Which law schools have the most declined offers?

George Washington University, The extended 2,644 offers for the most recent entering class and enrolled 595, leaving 2,049 offers not taken. Across the 196 schools, a median of 31% of offers convert to enrolment.

Does a high number of declined offers mean a school is weak?

No. A school offering admission to a wide applicant pool will convert a smaller share, and students commonly choose on full-tuition scholarships, location, or a partner's admission. The 509 does not disclose whether offers included full tuition, which is likely among the strongest drivers. Total offers extended matters as much as the rate: a school can decline hundreds of offers simply by admitting more people.

Is this different from yield rate?

Yes. Yield rate is the proportion of admits who enrol; this page ranks by the absolute number of offers not taken, which reflects both the rate and how many offers were extended. A small school with a high yield rate can still decline more offers in total than a large school with a low one.

← All rankings · Full yield ranking

Law Schools With the Most Declined Offers

170 schools with 200+ offers not taken · ABA 509, 2025 cycle

136,196

Offers extended, all schools

41,840

Students enrolled

94,356

Offers not taken

31%

Aggregate yield

What a large gap between offers and enrolment means

Every ABA law school extends more offers than it fills seats. Across all 196 schools, 136,196 offers produced 41,840 enrolled students — about 31 converts.

That is structural, not a sign of failure. Admissions offers include waitlist promotions, and an admitted student holding three offers appears three times in the offer count but once in the enrolment count. The question a school cares about is not whether it converted every offer — it is whether it filled its class.

The ten largest gaps

#	School	State	Offers	Enrolled	Not taken	Yield	Class fill
1	George Washington University, The	DC	2,644	595	2,049	22.5%	97.2%
2	New England Law/Boston	MA	2,450	445	2,005	18.2%	98.7%
3	Suffolk University	MA	2,153	539	1,614	25.0%	99.1%
4	Brooklyn Law School	NY	2,024	414	1,610	20.5%	100.0%
5	American University	DC	1,981	400	1,581	20.2%	98.8%
6	Georgetown University	DC	2,193	629	1,564	28.7%	93.6%
7	New York Law School	NY	1,632	400	1,232	24.5%	97.8%
8	Santa Clara University	CA	1,354	253	1,101	18.7%	98.8%
9	Northeastern University	MA	1,369	279	1,090	20.4%	98.6%
10	Fordham University	NY	1,429	433	996	30.3%	97.5%

George Washington University, The extended 2,644 offers to enrol 595 students — 2,049 of those offers went untaken. Its class fill of 97.2% shows the school still filled the seats it planned, which is the number that matters most for a prospective student.

Full ranking by offers not taken

170 schools with at least 200 offers not taken.

#	School	State	Applications	Offers	Enrolled	Not taken	Yield	Yield rank
1	George Washington University, The	DC	9,718	2,644	595	2,049	22.5%	#20 of 194
2	New England Law/Boston	MA	3,997	2,450	445	2,005	18.2%	#1 of 194
3	Suffolk University	MA	3,481	2,153	539	1,614	25.0%	#36 of 194
4	Brooklyn Law School	NY	4,600	2,024	414	1,610	20.5%	#11 of 194
5	American University	DC	5,952	1,981	400	1,581	20.2%	#9 of 194
6	Georgetown University	DC	13,924	2,193	629	1,564	28.7%	#67 of 194
7	New York Law School	NY	4,114	1,632	400	1,232	24.5%	#31 of 194
8	Santa Clara University	CA	2,575	1,354	253	1,101	18.7%	#3 of 194
9	Northeastern University	MA	5,652	1,369	279	1,090	20.4%	#10 of 194
10	Fordham University	NY	8,811	1,429	433	996	30.3%	#81 of 194
11	New York University	NY	10,546	1,412	430	982	30.5%	#83 of 194
12	Rutgers University	NJ	4,305	1,444	480	964	33.2%	#120 of 194
13	Illinois-Chicago	IL	2,488	1,308	369	939	28.2%	#60 of 194
14	Loyola University-Chicago	IL	4,244	1,196	291	905	24.3%	#30 of 194
15	California College of the Law, San Francisco	CA	4,593	1,262	374	888	29.6%	#75 of 194
16	Charleston School of Law	SC	2,215	1,112	237	875	21.3%	#15 of 194
17	Southwestern Law School	CA	3,584	1,307	454	853	34.7%	#132 of 194
18	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles	CA	4,549	1,185	333	852	28.1%	#56 of 194
19	Oregon	OR	1,850	1,017	185	832	18.2%	#2 of 194
20	Miami	FL	4,593	1,132	306	826	27.0%	#46 of 194
21	Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University)	NY	3,833	1,133	319	814	28.2%	#57 of 194
22	Washington University (St. Louis)	MO	5,616	1,065	258	807	24.2%	#29 of 194
23	Emory University	GA	3,931	1,183	389	794	32.9%	#116 of 194
24	St. John's University	NY	4,417	1,018	238	780	23.4%	#25 of 194
25	Pepperdine University	CA	4,272	998	223	775	22.3%	#19 of 194
26	California Western School of Law	CA	2,144	1,006	235	771	23.4%	#24 of 194
27	Albany Law School	NY	2,638	988	225	763	22.8%	#22 of 194
28	Colorado	CO	3,458	953	192	761	20.1%	#7 of 194
29	San Diego	CA	4,241	997	239	758	24.0%	#27 of 194
30	Northwestern University	IL	7,976	981	245	736	25.0%	#35 of 194
31	DePaul University	IL	2,643	920	185	735	20.1%	#6 of 194
32	Hofstra University	NY	2,448	993	259	734	26.1%	#42 of 194
33	Boston University	MA	7,892	953	234	719	24.6%	#32 of 194
34	California-Los Angeles	CA	8,623	1,039	322	717	31.0%	#93 of 194
35	Columbia University	NY	9,463	1,120	411	709	36.7%	#141 of 194
36	San Francisco	CA	2,100	890	198	692	22.2%	#18 of 194
37	Pace University	NY	2,293	1,012	322	690	31.8%	#103 of 194
38	Seattle University	WA	2,304	897	209	688	23.3%	#23 of 194
39	Syracuse University	NY	2,752	952	266	686	27.9%	#53 of 194
40	Minnesota	MN	3,405	909	225	684	24.8%	#33 of 194
41	Stetson University	FL	2,791	1,017	333	684	32.7%	#114 of 194
42	St. Thomas University (Florida)	FL	1,771	1,067	409	658	38.3%	#150 of 194
43	Arizona State University	AZ	4,610	912	264	648	28.9%	#69 of 194
44	Vanderbilt University	TN	6,124	812	170	642	20.9%	#13 of 194
45	Denver	CO	2,214	915	283	632	30.9%	#92 of 194
46	Seton Hall University	NJ	2,714	930	300	630	32.3%	#107 of 194
47	Barry University	FL	1,582	885	257	628	29.0%	#70 of 194
48	Cornell University	NY	4,608	838	210	628	25.1%	#37 of 194
49	California-Berkeley	CA	6,562	974	348	626	35.7%	#137 of 194
50	Drexel University	PA	2,689	797	177	620	22.2%	#17 of 194
51	Vermont Law School	VT	1,553	909	289	620	31.8%	#102 of 194
52	Penn State Dickinson Law	PA	1,912	822	208	614	25.3%	#39 of 194
53	Case Western Reserve University	OH	2,267	789	178	611	22.6%	#21 of 194
54	Chicago-Kent College of Law (IIT)	IL	2,212	854	244	610	28.6%	#66 of 194
55	Tulane University	LA	2,069	827	239	588	28.9%	#68 of 194
56	Duke University	NC	6,240	804	222	582	27.6%	#50 of 194
57	Southern California	CA	7,204	805	227	578	28.2%	#59 of 194
58	Houston	TX	3,510	807	246	561	30.5%	#85 of 194
59	Massachusetts Dartmouth	MA	1,311	684	138	546	20.2%	#8 of 194
60	Richmond	VA	1,738	689	146	543	21.2%	#14 of 194
61	Baylor University	TX	3,658	693	165	528	23.8%	#26 of 194
62	Illinois	IL	2,153	709	187	522	26.4%	#43 of 194
63	Maryland	MD	2,876	750	229	521	30.5%	#87 of 194
64	Texas	TX	6,297	881	361	520	41.0%	#163 of 194
65	Villanova University	PA	2,889	749	231	518	30.8%	#90 of 194
66	Texas A&M University	TX	5,240	634	121	513	19.1%	#5 of 194
67	Georgia State University	GA	2,450	749	237	512	31.6%	#98 of 194
68	New Hampshire	NH	1,455	756	245	511	32.4%	#109 of 194
69	Temple University	PA	3,043	742	232	510	31.3%	#96 of 194
70	Widener University Delaware Law School	DE	1,317	786	276	510	35.1%	#134 of 194
71	Wake Forest University	NC	2,883	710	201	509	28.3%	#63 of 194
72	Quinnipiac University	CT	1,485	640	133	507	20.8%	#12 of 194
73	South Texas College of Law Houston	TX	2,770	932	434	498	46.6%	#177 of 194
74	Southern Methodist University	TX	3,038	747	254	493	34.0%	#128 of 194
75	St. Mary's University	TX	2,906	755	273	482	36.2%	#139 of 194
76	the Pacific (McGeorge)	CA	1,248	679	207	472	30.5%	#86 of 194
77	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	1,831	655	186	469	28.4%	#65 of 194
78	Nova Southeastern University	FL	1,458	690	222	468	32.2%	#106 of 194
79	Washington	WA	3,412	669	202	467	30.2%	#78 of 194
80	Texas Southern University	TX	2,032	673	207	466	30.8%	#89 of 194
81	Cooley Law School	MI	1,323	700	235	465	33.6%	#124 of 194
82	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	MN	1,603	824	360	464	43.7%	#171 of 194
83	Chicago	IL	6,581	641	191	450	29.8%	#76 of 194
84	Gonzaga University	WA	1,273	651	201	450	30.9%	#91 of 194
85	City University of New York (CUNY)	NY	2,300	659	210	449	31.9%	#104 of 194
86	Lewis & Clark Law School	OR	1,133	620	171	449	27.6%	#49 of 194
87	Touro University	NY	1,462	667	222	445	33.3%	#122 of 194
88	Michigan	MI	8,982	770	329	441	42.7%	#168 of 194
89	Duquesne University	PA	1,432	619	183	436	29.6%	#73 of 194
90	Boston College	MA	7,668	650	216	434	33.2%	#119 of 194
91	Roger Williams University	RI	1,003	615	186	429	30.2%	#80 of 194
92	Catholic University of America, The	DC	1,867	605	179	426	29.6%	#74 of 194
93	Ave Maria School of Law	FL	1,212	569	152	417	26.7%	#45 of 194
94	California-Davis	CA	3,896	622	205	417	33.0%	#117 of 194
95	South Carolina	SC	2,114	632	215	417	34.0%	#130 of 194
96	Florida	FL	3,887	642	228	414	35.5%	#136 of 194
97	Howard University	DC	2,428	584	170	414	29.1%	#71 of 194
98	Loyola University-New Orleans	LA	1,241	632	220	412	34.8%	#133 of 194
99	Georgia	GA	4,695	597	186	411	31.2%	#95 of 194
100	Florida International University	FL	3,100	582	175	407	30.1%	#77 of 194
101	The Ohio State University	OH	2,291	564	158	406	28.0%	#54 of 194
102	Pittsburgh	PA	1,606	560	155	405	27.7%	#51 of 194
103	Washington and Lee University	VA	2,341	532	128	404	24.1%	#28 of 194
104	Baltimore	MD	1,299	643	240	403	37.3%	#144 of 194
105	Capital University Law School	OH	874	576	174	402	30.2%	#79 of 194
106	Cleveland State University	OH	1,733	597	195	402	32.7%	#112 of 194
107	Tennessee	TN	2,176	539	139	400	25.8%	#40 of 194
108	Iowa	IA	1,251	554	156	398	28.2%	#58 of 194
109	Pennsylvania	PA	8,074	650	254	396	39.1%	#154 of 194
110	Campbell University	NC	1,168	592	197	395	33.3%	#121 of 194
111	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	PA	909	549	155	394	28.2%	#61 of 194
112	Notre Dame	IN	3,579	575	182	393	31.7%	#100 of 194
113	Arizona	AZ	1,781	497	109	388	21.9%	#16 of 194
114	Willamette University	OR	858	527	139	388	26.4%	#44 of 194
115	Virginia	VA	6,734	685	302	383	44.1%	#172 of 194
116	Southern University	LA	1,153	652	281	371	43.1%	#169 of 194
117	Belmont University	TN	1,337	503	136	367	27.0%	#47 of 194
118	California-Irvine	CA	3,720	555	188	367	33.9%	#127 of 194
119	Creighton University	NE	815	526	160	366	30.4%	#82 of 194
120	Detroit Mercy	MI	1,478	612	246	366	40.2%	#161 of 194
121	Chapman University	CA	2,514	516	152	364	29.5%	#72 of 194
122	Appalachian School of Law	VA	732	446	84	362	18.8%	#4 of 194
123	Elon University	NC	1,107	589	227	362	38.5%	#153 of 194
124	Kentucky	KY	1,236	504	143	361	28.4%	#64 of 194
125	Florida A&M University	FL	1,546	536	177	359	33.0%	#118 of 194
126	Texas Tech University	TX	2,011	515	163	352	31.7%	#99 of 194
127	Kansas	KS	1,172	458	115	343	25.1%	#38 of 194
128	Western New England University	MA	871	452	112	340	24.8%	#34 of 194
129	Harvard University	MA	8,872	816	483	333	59.2%	#189 of 194
130	North Texas at Dallas	TX	1,883	456	127	329	27.9%	#52 of 194
131	Dayton	OH	1,611	494	167	327	33.8%	#126 of 194
132	St. Thomas (Minnesota)	MN	847	488	164	324	33.6%	#125 of 194
133	Connecticut	CT	2,299	461	149	312	32.3%	#108 of 194
134	Alabama	AL	1,748	448	137	311	30.6%	#88 of 194
135	Saint Louis University	MO	941	531	220	311	41.4%	#165 of 194
136	Cincinnati	OH	1,353	443	135	308	30.5%	#84 of 194
137	Mississippi Christian University School of Law (MC Law)	MS	806	482	175	307	36.3%	#140 of 194
138	Idaho	ID	740	494	194	300	39.3%	#156 of 194
139	Hawaii	HI	1,654	434	137	297	31.6%	#97 of 194
140	William & Mary Law School	VA	2,176	478	181	297	37.9%	#148 of 194
141	Mercer University	GA	1,184	447	152	295	34.0%	#129 of 194
142	Drake University	IA	788	432	141	291	32.6%	#111 of 194
143	Northern Illinois University	IL	951	421	131	290	31.1%	#94 of 194
144	Nebraska	NE	1,096	440	152	288	34.5%	#131 of 194
145	Western State College of Law (Westcliff University)	CA	916	400	113	287	28.2%	#62 of 194
146	Samford University	AL	925	453	168	285	37.1%	#142 of 194
147	George Mason University	VA	2,792	443	159	284	35.9%	#138 of 194
148	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	GA	1,274	416	133	283	32.0%	#105 of 194
149	Florida State University	FL	2,711	433	153	280	35.3%	#135 of 194
150	Southern Illinois University	IL	724	407	129	278	31.7%	#101 of 194
151	Utah	UT	1,495	378	106	272	28.0%	#55 of 194
152	Lincoln Memorial University	TN	828	432	162	270	37.5%	#146 of 194
153	Oklahoma	OK	1,391	464	196	268	42.2%	#167 of 194
154	Toledo	OH	733	385	126	259	32.7%	#113 of 194
155	Louisiana State University	LA	1,253	483	228	255	47.2%	#179 of 194
156	Wisconsin	WI	2,479	474	220	254	46.4%	#176 of 194
157	University at Buffalo	NY	977	414	163	251	39.4%	#157 of 194
158	Marquette University	WI	2,112	467	218	249	46.7%	#178 of 194
159	Maine	ME	915	341	93	248	27.3%	#48 of 194
160	Akron	OH	762	446	199	247	44.6%	#173 of 194
161	Michigan State University	MI	1,526	397	150	247	37.8%	#147 of 194
162	Mississippi	MS	958	402	159	243	39.6%	#158 of 194
163	Northern Kentucky University	KY	661	388	147	241	37.9%	#149 of 194
164	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	904	505	273	232	54.1%	#188 of 194
165	Liberty University	VA	628	369	138	231	37.4%	#145 of 194
166	Louisville	KY	579	367	144	223	39.2%	#155 of 194
167	Oklahoma City University	OK	715	369	155	214	42.0%	#166 of 194
168	North Carolina	NC	3,459	387	176	211	45.5%	#175 of 194
169	Missouri	MO	798	335	125	210	37.3%	#143 of 194
170	District of Columbia	DC	749	277	72	205	26.0%	#41 of 194

Absolute count and rate rank schools differently

This page ranks by absolute number of offers not taken. The yield rate ranking ranks by proportion. The two orderings diverge because a large school can decline far more offers while still converting a higher share.

School	Not taken (rank)	Yield	Yield rank
George Washington University, The	2,049 (#1)	22.5%	#20
New England Law/Boston	2,005 (#2)	18.2%	#1
Suffolk University	1,614 (#3)	25.0%	#36
Brooklyn Law School	1,610 (#4)	20.5%	#11
American University	1,581 (#5)	20.2%	#9
Georgetown University	1,564 (#6)	28.7%	#67

What this does not tell you

A declined offer is not a rejection of the school. Students routinely hold offers from several schools and choose on net cost after aid, geography, or a partner's admission.
Scholarship content is invisible. The 509 reports how many students enrolled, not how much they were offered. A school offering no aid to a high- priced program and one offering full tuition to everyone can show identical counts.
Waitlist promotions are counted. An applicant admitted from the waitlist in April was an offer in the previous count, so some of the gap is timing rather than a student choosing elsewhere.
Class fill is the number to watch. A school can decline hundreds of offers and still fill every seat it planned. That is the class fill column on this site, not this count.

Source: ABA Standard 509 Required Disclosures, 2025 reporting cycle. Offers not taken is offers extended minus students enrolled, for the most recent entering class. Totals exclude two schools reporting zero offers. Not a measure of school quality.