Best Law Schools in Pennsylvania

Are you pursing a law degree? The TopSchoolsintheUSA.com has generated the latest ranking of best law schools in Pennsylvania that provides Master of Legal Studies (MLS), Master of Dispute Resolution (MDR), Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM), or Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD). You can use the following list to pick a school that fits your needs. These law schools in Pennsylvania are ranked based on the student reviews, alumni surveys, assessment of peer institutions, and official data reported by each law college. In addition, we also provide average LSAT scores, GPA and acceptance rates for each of these law schools in Pennsylvania.

National Ranking	Best Law Programs
8	University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) Acceptance rate: 17.4% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 166-171 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.58-3.93 Tuition & Fees: Full-time: $50,718 per year Enrollment (full-time): 805 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 96.0%
60	Temple University (Beasley) (Philadelphia, PA) Acceptance rate: 38.0% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 158-163 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.16-3.56 Tuition & Fees: In-state, full-time: $19,788 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $32,718 per year Enrollment (full-time): 722 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 92.2%
74	University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) Acceptance rate: 36.5% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 157-161 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.14-3.66 Tuition & Fees: In-state, full-time: $27,892 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $34,666 per year Enrollment (full-time): 701 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 84.1%
77	Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) (University Park, PA) Acceptance rate: 30.4% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 156-161 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.31-3.77 Tuition & Fees: In-state, full-time: $38,614 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $38,614 per year Enrollment (full-time): 596 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 74.3%
104	Villanova University (Villanova, PA) Acceptance rate: 48.8% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 157-161 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.36-3.69 Tuition & Fees: Full-time: $37,780 per year Enrollment (full-time): 725 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 78.5%
119	Drexel University (Mack) (Philadelphia, PA) Acceptance rate: 34.8% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 157-161 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.09-3.66 Tuition & Fees: Full-time: $36,051 per year Enrollment (full-time): 447 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 77.9%
155	Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA) Acceptance rate: 55.1% LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile): 151-155 GPA (25th-75th percentile): 3.12-3.62 Tuition & Fees: Full-time: $33,752 per year Enrollment (full-time): 448 Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation: 78.9%

State of Pennsylvania before Independence

William Penn tried in every possible way to maintain peaceful and good neighborly relations with the indigenous population – the American Indians. In 1683, in the Indian village of Shakkamaxson, he entered into a treaty of friendship with the leaders of the Lenape people, led by Chief Tammany. Voltaire later said that this was “the only treaty between Indians and Christians that has never been violated.”

In the 18th century, Pennsylvania expanded westward, new settlers arrived, new lands were developed. The heirs of William Penn did not support his peaceful policy towards the Indians. During the war between England and France (and the Indian tribes that sided with them) in North America, known as the French and Indian War (1754-1763), several battles took place in western Pennsylvania. Then, in 1759, Fort Pitt was built, which later became Pittsburgh, the second most populous city ​​in Pennsylvania.

In the summer of 1763, after the end of the French and Indian War, Fort Pitt was besieged by the Indians, who simultaneously made raids deep into Pennsylvania. This was one of the important episodes of the “Pontiac Rebellion”, an organized action of Indians dissatisfied with the policy of the British authorities, led by Pontiac, the leader of the Ottawa tribe.

It was during the siege of Fort Pitt that the British, led by commanders Geoffrey Amherst and Henry Bouquet, tried to distribute smallpox-infected blankets among the Indians in an attempt to cause an epidemic in this way. It is not known exactly how many Indians were infected, but this case went down in history as one of the most terrible examples of European methods of colonizing North America.

Since the eighties of the 17th century, almost from the moment the English king handed over the rights to American lands to William Penn, a dispute has been lasting between Pennsylvania and Maryland over the border of their territories. Charles II did not specify exactly where the southern border of Penn’s lands lay, thus creating the ground for conflict. In the thirties of the XVIII century, due to border disputes, armed conflicts even broke out between the colonists.

The problem was not solved for decades, until, finally, from 1763 to 1767, the English astronomers and surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon made the necessary measurements and marked the boundary between the two colonies on the ground. This border, which is part of the borders between the modern states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia, was called the “Mason-Dixon Line”.

Later, the Mason-Dixon line began to symbolize the border between the Northeast and the South of the United States, between the slave and non-slavery states of the United States.