Now that the state has given the green light, UMass Dartmouth is moving full speed ahead in launching the state's first public law school. Four months after the Southern New England School of Law first offered to donate its assets, UMD Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack is inviting the students and staff of the private school to join the new public program. New applicants can apply using the old SNESL application, and they would be judged based on their grade point averages and their LSAT scores, as well as a personal statement and references, the same criteria used in the past, Ward said.
The legal industry has struggled mightily during the recent recession, but Inside Higher Ed reports that times couldn't be better for public universities shopping for private law schools at bargain basement prices. Despite the fact that industry contraction and job losses have made getting a job at a top firm harder than ever, the number of individuals taking the LSAT in October rose 20 percent compared with October 2008. For those not making the top tier, public-private law school mergers could provide more options in pursuing a legal education.
The University of Massachusetts law school won final approval Tuesday, creating the state’s first public law school and giving students a new affordable option for a law degree. The state Board of Higher Education approved the controversial school unanimously, with supporters calling it a program that will put Massachusetts on par with 44 other states with public law schools. UMass expects to receive provisional American Bar Association accreditation by the academic year 2011-’12. To get there, UMass plans to increase student GPA rates, LSAT scores, student-faculty ratio and rate of students passing the bar exam on their first try.
Recruiting better applicants, lowering the student-faculty ratio and increasing faculty productivity were among ambitions for the UB Law School that Dean Makau W. Mutua laid out in a presentation during yesterday’s meeting of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. For incoming UB law students, the median score on the LSAT, a standardized test accredited law schools require for admission, was 157, Mutua said. Officials hope to see that mark rise to at least 161 or 162.
Some things just can’t be explained. Stonehenge. Davos. What really happened to Oceanic Flight 815. The hype over indie-rock darlings Animal Collective. And there’s this: that applications to Cornell Law have jumped 52% over the number of applications filed last year. Twenty percent isn’t just a number Geiger plucked from the Ithaca air. Nationally, the number of people who took the LSAT climbed 20 percent in 2009. Other schools have reported large gain in applicants, but nothing approaching Cornell’s.
As the recession continues to restructure the job market, more and more people are fleeing to academic institutions as a safe-haven to ride out the economic uncertainty. Graduate programs nationwide have experienced an influx in applications this year, with IU Maurer School of Law topping the charts at a 30 percent increase. “We rose in ranking so we are getting an increase in people with high GPAs and LSAT scores,” Motley said. “When these people are coming in with very high credentials its hard not to respond.”
As the recession increases interest in graduate programs nationwide, the number of applications to Cornell Law School had jumped an unprecedented 52% by last Wednesday. Administrators, who attribute the gain to growing unemployment and the stumbling economy, will not know the total number of applicants until the law school’s application deadline, February 1. Nationally, the number of people who took the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) climbed 20 percent in 2009, while the number of Americans who sat for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) rose 13 percent. Law school admissions officers consequently expected a surge in applications, but did not predict such a marked increase.
Attention law students: Knowing how to prepare for the bar examination can make the difference between passing the first time, when your chances of passing are best, and having to take the test a second or third time, or worse. Now that you've taken a few law school finals, you probably laugh when you think back at how much you stressed over the LSAT. Now you know that taking the LSAT was child's play compared to taking law school finals.
The national enrollment rate of all minorities at law schools has increased in the last few decades, but numbers of black and Hispanic applicants in law schools have not increased to the same degree. According to the Law School Admissions Council Web site, in 1986-87 the total minority enrollment was 12,550 from 175 schools. In 2006-07, the enrollment was 30,557 from 191 schools. According to the Law School Admissions Council, there has been increasing demand for lawyers. Minority applicants have also been improving their LSAT and GPA scores and the size of law school classes and the total number of law schools have increased.
A PLAN by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to take over the Southern New England Law School leaves a number of critical questions unanswered, and yet it seems to have acquired the air of inevitability. Rapidly increasing enrollment strengthens the financial case for the law school’s creation, but creates a serious challenge for accreditation. The law school must increase bar passage rates to gain accreditation, which implies raising standards by a variety of measures, including average GPA and LSAT scores for applicants, percent of applicants accepted and enrolled, and employment rate at graduation.
UCI Law School has promised prospective students of its second entering class, which will begin next fall, a half-tuition scholarship for all three years of the class’s tenure. Administrators hope that student scholarships, which have been funded entirely by private donations, will serve to lessen the concerns of prospective students considering a brand new and relatively unestablished law school. A similar strategy was employed last year, when perspective students were successfully enticed by the prospect of full-ride scholarships. Approximately 2500 applicants vied for only 60 spots. The flood of applications allowed the creation of an inaugural class with a GPA and LSAT average comparable to those of law schools among the top 20 in the nation and also made UCI the most selective law school in the country.
It took longer than some experts expected, but the recession and the resulting shortage of good jobs have spurred a jump in applications to law schools and a growing interest in graduate programs. The number of people taking the LSAT, for example, rose 20 percent in October, compared with October 2008, reaching an all-time high of 60,746. And the number of Americans who took the Graduate Record Examination in 2009 rose 13 percent, to a record 670,000, compared with the year before, according to the Educational Testing Service, which administers the test. The increase is a sharp reversal from 2008, when the number fell 2 percent even though the recession was already under way.
According to a new study, the percentage of African-American and Mexican-American students enrolled at U.S. law schools has declined in the last 15 years, despite improved grades and LSAT scores from students in each group. Percentages for both groups dropped even though Even though 3000 more first-year seats became available, according to Columbia Law School’s Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic, percentages for both groups still dropped. The Law School’s Lawyering Clinic collaborated with the Society of American Law Teachers to look at minority enrollment rates at U.S. law schools from 1993-2008.
We posted last week on older workers struggling with standardized testing as they try to return to school. It led to a bunch of good responses, including a detailed view from John Rood, a source in MPR\'s Public Insight Network who specializes in preparing students for the Law School Admission Test, the gatekeeper exam for law school hopefuls. In years past, those seeking LSAT help were traditional pre-law school applicants: \
The percentage of African American and Mexican American students enrolled in law school dipped between 1993 and 2008, even as overall law school capacity rose across the country, according to a study released Tuesday by Columbia Law School's Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic. Also striking is the study's finding that the drops in the percentage of African American and Mexican American first-year law students came as the overall grade point and LSAT performance of students in these groups actually increased.
While law schools added about 3,000 seats for first-year students from 1993 to 2008, both the percentage and the number of black and Mexican-American law students declined in that period, according to a study by a Columbia Law School professor. What makes the declines particularly troubling, said the professor, Conrad Johnson, is that in that same period, both groups improved their college grade-point averages and their scores on the Law School Admission Test, or L.S.A.T.
The media has been chock full of articles lately on whether law school is a good investment. Above the Law reported that the number of people taking the LSAT jumped by over 10,000 from 2008 to 2009, to a total of 60,746 tests administered. As you can probably predict, Above the Law believes that this is a tidal wave and we should “[s]hut the damn door or we’re all gonna die.” That’s a little paranoid–remember, many of our Founding Fathers were lawyers.
In addition to the LexisNexis app discussed above, a number of other iPhone apps have been released with lawyers in mind, including the Black’s Law Dictionary (priced unusually high at $49.99), LawStack (a free app containing the Constitution and all of the up-to-date Federal Rules), and Court Days (an ever useful app allowing calculation of the number of days between events, which includes court closure dates from over sixty jurisdictions). Companies seeking to assist those studying to become lawyers have also seized upon the new technology, with multiple apps for LSAT preparation, Bar exam review and even law school rankings.
Just today, the latest round of LSAT scores were announced. Test takers received their first of many future nail biting notifications (acceptance/rejection letters, grades, ranking, bar exam, etc., etc.). Most Strongly Supported is now reporting that the curve for this administration of the LSAT was the easiest in recent history. What does this mean on the admissions side? Other than a greater percentage of good vibes for recent LSAT takers, probably not much. Admissions programs will factor the change of this curve and the range of reported LSAT scores is sufficiently broad at the top to allow law schools to sort applicants in and out.
A diploma just doesn’t cut it anymore. Employers aren’t hiring much. And when they do, job competition is vicious throughout much of the private and public sectors. That’s why two First Coast colleges are teaming up to offer students a post-graduate degree that will hold some serious weight with job recruiters. Prospective students need to meet the qualifications for both schools to enter the program. That includes passing both the GMAT and LSAT.
Sue McCollum manages to simultaneously command your attention and put you at ease. She feels like a family friend, yet she’s exceptionally articulate as she rattles off statistics on probate litigation and estate planning. McCollum was originally heading toward a career in accounting, although admittedly not very excited about it. A friend suggested she take the LSAT (law school entry exam), which she did — without a minute of preparation. Her scores earned her a spot at the Brigham Young University Law School and enabled her to continue on with academics, something she swears she honestly craves.
UC Irvine School of Law announced Monday that it will provide scholarships for its entire second class of students arriving August 2010. This incentive is intended to ensure the highest caliber of students for its second graduating class. Funded by private donations, the scholarships will provide all new students with at least 50 percent of their annual tuition each of their three years at the school. The class of 60 students, which arrived in August 2009, had median grades and LSAT scores comparable to the top 20 law schools. Only 4 percent of its applicants were accepted – the lowest acceptance rate in the country.
University of Saskatchewan law student Cara Merasty knows talented aboriginal lawyers can command hefty paycheques from corporations and firms eager to diversify their workforces, but she's not interested. The college continues its longtime pre-law summer program for aboriginal students. And although aboriginal students must still pass the LSAT exam, the college is allowed to be
University of California, Irvine School of Law will provide generous scholarships for its entire class of students arriving in August 2010, which will help ensure the high caliber of its second class. Funded by private donations, these scholarships will provide all new students with at least 50% of their annual tuition payments through each of their three years at the Law School. The Law School's pledge of generous scholarships for the second class follows upon last year's grant of privately funded scholarships to the school's Inaugural Class, the Class of 2012, which received full-tuition scholarships for three years. That class of 60 students, which arrived in August 2009, was comparable to classes of top 20 law schools in terms of median grades and LSAT scores. UC Irvine School of Law accepted only 4 percent of applicants for its Inaugural Class, which was the lowest acceptance rate in the country.
Make no mistake: A Law School Carol is no heartwarming holiday tale of redemption. The computer-animated video, which has been circulating on YouTube for several weeks, focuses on a law student named Steve who is visited by the ghost of Ralph Marley's disappointing legal career (Ralph Marley being the law student who used to rent Steve's apartment and now does document review somewhere in New Jersey). The ghosts of Steve's prelaw, law school and postlaw school lives visit him to offer a sobering accounting of the sacrifices he made to attend law school, the staggering debt he assumed in the process and the limited prospects his degree from a third-tier school will afford.
Could Harvard University, which has imposed layoffs and construction delays and cut hot breakfasts in the last year, be loosening its purse strings? Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, announced that the university's largest school would end a year-long salary freeze. Starting in July, faculty and staff will be eligible for small, merit-based raises averaging 2 percent; graduate students will receive a 3 percent increase to their stipends. Aspiring business school students who are also considering graduate school in other fields no longer have to worry about taking both the GMAT (the business school entrance exam) and the GRE (required for most graduate schools.)
It used to be a lighthouse for academic careers that strayed off course, but it’s quickly becoming the case that even the law can’t save you. Not even when you’re the one who’s practicing it. This year, roughly 20 percent more people took the LSAT during the September/October test than a year previously. It’s not hard to imagine why – getting a job with a sociology major is hard enough during boom times, but during a recession, it’s practically impossible.
Like it or not, the U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of law schools profoundly influences the way those schools are managed, spend resources and are perceived internally and by the outside world. Administrators consistently reported that they have allocated more money toward merit-based scholarships in order to attract students with high LSAT scores, a factor that accounts for half of a school's selectivity score. That leaves less money for need-based scholarships, which in turn can hurt student body diversity because applicants from lower income groups tend to have lower scorer LSAT scores, the researchers found.
Record numbers of people took the LSAT exams to gain entrance to law schools. Top universities, though, are cutting their Ph.d. programs because of shrinking endowments, making it tougher for young people to find shelter from the economic storm in academia.
In 2008, Princeton’s applicants were less successful than Yale’s in gaining acceptance to the nation’s top law schools, according to data provided by both universities. Roughly 32 percent of Princeton applications to the top 12 law schools of U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 rankings were awarded admission in 2008, according to the Office of the Dean of the College. In 2008, 74 Princeton seniors and 299 alumni applied to law schools nationwide, with an average LSAT score of 164 and an average GPA of 3.45. At Yale, the average LSAT score among law school applicants was 166, and the mean GPA was 3.58, compared to MIT applicants’ average 164 LSAT score and 3.32 GPA.
Update: Harvard Law's Vice Dean for Academic Programming sent a memo to student yesterday saying Harvard has never had a required curve, just asuggested one. Above The Law, who broke the storyl, has an updated post with additional information here. It already sounds like a fake sort of sytem -- High Pass/Pass/Low Pass/Fail. That is Harvard's new grading scale. As Above The Law points out, the memo describing the grade change notes that the GPA and LSAT scores for those entering Georgetown have risen, and thus the change of the grading scale.
It’s something we all sorta know — that the law school establishment lives, sleeps, breathes and eats for the U.S. News & World report’s annual rankings. Still, it’s a bit chilling somehow to open an article and read these words: [T]he U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of law schools profoundly influences the way those schools are managed, spend resources and are perceived internally and by the outside world. Administrators consistently reported that they have allocated more money toward merit-based scholarships in order to attract students with high LSAT scores.
The decision to attend Graduate School is one to think about, especially considering the process a student has to go through. That process is easier now with the help of Emily Kennedy, Graduate Fellow in the CHSS Mentoring Center. Kennedy hosted a Graduate school information meeting that discussed financial aid, academic requirements, and a grad school time line. These items of information are basically designed to organize everything from the location of schools, to campus size and cost. Grad school also does require entrance exams like the GRE, GMAT, LSAT and others, depending on your field of study. It's important to study for these exams. Plan to take them in advance in case you want to improve your scores.
Why waste time weighing factors like faculty size and bar passage rates when choosing a law school when you can simply look at one factor -- the number of Super Lawyers among the alumni? Last week, the publication known for bestowing honors on attorneys unleashed its first ever law school rankings. And yes, the criteria are that simple. The No. 1 rated school, Harvard, has 2,354 graduates who have morphed into Super Lawyers, the most of any institution. But both deans said that acknowledging the post-graduation accomplishments of law school alumni isn't such a bad idea. In contrast, the oft-cited U.S. News and World Report rankings put more weight on LSAT scores of incoming students and various law school resources.
Of course, do you really care which school has a bigger library? People don’t get jobs based on their LSAT scores. Rankings are always dicey, especially new ones. Moving towards a law school ranking based on the outcomes is at least a step in the right direction.
Rachel Wishum, admissions director of Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, spoke to Auburn students interested in law school Thursday, Sept. 3. She spoke about important areas for all potential law students' LSAT scores and GPA. "The LSAT tells us how you think and process what you read," Wishum said.
Online LSAT prep can help you prepare for the US Air Force's law school programs. Applications for the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) and Excess Leave Program (ELP) are being accepted from January 1 through March 1, 2010. The FLEP is a paid legal studies program for active-duty Air Force commissioned officers.To be considered for FLEP or ELP, applicants must have completed all application forms, applied to at least one ABA accredited law school, received their Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) results, and completed a Staff Judge Advocate interview by March 1, 2010.
The Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law is adopting green admissions practices by committing to a paperless application process. The law school is using admissions software accessed through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) Web site. Instead of mailing an application, students now upload their material online, including their completed application, personal statement, application fee and resume. LSAC uploads the applicants LSAT scores, transcripts and letters of recommendation, enjoying the same smooth convenience they can expect from online LSAT prep courses.
One of the most diverse classes in the 159-year history of Albany Law School has arrived on campus. The school welcomed 255 students last week as the Class of 2012. They are graduates of 125 colleges and universities, one-third of them outside New York state. The would-be lawyers represent 25 other states and foreign countries that include Pakistan, Romania, Canada, France, Turkey and South Korea. The class is 42 percent female and 58 percent male and has a median age of 23. Their median LSAT score is 155 and median GPA is 3.3. Those who take LSAT prep can expect to present their best scores.
The founding of UC Irvine School of Law marks the first new public law school in California in more than 40 years. The law school's inaugural class-which has a median grade point average and LSAT scores comparable to those of classes at top 20 law schools-is supported by three-year, full-tuition scholarships. Recruited from top schools, the founding law faculty has been ranked in the top 10 in a recent study. The student-faculty ratio is better than 3:1, which is the best in the country.
A recent study published in the California Law Review states the Law School Admission Test may not make the grade in terms of fairness. The study, which determined the LSAT is biased against minority students, found that when compared to applicants from the same colleges who had the same majors and equivalent grade-point averages, minority students scored several points lower than their white counterparts on the LSATs. “The LSAT is culturally biased in the sense that it creates an artificial barrier to entering the legal profession,” said William C. Kinder, a staff researcher with the testing group in a comment to the California Law Review.
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