The School of Law at Widener University

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions Barbara L. Ayars
Application deadline May 15
Full-time program application fee $60
Part-time program application fee $60
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

The School of Law at Widener University

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 55.2% – High
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.13
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 151

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 57.6%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 149-153
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.84-3.44
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.14
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 151

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate 46.2%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 148-153
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.71-3.52
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants 3.08
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants 150

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered
J.D./Psy.D J.D/M.P.H.
J.D./M.B.A. J.D./M.H.A.
J.D./M.S.L.S. M.J./M.H.A.
J.D./M.M.P.
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
Clinics: Env’tl. Law; CrimLaw; Veterans Law; 3 Civil Clinics. Public Interest Law Centers offer pro bono opportunities. Judicial externships w/fed/state courts in DE, PA, NJ, MD, VA, DC. Istitutes offer certificates in Health Law, Corp.Law, Tech.& Trial Advoc., Law & Gov’t. Study Abroad: Chongqing, China; Summer Study: Lausanne, Venice, Nairobi.
Programs/courses offered in
appellate advocacy intellectual property law
clinical training international law
dispute resolution tax law
environmental law trial advocacy
health care law

Curricular Offerings (Overall)

Classroom course titles, beyond the first-year curriculum, offered last year 218
Seminars 37
Positions available in seminars 577
Positions available in simulation courses 836
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 146
Student activities (as provided by the school)
Student-edited journals: DE Journal of Corporate Law; DE Law Review; HBG Widener Law Journal; On-line, two-campus Widener Journal of Law, Economics, Race. Widener Law Journal honored at 50th Anniv. of Nat’l. Conference of State Trial Judges. Over 60 student organizations, including Moot Court and Trial Advocacy Honor Societies. DE & HBG Campuses offer Wills for Heroes programs.

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 68
Is there typically a full-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Typical size of first-year “small section” 59
Positions filled in full-time program seminars 153
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 295
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 93
Full-time students involved in field placements 83
Full-time students involved in law journals 101
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 80
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 24

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 53
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 135
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 177
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 32
Part-time students involved in field placements 29
Part-time students involved in law journals 28
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 46
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 17

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 14.1:1 – Medium
Full- and part-time faculty 139
Full-time minority faculty 13.5%
Part-time minority faculty 6.2%
Total faculty 162
Total faculty (men) 54.9%
Total faculty (women) 45.1%
Total faculty (minorities) 11.7%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

Rank Not Published Best Law Schools

(2) Ranking by Specialties

#16 in Healthcare Law
RNP in Part-time Law

Law Ranking Scores

Score N/A
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 1.9
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 2.6
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.82-3.44
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.13
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 149-153
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 151
Acceptance rate 55.2% – High
Student-faculty ratio 14.1:1 – Medium
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 31.9% – Low
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 76.6% – Low
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 88.2% – Medium
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar PA
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 83.1%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 1366

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 975

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) 391

Attrition Rates for Full- and Part-time Students (2010-2011)

First-year students discontinuing law school 24.9%
Second-year students discontinuing law school 4.4%
Third-year students discontinuing law school 1.0%
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 13.2%
Female students discontinuing law school 8.7%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Eleanor Kelly
Financial aid phone (302) 477-2272
Financial aid application deadline April 1

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $1,212 per credit
Part-time: $1,212 per credit
Room and board $10,521
Books $1,350
Miscellaneous expenses $5,633
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? Yes
Does the university offer graduate student housing for which law students are eligible? Yes
Does the university offer a public-interest scholarship program to current J.D. students? Yes

Grants (Full-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 26.4%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 5.8%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 2.4%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.6%
Median grant amount $2,500
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $2,000–$16,723
Full-time students receiving grants 35.2%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 16.9%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 5.4%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.3%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.3%
Median grant amount $7,006
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $2,625–$15,000
Part-time students receiving grants 22.8%

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $122,221
Proportion who borrowed 84.6%
Does the school offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2011 J.D. graduates? Yes

Law School Library

Library Information Resources

Print titles (excluding nonbook titles) 92,907
Microform titles 8,020
Electronic titles 8,598
Other non-book titles 2,903
Total titles 112,428
Volumes (excluding microforms) 238,355
Volume equivalent microforms 339,632
Total volumes and volume equivalents 577,987
Number of volumes in the collection that are stored off site and are systematically retrievable 0
Library’s online catalog or website includes links to electronic titles or databases made available by another campus library or consortia Yes

Library Schedule of Operation

Number of hours per week library is open on a regular schedule 107
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 76
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 2
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 29
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 75
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 17
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule 95
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule 51
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 44
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule 47
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 4

Information Technology

Department(s) responsible for the law school information technology operations university information technology department
Approximate number of full-time-equivalent information technology staff (excluding hourly students and other temporary staff) 4
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 60
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 25
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 0
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 0
Does the law school have a wireless network? Yes
Wireless network is available in the law library, in classrooms, in computer labs, in administrative/faculty offices and work areas, elsewhere in the law school
Does the school require entering students to own a computer? No

Physical Library Facilities

Net square feet of space assigned for library purposes 60,541
Total seats available for library users 761
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) Legal Information Centers offer student-centered focus, broad range of sources. Strengths in public, health, corporate, envt’l. law. Many legal/nonlegal electronic subscription databases broaden and enhance the collections. Wilmington,DE: 40-acre, safe, suburban campus, offers housing, 4 miles from U.S. Corporate Capital. Harrisburg, PA: 20-acre, safe, suburban campus, 7 miles from State Capitol.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar PA
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 88.2% – Medium
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 83.1%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 376
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 31.9%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 76.6%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 9.0%
Graduates whose employment status is known 91.0%
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 31.9%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 2.9%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 16.5%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 39.6%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 8.5%
Graduates whose employment status is known 91.5%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 76.6%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 4.3%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 5.9%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 4.8%

Starting Salaries of Graduates Employed Full-time (Class of 2010)

25th percentile private sector starting salary $50,000
Median private sector starting salary $61,200
75th percentile private sector starting salary $85,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 33%
Median public service starting salary $45,000

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Percent employed in academia 2.1%
Percent employed in business and industry 20.9%
Percent employed in government 11.1%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships 17.4%
Percent employed in law firms 43.6%
Percent employed in public interest 4.9%
Percent employed in an unknown field 0.0%

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 16%
Graduates employed out-of-state 84.0%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 0.4%
Number of states where graduates are employed 15
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 75.0%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 0.7%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 0.4%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 21.5%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 0.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 0.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 1.0%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 0.0%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations Through individual counseling sessions, the Career Development staff works with students through each phase of job search, self-assessment, and salary negotiations. On-campus recruiting for summer and permanent positions. Maintains online job board, coordinates 1L mentoring program, and participates in job fairs covering wide range of practice interests, such as public interest and corporate law.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 69.0%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 96.5%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 14.0%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 92.3%
Professional other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) 14.0%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 78.0%
Non-professional other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) 2.0%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 14.3%