University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law: The Public-Interest Path
The University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law has an acceptance rate of about 37% for the 2025 cycle (277 offers from 749 applications), with a median LSAT of 151 and a median GPA of 3.28. It is the District’s only public law school, with the lowest tuition in D.C. and a clinical-training program U.S. News ranks #13 in the nation. The honest trade-off: it sits in U.S. News’s bottom tier and its first-time bar passage runs below average, so UDC is a mission-and-value choice for public-interest applicants, not a prestige play.
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Is UDC David A. Clarke School of Law a good law school?
It depends entirely on your goal. For a public-interest, government, or community-justice career on a tight budget, UDC is one of the strongest fits in the country: lowest tuition in D.C., a nationally ranked clinical program, and a mission built around serving underrepresented clients. For a corporate or big-firm track where rank and bar passage drive hiring, it is the weakest of the District’s options.
This is the most honest framing of UDC, and it is the opposite of the “every school is great” pitch. The school is a deliberate trade: you accept a bottom-tier U.S. News rank and a below-average bar pass rate in exchange for an affordable, hands-on, public-service-focused education that few schools can match on its own terms.
If that mission is genuinely yours, UDC is a serious choice. If it is not, the cost savings will not offset the rank and outcome gaps, and you should look at the District’s other schools.
What is UDC Law’s acceptance rate?
UDC Law’s acceptance rate is about 37% for the 2025 cycle, with 277 offers from 749 applications. The enrolled class posted a median LSAT score of 151 and a median GPA of 3.28, with the middle 50% scoring between 148 and 153 on the LSAT.
That makes UDC the most accessible law school in Washington, D.C. by a wide margin. Applicants in the high-140s to low-150s LSAT range with a GPA near 3.3 are realistic candidates; you can check your standing with our law school admission predictor.
How does UDC compare to other Washington, D.C. law schools?
UDC sits well below the District’s four private schools on admissions numbers, which is consistent with its access-focused mission. The table uses each school’s 2025 ABA 509 admissions data; for the full picture, see our guide to law schools in Washington, D.C.
| D.C. Law School | Acceptance Rate | Median LSAT | Median GPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown Law | 15.75% | 171 | 3.93 |
| George Washington (GW) | 27.2% | 168 | 3.86 |
| Catholic (Columbus) | 32.4% | 161 | 3.68 |
| American University (WCL) | 33.3% | 162 | 3.63 |
| UDC (David A. Clarke) | ~37% | 151 | 3.28 |
How much does UDC Law cost?
UDC Law’s cost is its single biggest advantage. As the District’s only public law school, full-time tuition is roughly $12,438 a year for D.C. residents and about $24,874 for non-residents, a fraction of what the city’s private law schools charge.
| D.C. Law School | Full-Time Tuition (2025-26) |
|---|---|
| UDC (D.C. resident) | ~$12,438 |
| UDC (non-resident) | ~$24,874 |
| Catholic (Columbus) | ~$61,580 |
| American (WCL) | $66,990 |
| George Washington (GW) | $75,420 |
For a public-interest career, where starting salaries are modest, that tuition gap is the difference between manageable debt and a six-figure burden. Combine it with our guides to law school cost and law school scholarships to model your real number, and weigh it against expected public-sector pay before you commit.
What is UDC Law known for?
UDC Law is known for clinical training, public-interest placement, and diversity, and it leads or near-leads the country on all three. It is the only public law school in the nation’s capital and one of only six law schools at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Clinical and experiential training
UDC requires every student to complete 700 hours in its in-house clinics plus 40 hours of community service, one of the most experiential J.D. curricula in the country. U.S. News has ranked its clinical training program #13 nationally, and the school’s roots trace to the Antioch School of Law, which pioneered the comprehensive clinical model now used in some form almost everywhere.
Public interest and access
Reuters ranked UDC #2 in the nation for sending graduates into government and public-interest jobs, and its students and faculty provide more than 100,000 hours of free legal services to D.C. residents each year. That mission, captured in the school motto “Practice Law. Promote Justice. Change Lives,” runs through a legal aid and human rights orientation that shapes the whole curriculum and feeds directly into human rights and civil-justice practice.
Diversity
The Princeton Review has ranked UDC #1 in the nation for Greatest Resources for Minority Students and among the top schools for most diverse faculty, with a student body that is roughly half students of color and about 60% women. It is also one of the most common choices for older and nontraditional students.
What are UDC Law’s bar passage and employment outcomes?
This is where honesty matters most. UDC’s first-time bar passage rate for the Class of 2024 was about 66%, roughly 15 points below the weighted average for the jurisdictions where its graduates sat. Any applicant should weigh that gap seriously and plan for rigorous bar preparation.
Employment skews public-sector by design rather than by default, which is why UDC ranks so high for government and public-interest placement even as its big-firm numbers stay low. The school is a strong vehicle for a public-service career and a weak one for a corporate-law career, and the outcomes data reflects exactly that.
Who should choose UDC Law?
Choose UDC if you want a public-interest, government, or community-justice career, you value low debt and intensive hands-on training, and you are committed enough to the bar exam to clear a below-average institutional pass rate. It is purpose-built for that applicant, and it does that job better than almost any school in the country.
If your goal is a high U.S. News rank or a big-firm salary, the District’s other schools fit better; compare across the field with our best law schools on the East Coast and current law school rankings. UDC awards the standard Juris Doctor (JD) over three years, with a four-year part-time evening option and an LL.M. in clinical education, social justice, and systems change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is UDC David A. Clarke School of Law a good law school?
For a public-interest, government, or community-justice career on a budget, yes: it offers D.C.’s lowest tuition, a top-15 clinical program, and a public-service mission. For a corporate or big-firm track, it is the weakest of the District’s options because of its bottom-tier rank and below-average bar passage.
What is UDC Law’s acceptance rate?
UDC Law’s acceptance rate is about 37% for the 2025 cycle, with 277 offers from 749 applications. The enrolled class posted a median LSAT of 151 and a median GPA of 3.28.
How much does UDC Law cost?
As the District’s only public law school, full-time tuition is roughly $12,438 a year for D.C. residents and about $24,874 for non-residents, far below the city’s private law schools.
What is UDC Law known for?
It is known for clinical training (ranked #13 nationally by U.S. News, with 700 required clinic hours), public-interest placement (Reuters #2 in the nation), and diversity (Princeton Review #1 for resources for minority students). It is also the only public law school in Washington, D.C. and an HBCU law school.
What is UDC Law’s bar passage rate?
UDC’s first-time bar passage rate for the Class of 2024 was about 66%, roughly 15 points below the average for the jurisdictions where its graduates sat. Applicants should plan for rigorous bar preparation.
Is UDC Law hard to get into?
It is the most accessible law school in Washington, D.C. With an acceptance rate near 37% and a 151 median LSAT, applicants in the high-140s to low-150s LSAT range with a GPA near 3.3 are realistic candidates.
Sources: University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure (released December 2025; Fall 2025 entering class): 749 applications, 277 offers, about 37% acceptance, LSAT 148/151/153, UGPA 3.05/3.28/3.55, full-time tuition approximately $12,438 (D.C. resident) and $24,874 (non-resident). First-time bar passage 65.57% (Class of 2024, 40 of 61 takers) versus an 80.64% weighted jurisdictional average; public-interest placement (Reuters #2), clinical-training rank (#13), and diversity recognition (Princeton Review #1 for resources for minority students) from the school’s official reports and 2026 U.S. News Best Law Schools, which places UDC in its lowest published tier overall. Reviewed by Lexinter Law Directory. Report a correction.
