Whittier Law School was founded in 1966 as the Beverly College of Law and was located in Beverly Hills, California. It was the first school in California to offer a three-year part-time program allowing students to attend classes at night while working during the day. In 1977, the school moved to Costa Mesa, California and changed its name to Western State University College of Law. During this time, the school focused on providing students with a strong foundation in legal theory and practical skills. In 1997, Western State University College of Law merged with Whittier College and became Whittier Law School. The new school offered an innovative learning environment that combined traditional legal education with experiential learning opportunities such as clinics, externships, international study tours, and simulations. The faculty also expanded its commitment to diversity by recruiting more diverse faculty members from different backgrounds and experiences. The curriculum was also modified to reflect contemporary legal issues such as environmental law and global business law. Today, Whittier Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is ranked among the top tier law schools nationally for its academic excellence and commitment to public service. Check topschoolsintheusa for Colorado law schools.
Whittier Law School is located in the state of California. As one of the leading law programs, Whittier Law School has a high average LSAT score of 149-153 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $70,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of Whittier Law School.
Admissions: Whittier College
Whittier Law School’s admissions statistics demonstrate that the school is highly selective in its admissions process. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the law school accepted only 36.2% of applicants, indicating that the admissions process is competitive. Out of those admitted, over half were female (54%) and nearly half were students of color (46%). The incoming class had an average LSAT score of 153 and an average undergraduate GPA of 3.2. Additionally, Whittier Law School is dedicated to providing access to a diverse range of students and provides a variety of scholarships and loan options to help make law school more affordable for all students. To ensure that all applicants have equal access to these opportunities, the law school does not use a preference system based on race or ethnicity when making admissions decisions. Instead, all applicants are assessed based on their individual merits in order to create a diverse student body that reflects the future legal profession.
| Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total number of full- and part-time applicants | 2,284 |
| Total number of full- and part-time acceptances | 941 |
| Overall acceptance rate | 41.2% |
| Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled | 296 |
| Number of full-time program applicants | 1,914 |
| Number of full-time program acceptances | 906 |
| Full-time acceptance rate | 47.3% |
| Number of first-year full-time students enrolled | 235 |
| Number of part-time program applicants | 370 |
| Number of part-time program acceptances | 134 |
| Part-time acceptance rate | 36.2% |
| Number of first-year part-time students enrolled | 61 |
| Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores | |
| 25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students | 2.83-3.35 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students | 149-153 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students | 2.82-3.35 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students | 149-153 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students | 2.85-3.4 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students | 149-153 |
Careers: Whittier College
| Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations) | |
|---|---|
| State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar | CA |
| School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 82.6% |
| Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers | 70.7% |
| Class of 2018 Graduates | |
| Total graduates | 161 |
| Graduates employed at graduation | 51.3% |
| Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation | 96.4% |
| Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time | |
| 25th percentile private sector starting salary | $60,000 |
| Median private sector starting salary | $70,000 |
| 75th percentile private sector starting salary | $80,000 |
| Percent in the private sector who reported salary information | 48% |
| Median public service starting salary | $65,000 |
| Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018) | |
| Percent employed in academia | 3.0% |
| Percent employed in business and industry | 22.0% |
| Percent employed in government | 8.0% |
| Percent employed in all judicial clerkships | 2.0% |
| Percent employed in law firms | 62.0% |
| Percent employed in public interest | 3.0% |
| Percent employed in an unknown field | 0.0% |
| Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge | 0.7% |
| 2018 Graduates Employment Location | |
| Graduates employed in-state | 86% |
| Graduates employed in foreign countries | 4% |
| Number of states where graduates are employed | 17 |
| New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | 0.0% |
| Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | 0.7% |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 2.9% |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | 0.0% |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 2.9% |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 0.7% |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 0.0% |
| Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | 83.0% |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | 5.8% |
| Employment location unknown | 0.0% |
| Career Services | |
| (Data appear as originally submitted by this school) | |
| Career services operations | In the first semester, students are invited to alumni practice area roundtable discussions, panel presentations, and networking events. Counseling is available November 1 of the first year, students prepare for on/off-campus interviews, career days, job applications, and participation in an externship program in the courts, government agencies, public interest organizations and private law firms. |
| Job Type | |
| Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) | 67.0% |
| J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) | 12.0% |
| 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% |
| Nonprofessional/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) | 7.0% |
