Applications Surge at Dayton

Law school application volume may be down nationwide, but it's surging at the University of Dayton School of Law.

Applications to Dayton have grown by 70 per cent since 2002, growing to the point that Dayton now receives 20 per cent more applications than the national average.

UDSL Assistant Dean and Director of Admission Janet Hein credits her staff's outreach efforts and the School's accelerated J.D. program with drawing so many more applicants to the School.

Dayton's accelerated law program allows students to earn a J.D. in as little as two years. Students save time by beginning classes in the summer and then taking a full course load for 5 consecutive semesters.

Source: "Law School Applications Increase," by Amy Tiedge, The Flyer News (the University of Dayton campus paper), September 15, 2006

Stats for U Penn and UVa

The University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law have released statistical profiles of this fall's entering classes.

U Penn:

Applications received: 5,684
Enrolled: 249
Median LSAT: 170
Median GPA: 3.7
Women: 47 per cent
Minorities: 35 per cent
Age range: 20 to 37
Admitted directly from college: 33 per cent

UVa:

Applications received: 4,867
Enrolled: 375
Median LSAT: 169 (range is 167 to 171)
Median GPA: 3.68 (range is 3.49 to 3.82)
Women: 39 per cent
Minorities: 20 per cent
Age range: 18 to 55 (median is 24)

Columbia Sees Highest LSAT Medians Ever

The Columbia University School of Law says that the LSAT scores for its Class of 2009 are the highest ever seen at that school.

The median score for students beginning JD studies at Columbia this fall was 172, up from 171 for the Class of 2008.

The top quarter of this year's entering class scored 174 or higher. LSAT scores for the middle half of the class range from 169 to 174.

A total of 7,766 people applied for fall 2006 admission to Columbia. 382 students accepted admissions offers.

160 members (42 per cent) of Columbia's Class of 2009 are women. 123 (32 per cent) identify themselves as minorities. 28 students are international. The majority of class members are between the ages of 21 and 24, but a significant minority (more than 1 in 5) is 25 or older.

Top Law Schools for Hispanic Students

Hispanic Business magazine has released its 2006 list of the top U.S. law schools for Hispanic students.

The top 5 schools are:

1) The University of New Mexico School of Law - praised for its small class sizes, good student-faculty relations, and programs in clinical, Native American, natural resources, and international law.

2) The University of Miami School of Law - praised for its alumni network.

3) The University of Texas at Austin School of Law - praised for the quality of its international business and law curriculum and its use of technology to to expand exchanges with Mexico's law community.

4) Stanford Law School - praised for small class size and diversity of students and faculty.

5) The University of Arizona College of Law - praised for small classes, a strong mentoring program, and a strong legal writing program.

The other schools on the Hispanic Business 'Top 10' list are the Florida State University College of Law, the University of Florida College of Law, Southwestern Law School, the UCLA School of Law, and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Source: "The Top 10 Law Schools for Hispanics 2006" - Hispanic Business, September 2006