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

The Facts

Southwestern University is a rather small, private institution located in the city of Los Angeles, California, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 4,000 students. The university's School of Law, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 980 graduate law students. The average age of enrollment is around 27, and it is quite rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its wonderful library and consequent research resources, its distinctive practical approach to teaching legal skills, as well as its connections within the Southern California legal community. The school offers degrees in the 3 year JD, as well as the 1 year LLM in entertainment and media law. 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, entertainment and media law, government services, human rights law, intellectual property law, international law, labor law, legal history, legal philosophy, property, as well as taxation.

Admission to Southwestern University's School of Law is quite competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 3,315 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 818 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 267 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average LSAT score ranging from 152 to 158, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.4. 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 76 faculty members, all of whom come from very diverse legal and professional backgrounds. Students rave about their accessibility and availability, saying they are always willing to help out or talk about nonacademic matters. The school has a rather manageable student to faculty ratio of about 16:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Employment Facts

Students at the School of Law don't seem too anxious about finding jobs after graduating; in fact, over 97% of the most recently graduating students were able to find jobs within a few months of receiving their degrees. Students are most frequently hired by employers such as Gibson Dunn and Crutcher, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith, O'Melveny and Meyers, as well as Sedgwick Detert Moran and Arnold.

What's Good

"Los Angeles is a great place to study law. There are plenty of things happening, and many opportunities to make professional connections."

"The students here all work really hard, and we encourage one another, which is nice."

"The student body is really diverse, and I think this makes for a better experience in general."

What's Bad

"There are some teachers who are unnecessarily harsh when it comes to their grading policies."

"There isn't any on campus graduate housing available, and it's very difficult to find anything affordable."

"The school really should offer more graduate financial aid; law school is tough on the wallet."

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