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University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law

Overview

In 1996, The DC School of Law merged with University of the District of Columbia to form the law school, which has been ABA-approved since 1991. Its mission is to recruit law students from “groups underrepresented at the bar, provide a well-rounded theoretical and practical legal education…and represent the needs of low-income District of Columbia residents through the school’s legal clinics.” The school is named after former DC Council Chair David A. Clarke.

Admissions and Tuition

Students matriculating to UDC full-time in 2009 had a median LSAT score of 151 and a median GPA of 3.06. The law school accepted around 21 percent of its 1,601 applicants. Of those accepted, 89 students enrolled. The part-time medians were 151 and 3.01, though with an acceptance rate of 75 percent. Students say the admissions decision mostly comes down to a student’s LSAT score and GPA. Still, current students advise applicants to write an addendum focusing on how they would add to the law school’s diversity. The school may overlook small blemishes in your record if your presence helps diversify the incoming class.

In 2009, full-time tuition cost $7,980 for DC residents and $15,330 for nonresidents. The law school, in 2009, provided 60 percent of its full-time students grant aid, and the median amount of it was $3,800. There is no data for part-time financial aid. The typical UDC student graduates with $86,297 in law school-related debt, despite the low tuition. UDC does not offer a loan repayment assistance program for its graduates.

Academics

Because of the small size of the average incoming class, UDC typically creates a single section composed of about 95 students. The school has 32 total teaching faculty members and an impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 12.2 to 1. All first-year students take the same schedule of requisite courses, including torts, civil procedure, criminal law, property and legal writing classes. Current students say the workload is heavy and the grading curve is difficult. Consequently, about 13 percent of first-year students do not return for another year – a noticeably high attrition rate.

Quality of Life

UDC is a commuter school, so there is no housing affiliated with the law school. Still, parking by the school is easy to find, and a Metro subway station is very close. Being in the nation’s capital has its perks, as there are all kinds of restaurants, bars, museums, monuments and landmarks nearby. The law school buildings are pristine and the area is described as safe. Being in Washington also allows students to pursue internships at prestigious government organizations and the opportunity to network with America’s current and future power brokers. Overall, students seem quite pleased with their quality of life.

Employment Prospects and Bar Passage

In 2008, 79.6 percent of UDC students were known to be employed within nine months of graduation. The school did not provide its median salaries to US News, which is usually not a good sign. On the other hand, students say the career services office does an excellent job of setting up on-campus interviews and using its alumni network throughout DC to help students find a job. But students also say the school’s low ranking and lack of a national alumni network hurts those graduates who want to work outside of the region.

Recently, a solid 92 percent of UDC students passed the Maryland bar exam, about 7 percentage points higher than the state average. Students also bested the DC bar by 9.5 percentage points, though only 11 of them sat for it. Overall, 80 percent of graduates passed the bar exam they sat for.

Conclusion

UDC offers legal education for D.C. residents at a low, low price. Those who wish to live and practice in the area will find the school’s price tag to be phenomenally low. There seem to be few other downsides, since Washington, DC is a hot spot of legal activity and students have ample opportunity to network. However, competition from students at nationally recognized schools is fierce. The numbers for employment and bar passage rates are relatively low. You should consider what good a cheap JD is if you can’t find a job or be trained well enough to pass the bar. For those applicants who are confident in their ability to excel, UDC is probably the most cost-effective route to a JD one will find.

Contact Information 

The University of the District of Columbia—David A. Clarke School of Law
Office of JD Admissions
4200 Connecticut Avenue NW
Building 38, Second Floor
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 274-7341
vcanty@udc.edu
http://www.law.udc.edu
 
Quick Facts

U.S. News & World Report Ranking: Tier 4
LSAT Median: 151 (FT and PT)
GPA Median: 3.06 (FT), 3.01 (PT)
Application Deadline: March 15
Application fee: $35
Entering class size: 96 (FT), 27 (PT)
Yearly Tuition: Resident $7,980 (FT), $6,130 (PT); Nonresident $15,330 (FT), $11,630 (PT)
Bar passage rate in Maryland: 92.3%
Percent of graduates employed 9 months after graduation: 79.6%
Median private sector salary: N/A (not reported)