public-interest law

Introduction

Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is one of the oldest continuously operating law schools in the United States.

Harvard Law School is part of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge and the Boston metropolitan area.

HLS offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degrees. The J.D. program is a three-year, full-time program.

The law school provides a broad curriculum together with clinical education, experiential learning, student-edited journals, research centers, and opportunities for interdisciplinary study across Harvard University.

For J.D. applicants, Harvard has a national employment profile rather than a primarily local one. The Class of 2025's three largest employment locations were New York, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts.

Harvard may be particularly relevant to applicants interested in large law firms, federal judicial clerkships, government, public-interest work, legal academia, constitutional law, corporate law, international law and human rights, technology, health law, or other areas supported by the school's extensive academic infrastructure.

The principal considerations for applicants include highly selective admissions, a high published cost of attendance, and the absence of a part-time or online J.D. option.

Rankings and Reputation

Harvard Law School was ranked No. 6 nationally in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law-school rankings.

Harvard remained No. 6 in the 2026 ranking, according to reporting on the latest U.S. News rankings.

Rankings should not be treated as objective measurements of overall law-school quality. U.S. News rankings are methodology-dependent and can change as the organization changes the factors and weighting used to calculate its rankings.

Harvard's reputation is national and international rather than limited to Massachusetts or New England.

The Class of 2025 employment data show graduates working in major legal markets including New York, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts, as well as other U.S. jurisdictions and foreign countries.

The school has substantial academic offerings in constitutional law, law and government, corporate governance, international law and human rights, technology, health law, environmental law, and public-interest law.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering Class (Class of 2028)

Harvard's current published entering-class profile is the J.D. Class of 2028.

Admissions Measure	Class of 2028
Applications	8,917
Offers of Admission	816
Enrolled 1Ls	579
Admit Rate	9.2%

The 8,917 application figure comes from Harvard Law School's Class of 2028 admissions profile.

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report, which uses the ABA's reporting definitions and reporting period, records 8,872 completed applications, 816 offers of admission, and 579 first-year students.

The Class of 2028 profile reports that:

84% of students were at least one year out of college.
69% were two or more years out of college.
22% were four or more years out of college.
Students came from 163 undergraduate institutions.
Students represented 47 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Students represented 26 international jurisdictions.

Harvard's Class of 2028 profile also reports a range of academic, professional, military, athletic, and extracurricular backgrounds among the incoming class.

LSAT and GPA

For the Class of 2028, Harvard reports:

Metric	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile
LSAT	171	174	176
GPA	3.89	3.96	4.00

Harvard also accepts the GRE General Test.

For the current published Class of 2028 profile, Harvard reports:

GRE Measure	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile
Verbal Reasoning	166	167	169
Quantitative Reasoning	162	166	169
Analytical Writing	5.0	5.5	5.5

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report records 542 LSAT admissions enrollees and 37 GRE admissions enrollees among the first-year class.

Interpreting the Numbers

Harvard's current admissions statistics indicate a highly selective admissions process.

The Class of 2028 had an admit rate of 9.2%, a median LSAT of 174, and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.96.

These figures are descriptive statistics for the entering class and are not minimum admission requirements.

Harvard states that its admissions review considers multiple factors, including academic preparation, work experience, leadership, personal qualities, and other aspects of an applicant's background.

A strong LSAT or GRE score and undergraduate GPA can strengthen an application, but numerical credentials alone do not guarantee admission.

Applicants below the published medians can still be considered, while applicants above both medians are not guaranteed admission.

The Class of 2028 also includes students with varied academic, professional, military, athletic, public-service, and extracurricular backgrounds.

Application Timing

For the Fall 2027 entering class, the Harvard Law School J.D. application will become available through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) on September 15, 2026.

The J.D. application deadline is February 5, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

The application fee is $90.

Applicants must take either the LSAT or GRE no later than February 1, 2027.

Harvard requires two letters of recommendation and permits applicants to submit up to three. The school strongly recommends that at least one recommendation come from an academic source.

Applicants must submit a résumé limited to one or two pages.

The current application requires both a Statement of Purpose and a Statement of Perspective.

Each written statement must be one to two pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and a font size of at least 11 points.

Harvard may invite applicants to interview during the admissions process. Interviews are generally conducted through Zoom.

Harvard reviews applications approximately in the order in which they become complete, but admissions decisions are released in multiple rounds.

For the Fall 2027 cycle, Harvard states that decisions will begin no sooner than January 2027 and that it aims to notify all applicants by early April 2027.

The published acceptance rounds are:

Event	Date
Application Opens	September 15, 2026
Application Deadline	February 5, 2027
First Round of Acceptances	January 8, 2027
Second Round of Acceptances	February 8, 2027
Third Round of Acceptances	March 8, 2027
Deadline to Respond to Offer	May 1, 2027

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition (2026–27 Academic Year)

Harvard Law School's 2026–27 J.D. tuition is $84,400.

The mandatory Harvard University Health Services student health fee is $1,944.

The Harvard University Student Health Insurance Plan fee is $4,954.

2026–27 Cost Category	Amount
Tuition	$84,400
Mandatory HUHS Student Health Fee	$1,944
Harvard Student Health Insurance Plan	$4,954
Housing	$18,900
Food	$6,760
Personal Expenses	$6,042
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,750
Travel Allowance	$1,900
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance	$126,650

The $126,650 figure is Harvard's standard nine-month student budget for the 2026–27 academic year.

The total includes $86,344 in direct costs consisting of tuition and the mandatory health fee, plus $40,306 in estimated indirect costs.

The HUSHP health-insurance charge may be waived for eligible students with qualifying alternative health coverage. In such cases, the student's cost-of-attendance budget may be reduced accordingly.

Estimated Living Expenses (2026–27 Academic Year)

Harvard's 2026–27 standard student budget includes:

Expense	Estimated Cost
Housing	$18,900
Food	$6,760
Personal Expenses	$6,042
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,750
Travel Allowance	$1,900
HUSHP Health Insurance	$4,954
Total Indirect Costs	$40,306

Actual expenses vary depending on housing arrangements, transportation, food, insurance choices, and personal spending.

Scholarships

Harvard Law School's institutional financial aid is primarily need-based rather than merit-based.

Harvard does not offer traditional merit scholarships for the J.D. program.

Harvard Law School also does not offer conditional scholarships based on maintaining a particular law-school GPA or class rank beyond the academic requirements ordinarily necessary to remain in good standing.

Beginning with the Class of 2027, Harvard introduced the Opportunity Fund, a need-based initiative designed to provide full-tuition grants to qualifying J.D. students with the highest levels of demonstrated financial need.

The latest ABA scholarship-distribution data available in the 2025 Standard 509 report cover the 2024–25 academic year.

Scholarship Measure	2024–25
Total J.D. Students	1,769
Students Receiving Grants	670
Percentage Receiving Grants	38%
25th Percentile Grant	$12,106
Median Grant	$27,510
75th Percentile Grant	$43,338
Grants Below Half Tuition	458
Grants From Half to Full Tuition	197
Full-Tuition Grants	8
More-than-Full-Tuition Grants	7

The 38% figure should not be interpreted as the percentage receiving financial aid in the 2026–27 academic year because the latest ABA distribution data are from 2024–25.

Debt Perspective

Harvard's published cost of attendance is substantial, but the amount an individual student actually pays can differ significantly because of need-based financial aid.

For 2026–27, Harvard's standard nine-month student budget is $126,650.

Harvard's financial-aid system evaluates demonstrated financial need and may provide grants and/or loans.

Students receiving significant institutional grant assistance may have a substantially lower net cost than the published budget.

Students receiving little or no institutional grant assistance may need to finance a larger portion of the cost through savings, family resources, federal loans, or other borrowing.

The Class of 2025 employment report shows substantial employment in large law firms and federal clerkships, together with employment in public interest, government, business, education, and other settings.

Employment outcomes should nevertheless be evaluated alongside debt because salary and career outcomes vary by sector, employer, location, and individual career path.

Prospective students should compare Harvard's expected net price rather than published tuition alone when evaluating the financial tradeoffs among law schools.

Employment Outcomes and Bar Passage

Employment (Class of 2025, as of March 16, 2026)

Harvard's latest published ABA employment summary covers the Class of 2025 and reports graduates' employment status as of March 16, 2026.

The report covers 602 graduates.

Employment Category	Number	Full-Time Long-Term	Full-Time Short-Term	Part-Time Long-Term	Part-Time Short-Term
Employed – Bar Admission Required/Anticipated	566	562	2	2	0
Employed – J.D. Advantage	17	16	0	1	0
Employed – Professional Position	12	8	1	2	1
Total Employed	595	586	3	5	1

Other reported outcomes included:

Status	Number
Enrolled in Graduate Studies	3
Employed – Start Date After March 16, 2026	1
Unemployed – Not Seeking	1
Unemployed – Seeking	1
Employment Status Unknown	1
Total Graduates	602

Harvard therefore reported 595 of 602 graduates as employed, equivalent to approximately 98.8% of the graduating class.

The 595 employed graduates included 586 in full-time, long-term positions, three in full-time, short-term positions, five in part-time, long-term positions, and one in a part-time, short-term position.

Employment by Sector

The Class of 2025 employment report recorded:

Employment Type	Number
Law Firms	367
Business & Industry	17
Government	15
Public Interest	59
Federal Clerkships	100
State, Local, and Territorial Clerkships	16
International Clerkships	2
Education	3

Among law-firm positions, Harvard reported:

Law Firm Size	Graduates
Solo	0
1–10 Attorneys	6
11–25 Attorneys	6
26–50 Attorneys	4
51–100 Attorneys	12
101–250 Attorneys	16
251–500 Attorneys	16
501+ Attorneys	323

The largest law-firm category therefore consisted of firms with more than 500 attorneys.

Harvard also reported 19 graduates employed in law-school-funded positions, including 16 bar-admission-required or anticipated positions and three J.D.-advantage positions.

What These Numbers Mean

The Class of 2025 employment data show that Harvard graduates entered multiple legal and law-related sectors.

Large law firms were the largest employment category. Federal judicial clerkships were also a substantial employment destination.

Public-interest and government positions represented additional significant categories.

The approximately 98.8% overall employment figure should not be interpreted as meaning that every graduate obtained a full-time, long-term legal position.

Harvard's report separately identifies full-time, short-term, part-time, J.D.-advantage, professional, clerkship, and other employment categories.

Harvard also notes that the clerkship figures on its employment-data webpage reflect 2025 clerkships held by graduates who began clerkships within 10 months of graduation. An approximately equal number of clerkships were held by HLS graduates from earlier classes who began clerkships after obtaining post-law-school work experience.

Bar Passage

Harvard's latest published bar-passage report covers the 2025 calendar-year graduating class.

Measure	2025
Graduates in Calendar Year	603
Total First-Time Takers	620
Total First-Time Passers	607
Harvard First-Time Bar Passage Rate	97.90%
ABA Council Weighted Average	85.24%
Difference	+12.66 percentage points
Graduates Admitted Through Alternative Pathways	0

The 620 first-time takers include graduates from the 2025 class and 42 first-time takers from prior graduating classes.

Major jurisdictions reported in the 2025 data included:

Jurisdiction	Harvard Takers	Harvard Passers	Harvard Pass Rate	State Pass Rate for Council-Accredited Schools
California	66	64	96.97%	82.67%
District of Columbia	141	139	98.58%	87.52%
Florida	16	14	87.50%	75.65%
Illinois	18	17	94.44%	81.09%
Massachusetts	56	56	100.00%	85.39%
New York	243	237	97.53%	87.27%
Texas	22	22	100.00%	82.67%
Remaining Jurisdictions	58	58	100.00%	77.81%

These figures describe the performance of Harvard graduates who took the relevant examinations and are not a guarantee of an individual student's bar-passage result.

Regional Employment

The three largest employment locations for the Class of 2025 were:

Location	Graduates
New York	207
District of Columbia	121
Massachusetts	59

Harvard also reported 10 graduates employed in foreign countries.

The geographic distribution demonstrates that HLS graduates work across multiple major U.S. legal markets rather than primarily in Massachusetts.

New York and Washington, D.C. accounted for substantially more reported placements than Massachusetts.

Academics and Programs

Constitutional Law and Law and Government

Constitutional law is a major area of study at Harvard Law School.

Relevant coursework includes constitutional structure, rights and liberties, federal courts, administrative law, legislation, elections, and related public-law subjects.

Harvard's Law and Government program focuses on constitutional law, administrative law, federal courts, legislation, regulation, elections, and the structure and operation of government institutions.

These offerings are relevant to students interested in constitutional litigation, appellate practice, federal government, administrative law, and public policy.

Corporate Governance and Business Law

Harvard Law School maintains a Program on Corporate Governance supporting research and scholarship in corporate and securities law.

Course offerings include corporate law, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, governance, and related business-law subjects.

HLS also offers a joint J.D./M.B.A. program with Harvard Business School.

The joint degree can be completed over four academic years.

International Law and Human Rights

HLS offers international-law and human-rights courses, research programs, and clinical opportunities.

The International Human Rights Clinic provides supervised practical work involving international human rights, humanitarian, criminal, and labor law.

Students may participate in research, legal writing, fact-finding, and advocacy projects involving international organizations, courts, nongovernmental organizations, and affected communities.

Technology, Health, and Environmental Law

Harvard's Law, Science, and Technology program addresses technology law and policy, health law, biotechnology, bioethics, food and drug law, and related regulatory issues.

HLS also maintains programs and coursework involving environmental and energy law.

Health-law offerings address legal and policy questions affecting health care, medicine, biotechnology, public health, and regulation.

Harvard offers a joint J.D./M.P.H. program with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Practical Training

Clinical and experiential education is an important part of the HLS curriculum.

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report recorded:

Experiential Category	Seats / Positions
Clinic Seats Available	807
Clinic Seats Filled	791
Field Placement Positions Filled	481
Simulation Course Seats Available	1,143
Simulation Course Seats Filled	905

HLS operates in-house clinics, externship clinics, Student Practice Organizations, and other experiential opportunities.

Pro Bono Opportunities

Harvard Law School requires students to complete 50 hours of pro bono service before graduation.

Students can fulfill the requirement through qualifying clinical, Student Practice Organization, and other supervised public-service opportunities.

Journals

Harvard Law School is home to numerous student-edited legal journals, including the Harvard Law Review.

The school reports 17 student journals.

Student journals provide opportunities for legal research, writing, editing, and scholarly work.

Student Life and Location

Living in Cambridge

Harvard Law School is located at 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.

The law school is located near Harvard Square and across the Charles River from Boston.

Cambridge and Greater Boston provide access to public transportation, universities, cultural institutions, restaurants, and a large regional legal market.

Housing costs are significant. Harvard's 2026–27 budget estimates $18,900 for nine months of housing.

Harvard's 2026–27 budget also estimates $6,760 for food, $6,042 for personal expenses, and $1,900 for travel.

The location can appeal to students who want access to both the Harvard University environment and the Boston legal market.

Student Body

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report recorded 1,784 J.D. students as of October 5, 2025.

Class	Students
J.D. 1L	579
J.D. 2L	594
J.D. 3L	611
Total J.D. Enrollment	1,784

All J.D. students are enrolled full-time.

The 2025 ABA report recorded:

ABA Reporting Category	Students
People of Color	762
White	948
Race/Ethnicity Unknown	74
Total	1,784

These are ABA reporting categories and should not be treated as a complete qualitative description of the school's diversity.

The Class of 2028 represents 47 U.S. states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico and 26 international jurisdictions.

Harvard reports more than 85 student organizations covering legal interests, identity, advocacy, community service, hobbies, and other interests.

How Harvard Law School Compares

Choose Harvard Law School If

A prospective student might reasonably prefer Harvard Law School if the student:

Wants a nationally portable J.D.
Is interested in large law firms.
Is interested in federal judicial clerkships.
Wants extensive clinical and experiential opportunities.
Wants access to a very broad range of legal subjects.
Is interested in constitutional law or government.
Is interested in corporate governance and business law.
Wants to study international law or human rights.
Is interested in technology, health, or environmental law.
Wants access to Harvard University's broader academic resources.
Is interested in government or public-interest careers as well as private practice.
Qualifies for substantial need-based financial aid.
Prefers Cambridge and the Boston metropolitan area.
Wants a full-time J.D. program.

The Class of 2025 employment data demonstrate national placement, including 207 graduates in New York, 121 in the District of Columbia, and 59 in Massachusetts.

Consider Alternatives If

A prospective student may reasonably consider another law school if:

Another school offers substantially more favorable financial aid.
Another school offers a lower net cost.
The student wants a part-time or evening J.D.
The student wants an online J.D.
The student's primary goal is a specific regional market where another school has a particularly strong local network.
The student prefers a smaller law-school environment.
The student specifically wants traditional merit-based scholarships.
Another law school has a specialized program that more closely matches the student's goals.
The student's anticipated career does not justify the additional cost of attendance.

Harvard does not offer a part-time, evening, or online J.D., and its institutional J.D. financial aid is primarily need-based.

The TLS Verdict

Harvard Law School combines a highly selective admissions process with a broad, nationally oriented J.D. program.

The Class of 2028 had a median LSAT of 174 and median GPA of 3.96, while the 2026 U.S. News ranking places Harvard No. 6 nationally.

Employment outcomes for the Class of 2025 were strong by the school's reported measures. Harvard reported 595 of 602 graduates employed as of March 16, 2026. The largest employment categories included law firms and federal clerkships, while public-interest and government positions also accounted for meaningful portions of the class.

The school's strongest advantages include national employment reach, extensive academic resources, clinical opportunities, and access to major legal markets. The main considerations are admissions selectivity, the high published cost of attendance, and the absence of a part-time or online J.D.

For applicants pursuing national legal careers, large-firm practice, federal clerkships, government, public-interest work, or interdisciplinary legal study, Harvard is a particularly relevant option.

The financial question should nevertheless be evaluated using each applicant's expected net cost and financial-aid package rather than published tuition alone.

What Students Say

This section summarizes recurring themes found in publicly available student and applicant discussions. It represents anecdotal community sentiment rather than official Harvard data or a statistically representative survey.

Frequently Mentioned Positives

Public student and applicant discussions commonly mention:

The academic credentials and professional backgrounds of classmates.
The breadth of student organizations and extracurricular activities.
Access to professors and academic resources.
The range of career opportunities.
The Cambridge and Boston location.
The breadth of legal specialties.
Interdisciplinary opportunities across Harvard University.
Clinical and extracurricular opportunities.

These observations are anecdotal and can differ substantially by individual student.

Frequently Mentioned Concerns

Public discussions also mention:

Heavy reading and preparation requirements.
Academic and recruiting pressure.
Competition associated with large-law-firm recruiting.
The high cost of tuition and living expenses.
The size of the J.D. student body compared with smaller law schools.
The challenge of balancing coursework, recruiting, extracurricular activities, and personal commitments.

These concerns are community sentiment rather than official findings and should not be treated as representative of every HLS student.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Harvard Law School a good law school?

Harvard Law School is a highly selective, nationally oriented law school with extensive academic, clinical, and employment opportunities.

Whether it is the right choice depends on an applicant's career goals, finances, preferred geographic market, and preferred school environment.

What LSAT score is competitive for Harvard Law School?

For the Class of 2028, Harvard's LSAT percentiles were 171 at the 25th percentile, 174 at the median, and 176 at the 75th percentile.

These are entering-class statistics and are not minimum admission requirements.

What is Harvard Law School's acceptance rate?

Harvard's Class of 2028 profile reports a 9.2% admit rate, based on 8,917 applications and 816 offers of admission.

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report separately reports 8,872 completed applications and an acceptance rate of 9.20%.

How much is Harvard Law School tuition?

For the 2026–27 academic year, J.D. tuition is $84,400.

Harvard's standard nine-month cost of attendance is $126,650.

What is Harvard Law School's bar passage rate?

For the 2025 graduating class, Harvard reported a 97.90% first-time bar passage rate.

There were 620 first-time takers and 607 first-time passers.

What is Harvard Law School known for?

HLS is known for its broad curriculum, constitutional and public law, corporate governance, international law and human rights, clinical education, public-interest opportunities, and interdisciplinary programs.

Does Harvard Law School offer merit scholarships?

Harvard Law School's J.D. institutional financial aid is primarily need-based rather than merit-based.

The school does not offer traditional merit scholarships.

What is the Harvard Law School Opportunity Fund?

The Opportunity Fund is a need-based financial-aid initiative introduced beginning with the Class of 2027.

It is designed to provide full-tuition grants to qualifying J.D. students with the highest levels of demonstrated financial need.

How many students attend Harvard Law School?

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report recorded 1,784 J.D. students as of October 5, 2025.

The school also has LL.M. and S.J.D. students in addition to its J.D. population.

Does Harvard Law School offer a part-time or online J.D.?

No.

Harvard's J.D. is a three-year, full-time program.

Where do Harvard Law graduates work?

For the Class of 2025, the largest reported employment locations were:

New York — 207 graduates
District of Columbia — 121 graduates
Massachusetts — 59 graduates

Harvard also reported graduates employed in other U.S. jurisdictions and foreign countries.

How many Harvard Law graduates found employment?

Harvard reported 595 of 602 Class of 2025 graduates as employed as of March 16, 2026.

Approximately 98.8% of the graduating class was employed under the school's reported employment categories.

Does Harvard Law School use rolling admissions?

Harvard reviews applications approximately in the order in which they become complete, but decisions are released in multiple rounds rather than through a traditional continuous rolling-admissions process.

When is the next Harvard Law School application deadline?

For the Fall 2027 entering class, the application opens September 15, 2026 and closes February 5, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Applicants must take either the LSAT or GRE no later than February 1, 2027.

How many letters of recommendation does Harvard Law School require?

Harvard requires two letters of recommendation and permits applicants to submit up to three.

The school strongly recommends that at least one letter come from an academic source.

Does Harvard Law School accept the GRE?

Yes.

Harvard accepts either the LSAT or GRE General Test.

If an applicant has a valid LSAT score on file, Harvard states that it will not consider the GRE score in evaluating that application.

What written statements does Harvard Law School require?

The current J.D. application requires both a Statement of Purpose and a Statement of Perspective.

Each statement must be one to two pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and a font size of at least 11 points.

How many pro bono hours are required at Harvard Law School?

Harvard Law School requires J.D. students to complete 50 hours of pro bono service before graduation.

Contact and Key Links

Official Links

Sources

Harvard Law School, HLS 1L Profile and Facts — J.D. Class of 2028.
Harvard Law School, 2025 Standard 509 Information Report.
Harvard Law School, 2026–27 Cost of Attendance.
Harvard Law School, Financial Aid Consumer Information.
Harvard Law School, J.D. Application Components — Fall 2027.
Harvard Law School, J.D. Admissions Announcements.
Harvard Law School, Employment Summary for 2025 Graduates.
Harvard Law School, Recent Employment Data.
Harvard Law School, Bar Passage Report — 2026.
Harvard Law School, Clinical Programs.
Harvard Law School, Academic Programs and Research Centers.
Harvard Law School, Student Organizations.
Harvard Law School, Student Journals.
American Bar Association, Standard 509 disclosures and employment/bar-passage reporting.
Reuters, coverage of the 2026 U.S. News law-school rankings.

Data-Year Notes

Category	Data Year / Reporting Period
Current date of profile	August 2026
Current entering class	Class of 2028
Admissions profile	Class of 2028
Upcoming admissions cycle	Fall 2027 entering class
Application opening	September 15, 2026
Application deadline	February 5, 2027
Latest LSAT/GRE date	February 1, 2027
Current tuition	2026–27 academic year
Current cost of attendance	2026–27 academic year
J.D. enrollment	2025 ABA Standard 509 report, October 5, 2025
Scholarship distribution	2024–25 ABA reporting year
Employment	Class of 2025, reported March 16, 2026
Bar passage	2025 graduating class / 2025 bar examination data
U.S. News ranking	2026 ranking
Student sentiment	Public student and applicant discussions; anecdotal

Editorial Data Notes

The profile uses different years where necessary because law-school data are released on different schedules.

The Class of 2028 is used for the latest available entering-class admissions statistics.

The Fall 2027 admissions cycle is used for current upcoming application deadlines because Harvard has already published those dates.

The 2026–27 academic year is used for current tuition and cost-of-attendance figures.

The 2025 ABA Standard 509 report is used for the latest verified J.D. enrollment and ABA admissions reporting.

The Class of 2025 is used for the latest official employment data, with employment status reported as of March 16, 2026.

The 2025 graduating class is used for the latest published bar-passage report.

The 2026 U.S. News ranking is used for the current national ranking.

The Harvard Class of 2028 profile reports 8,917 applications, while the 2025 ABA Standard 509 report reports 8,872 completed applications. These figures are retained separately because they come from different reporting systems and should not be artificially combined.

The 2024–25 scholarship distribution figures are identified as historical because they are the latest ABA scholarship-distribution data available in the 2025 Standard 509 report and are not presented as a 2026–27 percentage.

Student and applicant sentiment is separated from official statistics and is explicitly identified as anecdotal community feedback.

Harvard Law School

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