Overview

Applicants
4,132
Acceptance Rate
21%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.81
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
198

Test Scores

LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
165 - 169

Deadlines

Application Deadlines
March 1

Application Process

Rolling Admissions
Yes

Application Fee
$80

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
Letters of Recommendation
Essay / Personal Statement

Selectivity Rating

Faculty Information

Student/Faculty
7:1
Total Faculty
70

37
Female
21
Underrepresented Minorities


Students Say

Cornell University is a small school with a big name. Cornell University’s Law School works hard to keep up its reputation for producing quality lawyers. The law school places a big emphasis on cultivating a diverse student body, from work background and race to hometown. This “great and unique” law school stands out due to its smaller size since there are less than 200 students in each year’s class, which means sections consist of about 30-35 students, and “you get a real sense of community being here.” Every Wednesday, the school has a student/faculty coffee hour called “The Weekly Perk,” where all of the students and professors “can mingle and have some coffee and cookies.” The Deans also host a monthly breakfast for the leaders of the student organizations “so they can hear concerns and suggestions from the students themselves.” In case it is not clear from all of the food-based collaboration, the “eager to help” administration “works hard to provide as many opportunities as they can, including public interest grants for summer work.” Students who want to be involved in the Cornell community have plenty of opportunities, and “faculty take a genuine interest in student's ideas and research goals.”
Much of the high tuition at Cornell goes to maintaining the excellence in the faculty. The “rock star” professors here are “amazing” and “truly want every student to succeed and excel.” Some say “the ability to take classes with some of the leading professionals and thinkers in a particular area is one of the best aspects of a Cornell Law education.” “They are like legal celebrities.” Others say that it is “the ease with which graduates can land a big law job in NYC.” “Our career services department made the process both painless and simple, and most students had their summer employment locked down by the beginning of Fall 2011,” according to one student. The rest of Cornell Law School also “runs like a well-oiled machine.” “I have had the opportunity to see my legal writing published in national magazines, and I have been given chances to do things I never thought I could achieve, through the guidance of the staff and faculty at Cornell,” says one student.
Students are required to take thirteen credits per semester, leaving many wishing for “more mandatory pass/fail one credit classes,” since many students are left “scrambling for that extra credit” in the second semester. Still, the focus on the practical experience is what firms are looking for in this economy, and “the clinical classes give students a chance to apply what they've learned to real world problems.” “It's refreshing to have theory classes taught by individuals who also have real-world experience in the field,” says one student. “For example, my Public International Law professor helped to draft the new constitution for Kenya and [has a working relationship] with Kofi Annan.” One huge benefit of the school’s size includes the opportunities to schedule a directed reading or supervised writing. With a directed reading, if a student is interested in taking a course in something that is not currently offered, that student can contact the professor and set up a directed reading or supervised writing to receive credit and study a particular topic.
Though students frequently admit, “Ithaca is a lovely place,” they are also keenly aware that “there aren't the same type of part-time externship opportunities that one would find in New York City, Washington, D.C., or even the smaller cities.” Luckily, networking opportunities and reputation can help compensate, and “just having ‘Cornell’ on your résumé can open certain doors.”

Career overview

Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
94%
Median Starting Salary
$190,000
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
96%
% of job accepting graduates providing useable salary information
84%

Career Services

On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
No

On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes

Graduates Employed by Area

10%
Judicial Clerkships
5%
Government
4%
Public Interes
2%
Business/Industry

Graduates Employed by Region

63%
Mid-Atlantic
13%
South
6%
Pacific
5%
New England
4%
International
3%
MidWest
3%
South West

Dates

Financial Aid Rating
Mar 15
Application Deadlines
Mar 1

Financial Aid Statistics

Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded
$82,401

% Students Receiving Some Aid
90%

Expenses per Academic Year

Tuition
$67,748
Estimated On-Campus Room and Board
$23,524
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$23,524
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$6,843
Fees
$85

Student Body Profile

Total Enrollment
631
Parent Institution Enrollement
21,904

Average Age at Entry
23

Demographics

28.00%
% Under-represented Minorities

100% are full time
0% are part time
50% female
50% male

Campus Life

Students Say

“Because we study in a small town, we all know each other well and work together as much as possible,” says one student of Ithaca. Of course there are still some gunners and “a few overly type-A individuals,” but for the most part Cornell students make up a “tightly knit community that seems to care more about getting through this together rather than a bunch of individuals doing anything to make sure they are the best in the class.” The town may not be the best place to live for three years “if you're used to a much more cosmopolitan area,” but “many students do visit NYC/Boston on weekends,” and the nightlife can be “quite active.” Additionally, each semester there are usually two formal events that many students attend, and if you “really put yourself out there by initiating study groups (which double as dinner and drinking groups) or get involved in volunteer activities/sports/religion,” then you can have a decent social life.
With construction completed in December 2013, the new wing of Cornell Law School opened in time to host spring 2014 classes. The library is particularly “state-of-the-art.” The campus is “beautiful,” and students often remark, “We attend school in a castle.” This castle is “a very insular community,” and many law students don't venture far off of the hill. The student body is understandably “extremely close.” “I know the names of the majority of my fellow students in my class year,” says one; however, the small population can “create a bubble of stress that can sometimes be hard to overcome.”

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%

Admissions Office Contact

Contact
Michael Cummings
Director

Address
115 Myron Taylor Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-4901

Phone
607-255-5141

Email
jdadmissions@cornell.edu


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