Class Profile
JD Class Profile | AJD Class Profile | JD-MBA Class Profile
In addition to seeking students with strong academic qualifications, Northwestern Law is unique in placing strong emphasis in selecting students who also demonstrate:
- strong interpersonal, communication, and teamwork skills
- post-undergraduate, full-time work experience (although we will admit a small number of students directly from college)
- leadership potential
| Entering Class General Statistics (JD Program) | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Enrolled students | 264 |
| Applicants interviewed | 3658 |
| LSAT distribution | |
| Middle 50% | 165-171 |
| Median | 170 |
| GPA distribution | |
| Middle 50% | 3.4-3.9 |
| Median | 3.8 |
| Female | 46% |
| Students of color | 35% |
| Average age at matriculation | 26 |
| Age range | 19-41 |
| Number of states represented | 31 |
| Colleges/universities represented | 135 |
| Work experience | |
| 0 years | 5% |
| 1+ years | 95% |
| 2 + years | 79% |
| Geographic diversity | |
| Midwest | 28% |
| Northeast | 28% |
| South | 17% |
| West | 22% |
| International | 5% |
Northwestern is the only major law school that tries to interview every applicant to assess personal as well as intellectual potential. Our interviewing program focuses on such personal qualities as superior speaking and writing skills, judgment, and ambition.
Geographic Diversity at Northwestern Law
We base our admissions decisions on more than just test scores. Long-term, our goal is that all entering students will have at least two years of post-college work experience?another factor that helps us determine their motivation and ability to thrive in law school and beyond.
Our student body is the most geographically diverse among American law schools. Over 70% of our students come from outside the Midwest.
Since law and business are increasingly interrelated, Northwestern offers law students the opportunity to take several courses with business students at the Kellogg School of Management. Some students do more, taking advantage of the country's largest joint JD/MBA degree program and the first that can be completed in only three years.
Some of the most talented foreign-trained lawyers and legal professionals come to Northwestern for postgraduate study, enriching the environment for all students. Students in our general nine-month LLM program expand their knowledge of U.S. and international law. Students in the one-year graduate program in law and business (LLM/Kellogg) earn both an LLM degree from the Law School and a certificate in business administration from Kellogg.
