April 8

Northwestern Law

Northwestern Law is the Northwestern University School of Law, one of the eleven academic entities at Northwestern University.

The Northwestern Law school is located in Chicago’s Streetville neighborhood. It was founded in 1859 and enjoys a strong national reputation.

Northwestern Law is a private school and thus, has a heft tuition fees: in 2008, the out of state tuition for an academic year was $42,942.

The US News and World Report ranked Northwestern Law among the top 10 law schools in America, putting it at number 9.

The National Law Journal also ranked Northwestern Law at second position for percentage of graduates hired by National Law Journal top 250 firms. More on admissions, tuition, aid and alumni after the jump…

Admissions

As a top ranked private school, Northwestern Law has very rigorous standards for admission. The median LSAT score is in the top 2% of test takers throughout the country (median LSAT: 170), with a median GPA of 3.70.

Northwestern Law has an admission philosophy based on practicality: it values interpersonal skills very highly in candidates, as it believes that these skills are essential to professional success as a lawyer. To this end, Northwestern prefers its students to have had some prior work experience after college, so if you’re thinking of going to grad school right after your undergrad, a couple of years at a job might work in your favor (almost 95% of students enter with an year’s worth of job experience).

Degrees Offered

The Juris Doctor is the primary degree offered, which full time students typically complete in three years.

Northwestern also offers a two year JD degree.

For those of you planning a joint degree, Northwestern has a particularly attractive joint JD-MBA program in collaboration with the Kellogg School of Management – one of the top management schools in the world. Northwestern wins most of my rankings for this very program – a JD-MBA from Kellogg+Northwestern Law can be serious resume embellishment.

For foreign students, Northwestern Law also offers a nine month LLM program to acquaint them with the American legal system.

Salaries and Employment

The median salary of a Northwestern Law graduate in 2007 was $160,000 . 98% of the students were employed at graduation itself, with a median of 22 interviews per 2L student (2007).

Tuition and Financial Aid

The tuition for a two/three year J.D. program is $45,062 for out of state and international students.

For the JD recommended JD-MBA program, the tuition fees is a hefty $62,760. For a LLM degree, the tuition rate stands at $46,244.

The school offers plenty of financial aid in the form of scholarships sponsored by local as well as national firms, as well as those sponsored by outside organizations. Getting a scholarship can be competitive, so plan your application beforehand.

When you consider the median salary of a Northwestern graduate ($160,000), the $45,000+ fees looks reasonable. Of course, that can be said of every top tier school. I understand that you might be knee deep in debt should you decide to take up a loan for your education and don’t succeed in getting a scholarship. But the rewards are definitely worth it.

Noted Alumni

Noted Northwestern Law Alumni - Jerry Springer

Noted alumni from Northwestern Law include Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox, Robert R. McCormick, owner of the Chicago Tribune, television talk show host Jerry Springer, Daniel Walker, Governor of Illinois, and Ada Kepley – the first American woman to earn a law degree in 1870.