When Villanova Law School was founded in 1953, two priorities emerged. The first goal was to make rapidly Villanova an academically recognized school; the second was to capture the best traditions of the Catholic university while creating an environment that promoted a diverse student body. Villanova quickly received accreditation from the American Bar Association, and boasts an outstanding faculty. Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania is numbered among the law school’s alumni, in addition to leaders in all branches of the law and business industries. By placing emphasis upon integrity within one’s profession, and the value of pro-bono work, Villanova Law maintained its roots in faith while creating a welcoming atmosphere for all students. Women were admitted to the law school within a decade of its founding.
Villanova Law Admissions
Villanova provides a viable alternative for students who may not qualify for the rigorous admission standards of top law schools, by giving a great education at a well respected institution with slightly lower application statistics. For the 2008 entering class, the GPA and LSAT for the seventy-fifth percentile were 3.64 and 163 and for the twenty-fifth percentile were 3.19 and 160 respectively. Admissions are rolling with acceptances starting in late December. The application deadline is March 1. Tuition is over $35,000 not including room and board. Joint JD/MBA and JD/PhD degrees as well as a Graduate Tax Program are offered. The law school student body numbers nearly 800 with a nearly even split among men and women. The most prevalent states represented in the student body are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Villanova Law Curriculum
Villanova’s first year courses follow the standard for law schools, requiring Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Writing, Introduction to Legal Research, Property, and Torts. Second and third year students are given more freedom in selection of their classes with only a few requisites. A moot court program is required during the later years of study. Villanova also offers the Sentencing Workshop: a class in which students study real cases with the judges and lawyers who tried them, and discuss how to sentence criminals.
Five clinical programs are offered, focusing on immigration, civil justice, farm-workers’ legal aid, federal tax, and juvenile justice. The clinical programs allow students to handle actual cases pro-bono with faculty supervision. In addition to the traditional clinics, Villanova also has a Death Penalty Practicum allowing students to aid death row inmates in their legal proceedings.
Villanova Law Student Life
Villanova University is located in the Mainline, an attractive suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fifteen minutes from the city center, Villanova has a beautiful, calm campus only minutes from the bustling life of a major city. With its own train stop, city access is easy, quickly delivering students to museums, restaurants, nightclubs, shopping; all that Philadelphia has to offer.
In addition to the lure of Philadelphia, Villanova attempts to provide its own student life on campus. A variety of journals and organizations are present at Villanova Law, in addition to a weekly gazette and moot court competition teams. The school hosts the Barristers Ball in addition to other social events for entertaining evenings. The Public Interest Auction is held yearly, with proceeds funding public interest summer fellowships. Academic lectures are also present on a wide variety of topics. Villanova offers the Lawyering Together program in which current students work with alumni on pro-bono representation. Life after Villanova Law has proved enjoyable for its students as well. The median private-sector salary for graduating classes is $105,000 with the majority pursuing careers in law firms. The top states where alumni are practicing tend to be located along the Northeast Corridor, though D.C. and California are also represented slightly.
Conclusion
Though relatively expensive when compared to other Philadelphia area law schools, Villanova Law is a good choice for students who wish to study near the “City of Brotherly Love” while not directly in it. A solid education and a good quality of life are found at Villanova, as well as a focus on compassion and charitable works throughout a student’s career.
Contact Information
Villanova University School of Law
299 North Spring Mill Road
Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085
(610) 519-7010
admissions@law.villanova.edu
Application Fee: $75
Application Deadline: March 1
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