Law School of the Week: Boston College Law School

Located in Newton, MA, Boston College Law School has a prime location for the law school experience. Not only are Harvard and Boston University law schools nearby, but also being within the Boston area opens plenty of opportunities, both educational and social.

While the school has no official cutoff scores for either the LSAT or GPA, its most recent entering class set the standards high. Their LSAT scores at the 25^th and 75^th percentiles were 163 and 167, respectively, while GPAs were 3.34 and 3.68 at those percentiles. In reviewing applications, the admissions at Boston College are most definitely looking for a strong interest in their programs specifically, especially within the personal statement. With such a competitive admissions process, the acceptance rate is about 20.2%.

With yearly tuition approaching $40,000 a year, more than half of students receive grants, which were about $18,000 at the median. 88% of the most recent graduating class had to take out loans to pay for law school expenses, so, many graduate with a fair amount of debt.

However, with strong academics, especially in environmental law, intellectual property law, tax law, and an impressive clinical training program, most students find that attending Boston College Law School is a solid investment.

In terms of curriculum, students spend their first year taking the required coursework, which is typically split into three 90-student sections. In their second and third years, students have three more required courses before specializing into their field of interest. Throughout their years at Boston College Law School, students can enjoy a much more cooperative, rather than cutthroat environment, which is pretty rare to find among most law schools.

Upon graduation, 94% of students passed the Massachusetts bar exam. The employment prospects are even more promising: almost 98% of students in the 2008 class secured jobs within nine months of graduation. This class enjoyed a median salary of $160,000 in their first year, with 65% accepting jobs in the private sector and about 15% taking on judicial clerkships.

With the growing environmental concerns of today, Boston College Law School enjoys a new, green campus. Both the friendly academic environment and the school’s location make Boston College Law School a very appealing option for prospective law students.

Quick Reference

U.S. News Ranking: 26th
LSAT at 25^th and 75^th percentiles: 163, 167
GPA at 25^th and 75^th percentiles: 3.34, 3.68
Application Deadline: 3/1
Application fee: $75
Entering class size: 264
Yearly Tuition: $39,490
Bar passage rate in Massachusetts: 94.0%
Percent of graduates employed 9 months after graduation: 97.4%
Median private sector salary: $160,000 (Class of 2008)

Contact Information

Boston College Law School
Admissions & Financial Aid Office
885 Centre Street
Newton, MA 02459
(617) 552-4351
bclawadm@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/

Sources:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/boston-college-law-school.html

http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/1/desc/Bar

http://lsr.nellco.org/