Overview

Applicants
3,511
Acceptance Rate
35%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.53
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
241

Test Scores

LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
156 - 161

Application Process

Rolling Admissions
Yes

Application Fee
$0

CAS Service Used
Yes

Applicants accepted in terms other than fall
No

Transfer Applicants Accepted
Yes

Deferred Admission
Yes

Other Admission Factors

Academic

LSAT Score
Undergraduate GPA
Essay / Personal Statement

Selectivity Rating

Faculty Information

Student/Faculty
8:1
Total Faculty
149

30
Female
8
Underrepresented Minorities


Students Say

The University of San Diego School of Law boasts a lengthy sixty-year history, an ideal location, and an alumni roster of sixty judges, senior partners at major law firms, as well as city attorneys in cities like San Diego and Denver. The well-reputed national mock trial team and appellate moot court program all make for a “wonderful experience” and a “grand” academic life. At USD, “the opportunities are endless, it doesn't matter what field you want to enter.”
The “great” faculty members here “genuinely like teaching” and “make an effort beyond the classroom to reach out to students.” There is “supportive academic advising in every aspect of learning,” and “professors are very interested in helping their students excel.” Research opportunities are also readily available. Many of the first year professors use the Socratic method, but this becomes less and less frequent as a student advances, and the legal writing course was recently changed to being graded instead of pass/fail, which means that “if you let it, it will consume much more of your time.” Some of the more popular classes “are really hard to get into, especially if a particular professor is good.” Several professors are practitioners in the San Diego legal community, and offer “current, pertinent information necessary to ‘survive’ in the legal world today.” The Legal Research and Writing Department is a standout here among students, as it “teaches us legal research and writing during our 1L year, and is a great program.” Students also appreciate the legal clinics on campus that service low-income families in a variety of legal areas. A few students do wish that there was a “bar course integrated into the education,” as the post-graduate bar prep courses can be pricey.
The administration is “flexible and willing to change with the times and adapt to unsuccessful programming, classes, or past precedent.” A staff that “knows you by name” proves to be “highly desirable as a law student,” as many here are paying a great deal of money and “don't want to just be another number.”
The “service-oriented” administration at USD may be “great,” but the office of career services is a mixed bag. Some say it is “very helpful” and “run very well,” while others wish it could do more. “I go there every few weeks but never really get much out of them,” says one student. It definitely helps that the “small market of San Diego yields constant opportunity to network and build your personal brand.” “My school is well-ranked within the city, which allowed me to work at the ACLU and the IRS. If I went to a school of a similar ranking in LA, I doubt I would have had the same opportunities. Or if I went to Iowa, neither of those organizations have offices there,” says a student.

Career overview

Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
73%
Median Starting Salary
$80,000
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
84%
% of job accepting graduates providing useable salary information
83%

Career Services

On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
Yes

On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes

# of Employers that Recruit on Campus Each Year
131

Employers who most frequently hire graduates
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Jones Day Perkins Coie Paul Hastings Cooley Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati Morrison & Foerster LLP Hanna Brophy MacLean McAleer, LLP Riverside County District Attorney?s Office San Diego County Public Defender?s Office San Diego County District Attorney?s Office United States JAG Qualcomm PwC KPMG EY

Graduates Employed by Area

54%
Private Practice
13%
Government
12%
Business/Industry
3%
Public Interes
2%
Judicial Clerkships

Graduates Employed by Region

75%
Pacific
4%
Mountain
2%
South
1%
International
1%
MidWest

Prominent Alumni

BETH BAIER
Principal Counsel, Media Distributions, Disney Co.

THEODORE EPSTEIN
President of Baseball Operations, Chicago Cubs

HON. THOMAS WHELAN
U.S. District Court, So. California

DEREK ABERLE
President & COO, XCOM

KAREN HEWITT
Partner-in-Charge, Jones Day, San Diego

Dates

Financial Aid Rating
Mar 1
Application Deadlines
Feb 24

Financial Aid Statistics

Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded
$70,637

% Students Receiving Some Aid
93%

Expenses per Academic Year

Estimated On-Campus Room and Board
$14,694
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$14,694
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$1,579

Student Body Profile

Total Enrollment
687
Parent Institution Enrollement
9,073

Average Age at Entry
24

% International
3%

Demographics

34.90%
% Under-represented Minorities

53% female
47% male

Campus Life

Students Say

As one student puts it, “Law school is challenging enough, you do not need your school making it harder than it needs to be. USD makes the transition into law school life so smooth and effortless.” This “quaint” school truly has a “student body that is willing to help each other succeed.” It “feels small and it feels like you know everyone.” The pleasant mood of students here flows easily, since the school is located five minutes from the beach “in a beautiful setting” and is laid out “very conveniently in regards to the classrooms and research center.” “The San Diego area is wonderful, but also the campus culture is laid back and cooperative rather than combative,” says one student.
The school also has a good understanding of the need for creature comforts and stress-relieving practices: it “provides coffee and snacks during finals,” “there is candy in every office, [and] the Dean's mixers are well attended and delicious.”

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%

Admissions Office Contact

Contact
Jorge Garcia
Asst. Dean of Admissions, Diversity Initiatives & Financial Aid

Address
Office of Admissions and FInancial Aid
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110

Phone
619-260-4528

Email
jdinfo@SanDiego.edu


Articles & Advice