Overview

Applicants
1,090
Acceptance Rate
51%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.23
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
165

Test Scores

LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
150 - 154

Deadlines

Application Deadlines
July 1

Application Process

Rolling Admissions
Yes

Application Fee
$0

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
9:1
Total Faculty
82

40
Female
19
Underrepresented Minorities


Students Say

At the Shepard Broad Law Center, the focus is “more how to be a lawyer right out of school and less about the theoretical practice of law.” Students praise the school’s “practical application of the law”: “Every clerkship I have gone to I was ready for whatever was asked because the school prepares you to be able to do real world stuff.” NSU Law emphasizes the importance of clinical education; every student who meets the clinic criteria has the opportunity to participate in one of the school’s seven clinical programs, which include the Bankruptcy Clinic, the Environmental and Land Use Law Clinic, and the International Practice Clinic. NSU Law’s in-house clinics give qualified students the opportunity to gather practical skills in three specialized areas: alternative dispute resolution; children and family; and veterans law. Students begin their clinical semester with intensive classes that focus on advanced substantive law; for the rest of the term, faculty members supervise students while representing clients in NSU Law clinics, government agencies, nonprofits, and private law offices. Students interested in international law can take advantage of NSU Law’s host of study abroad programs, particularly the dual-degree law programs in Barcelona, Rome, or Prague that allow students to study American common law in addition to preparing to take the foreign nation’s bar exam (for those students that participate in the Spain and Italy program) or, for students in the Czech program, earn a LLM degree in either international human rights and environmental law or Central European and Czech law and business. Stateside, students generally praise the alumni network but say that the school could improve by paying more attention to its “[rank] and national reputation.”
Many students say their professors at NSU Law “are available and have an open-door policy. Their office hours feel like an extension of the classroom [but] much more personal,” with one student saying wistfully, “I wish I could clone the vigor and enthusiasm of my civil procedures teacher in all my future courses.” But not all NSU Law students speak so highly of the faculty, lamenting that “most of the professors are knowledgeable . . . however, most of them have no teaching skills of whatsoever. They are just proud of who they are and their own achievements.” Others wish for a less “sink or swim” attitude when it came to future success. The administration doesn’t earn high marks either, with students classifying it as “disorganized” and adding that “registering for classes is a nightmare.” One student goes so far as to say “the school administration is non-existent. In fact, I’ve been here 3 years and I have no idea who the administration is.”
The “facilities of the law school need serious work. We pay a lot in tuition that does not appear to be going to the law school.” One student notes that “more law students go to the public library than our own,” due to poor conditions, although another student counters that the NSU Law library “has all the resources we need but no one (at any law school) truly utilizes libraries anymore. They’re outdated and serve less and less any practical purpose.” Most research, say students, “is done online on our personal computer[s], not through the library,” though “if students want to use the library to go study, that is another matter. There’s plenty of study area in our library.”

Career overview

Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
65%
Median Starting Salary
$60,000
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
78%

Career Services

On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
Yes

On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes

# of Employers that Recruit on Campus Each Year
50

Employers who most frequently hire graduates
Private law firms, local and state agencies, state attorney's offices, public defender offices

Graduates Employed by Area

67%
Private Practice
14%
Business/Industry
12%
Government
4%
Public Interes
1%
Judicial Clerkships
1%
Academic

Graduates Employed by Region

89%
South
2%
Mid-Atlantic
1%
International
1%
Pacific

Prominent Alumni

Melanie G. May
Justice, Fourth Disctrict Court of Appeal

Rob Brzezinski
VP Football Operations, Minnesota Vikings (NFL)

Jared Moskowitz
FLA House of Representative

Rex J. Ford
US Immigration Judge

Pete D'Alessandro
Former General Manager, Sacramento Kings (NBA)

Dates

Financial Aid Rating
Apr 15

Financial Aid Statistics

% Students Receiving Some Aid
75%

Expenses per Academic Year

Tuition
$43,044
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$13,631
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$1,500
Fees
$1,500

Student Body Profile

Total Enrollment
214

Average Age at Entry
23

Demographics

42.00%
% Under-represented Minorities

77% are full time
23% are part time
48% female
52% male

Campus Life

Students Say

As a fairly large law school that’s associated with an even larger parent institution—Nova Southeastern University has roughly 27,000 students and the law school has around 925—NSU Law has the potential to offer its students multiple social opportunities, as well as academic ones: “[NSU Law] has strong community ties since it is the only law school in the county.” Opportunities to unwind certainly abound in Fort Lauderdale and nearby Miami, which is thirty miles away.
In terms of competition among students, one student was surprised that “there was certainly a cutthroat mentality when I was a 1L” and “plenty of phony outlines” circulated that were “purposely changed with false information. If that’s not cutthroat, I don’t know what is.”

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%

Admissions Office Contact

Contact
Yvonne Cherena-Pacheco
Assistant Dean of Admissions

Address
3305 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314

Phone
954-262-6119

Email
law-admissions@nova.edu


Articles & Advice