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« TLS Profiles - TLS Programs - TLS Stats - Rankings Northwestern University Law School
Northwestern Law School Admissions and Tuition As one would expect from a law school of such sterling caliber, gaining admission to Northwestern Law School is far from easy. Typically (at least if one averages statistics from the past seven years), Northwestern Law School accepts roughly 17% of applicants. However, averaging statistics over that time period may be a deceptive approach when gauging one's chances at gaining admission to Northwestern Law School. This is because their entering classes are becoming steadily more impressive with each passing year. Since 1996, the median LSAT score of an applicant accepted at Northwestern Law School has increased from 164 to 170 without ever--even temporarily--decreasing. Additionally, the median GPA of an accepted student is an impressive 3.7. Northwestern places high value on work experience and nearly 85% of the entering class had over 2 years of work experience. Consequently, the average age of an entering first-years student is 26. Northwestern provides more space devoted to work experience on the application than any other top-tier law school. Northwestern focuses more heavily upon applicant's LSAT score than GPA relative to other top law schools and if an applicant has a strong LSAT score and impressive work experience, this will likely counterbalance a good but not great GPA. If an applicant has a LSAT score at or above a 173 plus an overall strong application, there is a good chance of getting a scholarship.
After completing the sometimes Herculean task of securing admission to Northwestern Law, students must of course pay tuition. Northwestern Law is not likely to be accused of being a bargain basement law school anytime in the near future as their tuition runs over $47,000 a year. Nevertheless, this figure is comparable to that of other highly ranked private law schools, and must be looked at in light of the fact that Northwestern Law graduates are privy to excellent job opportunities. Northwestern Law School Employment Prospects and Bar Passage Information As one of the major law centers of the Midwest, Northwestern has little problem placing its graduates in most major legal markets, particularly Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. Although many graduates go on to private practice, the school is now promoting loan-repayment programs to encourage those graduates seeking careers in public interest. Northwestern's career service office earns high marks, as does its on-campus system of using a lottery (with GPAs concealed) to match students with employers. The bottom line is that, having attended Northwestern Law and distinguished oneself academically, one need not fear for job opportunities. Virtually no law firms in the country are off limits to impressive Northwestern graduates. The median salary of a Northwestern Law School graduate is $160,000. Additionally, while this is hardly surprising for a top law school, it bears mentioning that Northwestern Law graduates face little difficulty dispensing with the Bar Examination. The school's most recently reported bar passage rate (for Illinois, the state in which most Northwestern grads opt to take the bar) is 95.6% (6.9% higher than the statewide average.) These figures are scarcely aberrational: For the past seven years, Northwestern graduates have averaged a 96% bar passage rate, which is 10% higher than the statewide average during that period.
Northwestern is known for its emphasis on practical experience, and has strong offerings in business and litigation law. The Northwestern faculty includes a number of prominent names, including Steve Calabresi, one of the original founders of the Federalist Society who returned in 2004 for a new appointment. Additionally, the law school also brings in numerous adjunct lecturers from the Chicago legal community every year. There are a number of viable options for students interested in social issues, however, many of them under the Bluhm Clinic. Students who join the Clinic have an impressive array of specialties to pursue, from human rights cases to family law. Joint degrees are also possible with the other Northwestern graduate schools, with the JD-MBA with the Kellogg School being the most coveted and utilized option with over ten percent of students getting this joint degree. This joint degree is on an accelerated course of study and is completed in 3 years, which is the normal time it takes to complete a typical law degree and is a savings of 2 years from the time it would take to complete each degree separately. In the 3 years of study, students spend the first year of study (including the summer) at the law school, the second year at the Kellogg school, and the third year at the law school but taking electives at Kellogg. Only Northwestern and Penn offer the JD/MBA in three years, a great incentive to those looking to secure two great degrees in an accelerated manner.
Grading at the Law School is on a letter-grade scale, with the curve reported around a B-. Although there is a trend towards grade inflation, students regard the workload as typically rigorous for a law school. More information about what distinguishes Northwestern Law School from other law schools can be found in the TLS exclusive interview with Dean David Van Zandt. Northwestern Law School Quality of Life
Contact Information Northwestern Law School Quick Reference: U.S. News Ranking: 10th Interview: Dean David E. Van Zandt of Northwestern University School of Law |
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Located adjacent to Chicago's "Magnificent Mile", Northwestern University Law School has occupied a preeminent place in the legal field for much of its history. Its current ninth place in the US News Rankings belies increasingly rigorous admissions standards and a significant historical success in placing graduates into high-level positions in the judicial system and legal/commercial fields. Northwestern University Law School is particularly distinguished by its emphasis on work experience (no surprise given the presence of its sibling, the renowned Kellogg School of Business) and interviews with applicants.
The school is also unique in "strongly suggesting" interviews, which are actually highly important to the application process. Applicants register to interview with a member of the Northwestern Law community (often but not always an alumnus) in their geographical area or at the Law School campus, and the interviewer's evaluation is an integral part of the applicant's file. Officially, the interviews are used to gauge applicants' communications skills and to gain a sense of their abilities beyond that conveyed on paper. Additionally, many students reports that their specific interests in Northwestern Law are also given ample time.
Northwestern Law School Legal Specialties and Accelerated Programs
Given Northwestern Law's close partnership with the Kellogg Business School, it was not a great surprise when Northwestern Law announced a 2 year JD program in 2008. This program is offered to a limited number of students and a prerequisite is that these students have at least two years of work experience. Students actually complete the same number of credits (and pay the same amount of tuition) as those in the 3 year program, by starting law school in May instead of August and taking classes at a faster pace. Applicants who apply to but are rejected from the Accelerated JD program will automatically be considered for the regular, 3 year, JD program. The 2 year degree was pioneered by little known Southwestern Law School in California and also adopted by the University of Dayton, but Northwestern Law School is the only elite program to offer this and I anticipate it will be an attractive option for applicants looking for an intense and efficient legal education. 
Northwestern Law is considered to have one of the more collegial atmospheres of the top-tier law schools, partly due to its small class size. It is often contrasted with the University of Chicago across town, which has been stereotyped (rightly or wrongly) as the more competitive of the two. While the college campus of Northwestern University is in Evanston, a nice suburb of Chicago, the law school is located in Chicago itself but is well located in one of the more affluent neighborhoods. Northwestern offers its students all of the usual law school social opportunities, although some (particularly the weekly Bar Review) benefit greatly from the many bars and restaurants to be found in the area.