SANTA CLARA, Calif., August 26, 2005 –Santa Clara University’s School of Law welcomed its first year law students, the graduating class of 2008, on August 10th. The class was selected from a pool of 4487 applicants. Consistent with recent entering classes, nearly 46 percent of the new students are women, and 40 percent represent ethnic minority groups. The School of Law enrolled 65 students in the part-time division and 250 students in the full-time division.
“This year SCUSchoolof Law saw an extremely competitive applicant pool,” said Jeanette Leach, Assistant Dean, Admissions and Diversity Services at SCUSchoolof Law. “The academic strength of the class, as well as the diversity of experience and backgrounds will enrich Santa Clara’s Jesuit mission and character.”
The 315 students come from 29 states and 6 foreign countries and represent 108 undergraduate institutions. Of these remarkably bright and talented students in the entering class, 26 students already hold advanced degrees, including 3 PhDs and 1 MD. The top feeder schools are UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UC San Diego and Santa Clara University.
“We are proud of the growing reputation of our faculty and academic programs and the students who enrolled at the law school," said Donald Polden, Dean at SCUSchool of Law.
The students range in age from 20-59. The median undergraduate grade point average for students enrolled in the full time program is 3.4 and, for the part-time option, the median GPA is 3.14. The median enrolled student in the entering class scored at the top 23% on the nationally administered Law School Admissions Test, which was given to approximately 143,000 test takers in 2004-2005.
The School of Law also enrolled seven new graduate, master’s degree students in the LL.M. programs in international law and intellectual property and technology law.
According to an annual survey by US News and World Reports, SCU School of Law is in the top 5 most racially and ethnically diverse law schools in the country. The magazine’s "diversity index" is based on the total proportion of minority students, not including international students, and the mix of racial and ethnic groups on campus. The index is calculated using demographic data reflecting each law school’s student body during the 04-05 academic year.
