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Admission & Application Survey |
| J.D. (Law School) |
The admissions process at Northwestern is probably more comprehensive
than any other comparable law school in the country.
First, the school is making a concerted effort to vault (no pun
intended) into the Top Ten of the U.S. News and World Report. High LSAT
scores are particularly important for admission, as they are the most
important criterion in rankings for the U.S. News and World Report.
Grades are also very important, but they are secondary to LSAT scores.
Second, Northwestern "strongly recommends" interviews for candidates.
This is tantamount to a requirement. Northwestern is genuinely
interested in recruiting students who will take an active interest in
the governance of the school, the strength of the school's journals and
clinics, and the larger community that surrounds the school. There is
simply no other comparable law school that gladly devotes significant
institutional resources to qualitatively assessing the candiates to its
school.
The school asks that candidates submit a personal statement as part of
their application. Over the past five years, Northwestern Law Schools
has embraced the business school model, seeking candidates who have
significant work experience. Northwestern is hoping that 75% of the
students comprising that Class of 2007, for example, will have at least
two years of work experience.
The essay you submit, therefore, may be stronger if you focus on a
significant accomplishment in your capacity in the working world or an
extraordianry volunteer experience.
The median LSAT score is 169 and the median GPA is 3.5 for incoming
students. As a general rule, admission is unlikely without LSAT scores
at least in the mid-to-upper 160s. That being said, there are
exceptions, and the interview process helps Northwestern identify
candidates who would make significant contributions to the law school.
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Northwestern University School of Law Admission & Application Surveys
