Top Feeders to Law School (JD Programs)

Aspiring lawyers know that excellent undergraduate grades and superb LSAT scores are the primary keys to getting into an elite law school.

However, the undergraduate school that you attend can also play a role in the law school admissions process. Attending an elite law school can be particularly important because many of the best clerkships and post-graduation offers of employment will go to alumni with a prestigious academic resume. This is why you should be aware of the top feeders to law school.

The two lists that follow showcase the top 30 “feeder” schools into the most highly-ranked JD programs. On the first list, for each school, we look at the raw number of students who go on to attend elite JD programs, as well as the two JD programs enrolling the most graduates from that undergraduate school. The second list looks at the top 30 producers when adjusted for a school’s undergraduate enrollment, which allows us to highlight schools that may be smaller in size, but that still send a consistent flow of graduates to the world’s premier law schools.

In order to identify “top feeder” colleges, we relied on publicly available data from LinkedIn, a professional networking site featuring profiles of approximately 170 million workers across the United States. Specifically, we identified and analyzed the undergraduate backgrounds of nearly 85,000 individuals who enrolled at 14 of America’s most reputable JD programs, including those at Yale University, Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Northwestern University, University of California Berkeley, University of Michigan, Duke University, Cornell University, and Georgetown University.

Updated December 2022

Rank (Total)Institution#JD GraduatesTop Law School (#1)Top Law School (#2)
1Harvard University3651Harvard Law SchoolYale Law School
2University of California, Berkeley3570UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
3Yale University3079Harvard Law SchoolYale Law School
4University of Michigan2528University of Michigan Law SchoolHarvard Law School
5Stanford University2336UC Berkeley School of LawStanford Law School
6New York University2244New York University School of LawGeorgetown University Law Center
7Columbia University2241Columbia Law SchoolHarvard Law School
8Cornell University2220Cornell Law SchoolHarvard Law School
9University of Pennsylvania2054University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
10University of California, Los Angeles1944UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
11Princeton University1918Harvard Law SchoolUniversity of Virginia School of Law
12Duke University1889Duke University School of LawHarvard Law School
13University of Virginia1866University of Virginia School of LawGeorgetown University Law Center
14Georgetown University1805Georgetown University Law CenterHarvard Law School
15Brown University1480Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
16Dartmouth College1398Harvard Law SchoolUniversity of Virginia School of Law
17Northwestern University1320Northwestern University Pritzker School of LawUniversity of Michigan Law School
18University of Notre Dame968Georgetown University Law CenterUniversity of Michigan Law School
19University of Chicago965University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Michigan Law School
20University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign767Northwestern University Pritzker School of LawUniversity of Chicago Law School
21University of Southern California763UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
22University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill758University of Virginia School of LawDuke University School of Law
23University of Texas at Austin685Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
23Amherst College685Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
25University of Florida643Georgetown University Law CenterDuke University School of Law
26University of Wisconsin-Madison641Georgetown University Law CenterNorthwestern University Pritzker School of Law
27Bringham Young University624University of Virginia School of LawHarvard Law School
28Williams College611Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
29University of California, San Diego600UC Berkeley School of LawGeorgetown University Law Center
30Boston College595Georgetown University Law CenterHarvard Law School

Top Feeder Rankings (adjusted for undergraduate enrollment)

Rank (Total)Institution#JD GraduatesTop Law School (#1)Top Law School (#2)
1Yale University3079Harvard Law SchoolYale Law School
2Amherst College685Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
3Harvard University3651Harvard Law SchoolYale Law School
4Princeton University1918Harvard Law SchoolUniversity of Virginia School of Law
5Stanford University2336UC Berkeley School of LawStanford Law School
6Dartmouth College1398Harvard Law SchoolUniversity of Virginia School of Law
7Williams College611Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
8Duke University1889Duke University School of LawHarvard Law School
9Columbia University2241Columbia Law SchoolHarvard Law School
10Georgetown University1805Georgetown University Law CenterHarvard Law School
11Swarthmore College352Harvard Law SchoolUniversity of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
12Haverford College295Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
13Brown University1480Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
14Pomona College320UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
15St. John's College63Harvard Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
16University of Pennsylvania2054University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
17Claremont McKenna College227UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
18Wesleyan University507Georgetown University Law CenterUC Berkeley School of Law
19Wellesley College414Harvard Law SchoolUC Berkeley School of Law
20Northwestern University1320Northwestern University Pritzker School of LawUniversity of Michigan Law School
21Cornell University2220Cornell Law SchoolHarvard Law School
22University of Chicago965University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Michigan Law School
23Brandeis University480University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolGeorgetown University Law Center
24Carleton College273Georgetown University Law CenterHarvard Law School
25University of California, Berkeley3570UC Berkeley School of LawHarvard Law School
26Vassar College279Georgetown University Law CenterUC Berkeley School of Law
27University of Notre Dame968Georgetown University Law CenterUniversity of Michigan Law School
28Colgate University332Georgetown University Law CenterUniversity of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
29University of Virginia1866University of Virginia School of LawGeorgetown University Law Center
30Washington and Lee University198University of Virginia School of LawGeorgetown University Law Center

Does institutional selectivity matter?

When applying to law school, yes, it appears that institutional selectivity does in fact play a role. In our sample, of the students who went on to enroll at America’s best JD programs, approximately 57% graduated from colleges categorized as “Most Selective” or “Extremely Selective.” However, 21% of elite law school students in our sample did graduate from schools indicated as less selective or non-selective, suggesting that attendance at a highly selective undergraduate college or university isn’t a prerequisite to earning a top-flight JD. Click here to see how we group colleges by selectivity.

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