Northern Illinois University College of Law welcomed 119 first-year law students this fall for the Class of 2022, a 30% increase over the prior year.
Michael Burns, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions was pleased to welcome the new class. “In addition to bringing strong academic credentials, the class is diverse, accomplished and enthusiastic about beginning their studies at NIU Law,” he said.
Despite the class being larger, the median undergraduate GPA of entering students increased from 3.09 to 3.28. The median LSAT also rose by one point, from 149 to 150. Although the actual number of new students of color is greater than the prior year, the percentage dropped slightly due to the larger size of the class. The number of women also increased to 49% which is a 2% increase from last year.
“We continue to attract strong students who are looking for a law school that can offer small classes and a strong sense of community. We also offer an excellent value proposition with tuition that is the same for both in-state and out-of-state U.S. residents,” said Interim Dean Laurel Rigertas. “Our students understand the value of an excellent legal education that results in impressive employment and bar pass numbers,” she added.
This year our bar passage rate was 83%, three points above the national average and placed us fifth among the nine Illinois law schools. In addition, our entering students come from 67 different colleges and universities. They also represent 35 different majors. Among our entering students, foreign languages spoken include Spanish, French, Greek, Mandarin, Russian, Macedonian, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic.
