Top-Law-Schools.comTLS
Home
Law School
Admissions
Law
Schools
Law
Students
TLS
Forums
 
Rankings and Top 100 Profiles     3rd and 4th Tier Profiles     Dean Interviews     Discuss Your School     TLS Stats     TLS Programs     International Profiles     Law School Articles

Home » Law Schools » 3rd and 4th Tier Profiles »

St. Thomas University School of Law

Published January 2010, last updated November 2012.

Accreditation

Founded in 1984 and located in Northwest Miami, St. Thomas University School of Law has been ABA-accredited since 1988.

Admissions and tuition

In 2011, matriculating students had a median GPA of 3.03 and a median LSAT score of 150. The law school accepted 46 percent of its 2,040 applicants in 2011. Of 938 total acceptances, 251 enrolled. The 25th and 75th percentiles for LSAT scores and GPAs were 148 and 153 and 2.66 and 3.32, respectively. Current students describe the admissions process as normal and the admissions staff as “friendly and helpful.” The most common reasons current students say they chose STU were location, diversity, and faculty.

Annual tuition at STU costs just over $34,600. In 2011, according to U.S. News & World Report, STU provided 43 percent of its students with grant aid, and the median amount of aid was $14,000. Eighty-one percent of students borrowed money to attend STU. Of those who borrowed, the average indebtedness of students graduating in 2011 was almost $138,000. The law school does offer a loan repayment assistance program to some students committed to practicing public interest law.

Employment prospects and bar passage

St. Thomas releases very few data about its graduates' jobs and salaries. What we know is this: According to Law School Transparency, of the 221 graduates in the class of 2011, only 109, or about 49%, have found employment in long-term, full-time positions requiring bar passage. Five more were pursuing further degrees, and 11 had an unknown employment status. Two graduates were known to be working long-term in law firms with more than 100 attorneys. Most employed graduates (132 out of 159) worked in Florida; four found jobs in New York, three in Georgia, and two in other countries.

Again, St. Thomas does not release detailed salary information. According to U.S. News, the class of 2010 had 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile private-sector starting salaries of $46,500, $53,500, and $60,500. Seventy-one percent of those employed in the private sector reported salary information.

In July 2012, 71.4 percent of STU graduates passed the Florida bar exam on their first try. That was the second-lowest rate among Florida law schools, higher only than FAMU. The average pass rate of all first-time test takers from Florida law schools was 82.0%.

Academics

STU has a typical first-year lecture size of 68 students. The law school has 70 full- and part-time faculty members (about 47% part-time) and a student-to-faculty ratio of 16.1 to 1. First-year students all take the same required course schedule, which includes legal writing and the typical core 1L courses.

Students say the curriculum at STU is well-rounded with a healthy mix of theoretical and practical classes. Use of the Socratic method varies, as does teacher quality. The workload is described as heavy, and the harsh C curve often makes students anxious and competitive. The workload and grade curve cause nearly a fifth of students to drop out before the second year. Another 4-plus percent leave during their second and third years.

Quality of life

Students are divided about the quality of life at STU. Some say it could not be better. They say the facilities are top-notch, the dining choices are perfectly adequate and the South Beach lifestyle is to die for. Others say the opposite: that the neighborhood is dangerous and the facilities left them wanting more.

Housing is available both on and off campus, though most law students seem to choose the latter. Cost of living in the city can be high, but Miami offers beaches, bars, restaurants, boardwalks, and a lifestyle that draws the world’s rich and famous. It is one of the most diverse and exciting cities in the United States, which STU students, on the whole, seem to appreciate.

Contact information

St. Thomas University School of Law
Office of Admissions
16401 NW 37th Ave.
Miami Gardens, FL 33054
(305) 623-2310
admitme@stu.edu
stu.edu/law

Quick reference

U.S. News & World Report ranking: rank not published (Tier 4)
LSAT Median: 150
GPA Median: 3.03
Application Deadline: May 1
Application fee: $60
Entering class size (class of 2014): 251
Yearly Tuition: $34,618
Bar passage rate in Florida (July 2012): 71.4%
Percent of 2011 graduates employed nine months after graduation in long-term, full-time jobs requiring bar passage: 49%
Median private sector starting salary (class of 2010, 71% reporting): $53,500
Average indebtedness (class of 2011): $137,721






Mercer University Law School

Stetson University School of Law

Chapman University School of Law

Cleveland State University, Marshall College of Law

Creighton University School of Law

UNH School of Law

Quinnipiac University School of Law

The University of St. Thomas School of Law

University of Wyoming, College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law

Florida International University College of Law

Florida Coastal School of Law

CUNY School of Law

Campbell University School of Law

Barry University School of Law

Oklahoma City University School of Law

Regent University School of Law

South Texas College of Law

Touro College – Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law

The University of Dayton School of Law

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

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

University of North Dakota School of Law

Mississippi College School of Law

John Marshall Law School (Chicago)

Albany Law School

Appalachian School of Law

Ave Maria School of Law

Southern University Law Center

Southwestern Law School

St. Mary's University School of Law

St. Thomas University School of Law

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Howard University Law School

Texas Tech Law School

New York Law School

The University of Missouri – Kansas City

Northern Kentucky University – Salmon P. Chase College of Law

California Western School of Law

Pace University School of Law

University of Memphis – Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

University of Montana School of Law

Drexel University

North Carolina Central University

University of South Dakota School of Law

Thomas Cooley School of Law

New England Law | Boston

Drake University School of Law

University of Akron School of Law

Vermont Law School

University of Mississippi School of Law

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

University of Toledo (OH)

Wayne State University Law School

University of Idaho College of Law

Samford University

Gonzaga Law School

The University of Maine School of Law

Golden Gate Law School

Pacific McGeorge School of Law

UCI Law

University of San Francisco School of Law

St. Louis University School of Law

Seattle University School of Law

DePaul University College of Law

Hofstra Law School