Fordham University, School of Law Admission
Fordham University, School of Law Undergraduate Program
Fordham University, School of Law Application

The Facts

Fordham University is a rather large, private institution located in New York City, and is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. The university has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 14,200 students, however, the university's school of law is significantly smaller, and is home to about 1,546 graduate law students. The average age of enrollment is around 25, and it is quite rare for students to enter directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its connections within the New York legal community, as well as for its huge amount of internships, externships and clerkships available to students. The school offers degrees in the 3 year JD, the 1 year LLM, as well as joint degrees in the 4 year JD/MBA, the 4 year JD/MSW, as well as the 4 year JD/MA in international political economic development. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of civil procedure, commercial law, constitutional law, corporation securities law, criminal law, environmental law, government services, human rights law, intellectual property law, international law, labor law, legal history, legal philosophy, property, as well as taxation.

Admission to Fordham University's school of law is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 7,598 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 1,467 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 480 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average LSAT score ranging from 163 to 167, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and there is currently no early application program in place.

The school of law has 214 faculty members who come from diverse professional backgrounds, some of whom are still practicing lawyers and judges. Students are always impressed by their willingness to take time out to talk to them after class, even if it doesn't have to do with law. The school has a rather manageable student to faculty ratio of 17:1, and most classes are quite small, ensuring that there can be plenty of discussion between students and their professors.

Employment Facts

Students at Fordham's school of law don't seem terribly anguished about getting jobs after graduation; in fact, over 98% of the most recently graduating students were able to find jobs within a few months of receiving their degrees. Students are most commonly hired by firms such as Cahill Gordon and Reindel, the U.S. department of justice, Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, New York legal aid, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom, AT&T, Merrill Lynch, as well as the U.S. court system.

What's Good

"You couldn't ask for a better location in which to study law. New York is the center of it all."

"The professors are incredibly prestigious, and bring a lot of experience to class."

"There is actually a fair amount of financial aid offered, which is definitely a good thing."

What's Bad

"It's a very big law school, and you tend to get lost in the shuffle sometimes."

"People get very very competitive here, in an attempt to stand out from the crowd."

"The administration can be frustrating to deal with. You have to approach them again and again."

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