St. John's University School of Law

The St. John's Law School provides several advantages for its students. These include a strong focus on the fundamentals of law, practical skills training, and opportunities to serve their communities. Graduates of the school exceed national averages for bar passage and employment and join a large and distinguished network of alumni. The school is also highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report and has been named a "2022 Go-To Law School" by law.com.

St. John's School of Law is one of many law schools that feed into the New York City job market. It has a better reputation than some of its peers, but prospective students should think twice about attending without significant financial aid. Job prospects out of St. John's, especially in this struggling economy, aren't great for most students, and the tuition and cost of living are high. If you want to gamble and go for that big New York City paycheck, then St. John's has a small chance of fulfilling that dream. However, it is important to keep a level head and know your exit options: job prospects could be dire if you don't place near the top of your class.

Admissions

The St. John’s Law community is inclusive and welcoming, reflecting the diversity of Queens, NY. Their students develop the skills and connections they need to succeed in their careers with support from their outstanding faculty and alumni network. Their employment and bar exam outcomes rank us among the top law schools in New York, and their students carry with them the Vincentian values of justice and service. If you're unsure about applying to law school or just beginning the application process, please take the time to read some of the excellent pre-law articles found here.

Statistics

Admissions Stats
Class of:	2020-2021	2021-2022
25th - 50th - 75th percentile LSAT	152 - 160 - 162	155 - 162 - 164
25th - 50th - 75th percentile GPA	3.28 - 3.62 - 3.8	3.39 - 3.62 - 3.79
Acceptance rate	41.1%	35.6%
Applications received	2486	2801
Acceptances	1022	998
Matriculants	248	254

The fall 2022 entering class at the law school is made up of 239 students. Of those, 233 are full-time, and 6 are part-time flex day students. The diversity statistics for the class show that 36% of students are students of color, 56% are women, and 44% are men. The age range for the class is from 19 to 48 years old, with a median LSAT score of 162 and a GPA of 3.66. 75% of the class scored 164 or higher on the LSAT and 3.80 or higher on the GPA. 25% scored 154 or lower on the LSAT and 3.33 or lower on the GPA.

Admission Policies and Practices

The St. John's Law School admissions committee looks for students who have demonstrated qualities and skills essential for academic success and intellectual stimulation. or GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs are essential factors in the admission process. Still, the committee also considers other factors such as an applicant's course of undergraduate study, graduate work or degrees, significant extracurricular activities, community activities, work experience, and personal obstacles.

Application Date

If you want to attend St. John's University law school, it's free to apply! You can apply online or download a printable application. The priority date for applications is March 15th each year. If you'd like to receive email updates about the law school, just send your name, email address, and the year you're interested in applying to lawinfo@stjohns.edu.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the St. John's University School of Law, you must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and take either the LSAT or GRE. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) administer the LSAT, and more information can be found on their website. The GRE is also accepted by St. John's Law and can be sent to us directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) using our code: 2624.

Applicants who intend to practice law should know that admission to the bar in all states involves meeting specific character and fitness requirements. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements in the state(s) they intend to practice by contacting the Board of Law Examiners or the appropriate Committee on Character and Fitness in the jurisdiction. Admission to law school does not guarantee that you will meet the reasonable moral character requirement necessary to sit for a state bar examination or be admitted to practice. If you have any concerns about your ability to meet these requirements, you should discuss the matter with the Board of Law Examiners or the appropriate Committee.

• A completed, signed, and dated St. John's University School of Law application form. (If applying electronically, the electronic certification suffices.) • Credential Assembly Service registration, all undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and a reportable Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score. • Personal Statement: Please submit a personal statement or short essay with your application. Include your LSAC account number on it. You may write about any topic you wish. Suggested topics: your decision to pursue a career in law, your reaction to a recent current affairs event, and your feelings about a particular community service or extracurricular activity with which you have been involved. The suggested length is two typed pages. • Letters of Recommendation - professional or academic (2-3). For additional advice on obtaining letters of recommendation, click here. • Resume: In reverse chronological order, please include all employment, volunteer, extracurricular activities, and all educational institutions attended. Include an explanation for any time gap (three months or more) not explained on your resume. • Optional: If there are economic, cultural, or social factors that have been significant in your development and identity or have presented obstacles to you, and you wish the Admissions Committee to consider those factors in evaluating your application, please provide a supplementary statement describing these obstacles.

The St. John's University School of Law application asks for various information from applicants, such as undergraduate and graduate transcripts, LSAT or GRE scores, and a personal statement. In the personal statement, applicants are asked to write about any topic they wish. The suggested topics are decisions to pursue a career in law, reactions to current affairs events, feelings about extracurricular activities, and the gap of time not explained on the resume. The Admissions Committee also considers economic, cultural, or social factors that may have presented obstacles to the applicant.

Optional Video Interview

The St. John's Law admissions committee recognizes that students are more than the sum of their standardized test scores and undergraduate GPAs. Unfortunately, the traditional admissions process only sometimes fully measures certain intangible qualities that often determine success in law school and legal practice. The admissions committee invites applicants to complete an optional video interview to address this deficiency after applying. This process allows applicants to record responses to three questions which will be viewed later by the admissions committee during the application review. This is a unique opportunity to provide additional information about yourself and demonstrate those personal attributes we consider essential but may still need to be apparent in your application. The video interview will complement the Law School's holistic approach to the application review process. Applicants receive an invitation to complete the online interview after receiving the application.

Deferred Admission

The School of Law does not usually offer deferred admission, except in exceptional cases for a good cause. Therefore, most applicants accepted for one year must reapply in subsequent years. If you would like to be considered for deferred admission, you must send a written request to lawinfo@stjohns.edu or an Admissions Counselor.

Honors Early Decision Program

The Honors Early Decision program is for students who have impressive achievements and are certain that St. John's Law is their top choice. If admitted through this program, you will become a St. Thomas More Scholar and receive many benefits, including a full-tuition scholarship. The program is highly competitive, so if you apply and are not admitted, your application will be considered during the regular admission cycle. The application deadline is October 1, November 1, December 1, or January 1.

Regular Early Decision (R.E.D.) Program

If you are confident that St. John's Law is your top choice, you can apply through the R.E.D. Program. This program allows applicants to express their commitment to attend St. John's Law if admitted and gives applicants priority review and an expedited decision. There are no merit scholarships awarded to R.E.D. Program applicants, so if you are seeking financial assistance, you should not apply through this program. The deadline to apply is January 6, 2023.

International Students

If you have a bachelor's degree from a foreign country, the Admissions Committee may admit you to the School of Law on the following conditions: You comply with the regular admission requirements and procedures of the School of Law, including taking the LSAT or GRE; and You submit academic records to the LSAC JD Credential Assembly Service. Suppose you are accepted into the Law School and have entered the U.S. on a B-1, B-2, or F-2 visa or in an undocumented status. In that case, St. John's Law School cannot allow you to register for class until your visa status is changed to F-1 (International students with permission to enter the U.S. for academic purposes only). If you are not a permanent resident and plan to apply for F-1 student visa status (Form I-20), please select F-1 for Visa Type when completing your application.

Financial Aid

For all academic scholarships at St. John's, keeping your grant money is contingent upon remaining in the top percentage of your class. To keep 100% of the scholarship, you must remain in the top 40% of your class; to keep 75% of your scholarship, you must be in the top 55% of your class and to keep 50% of your scholarship, you must be in the top 65% of our class. This is easier said than done! Students should be prepared to study hard to retain their scholarships. Students must remain in good standing to continue receiving aid for a few other scholarships (the Vincentian and Ron Brown Scholarships). For more about scholarships at St. John's, click here. For a TLS article about funding your legal education, click here. Also, if you plan on pursuing a career in the public interest, click here to learn about the new program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness (or PSLF). Finally, to read about a new payment option for federal student loans called IBR (or Income-Based Repayment), click here.

Cost of Attendance

St. John’s University Law School Estimated Annual Cost of Attendance 2022‐2023
Expenses	Full‐time living at home with parents	Full‐time living off‐campus	Full‐time living on campus	Part‐time living at home with parents	Part‐time living off‐campus
Tuition	$67,800	$67,800	$67,800	$50,850	$50,850
Fees	$1,192	$1,192	$1,192	$1,192	$1,192
Loan Fees	$1,860	$1,860	$1,860	$1,860	$1,860
Books	$2,517	$2,517	$2,517	$1,890	$1,890
Home Maintenance	$3,875	$0	$0	$3,875	$0
On Campus/Off Campus Room	$0	$17,460	$15,940	$0	$17,460
Board	$0	$2,500	$7,040	$0	$2,500
Personal Expenses	$1,790	$1,790	$1,790	$1,790	$1,790
Transportation	$1,188	$1,188	$1,188	$1,188	$1,188
TOTAL COST OF ATTENDANCE	$80,222	$96,307	$99,327	$62,645	$78,730

St. John's University students can expect to incur certain direct expenses payable directly to the school. These may include room and board charges, which could vary based on the student's choices regarding living arrangements and meal plans. Other necessary expenses not paid directly to St. John's but still required for the student to attend school are indirect expenses. Examples of indirect expenses could include transportation costs or the purchase of textbooks and other supplies.

Waitlisted

St. John's doesn't have much information about its waitlist on its website, but if you are waitlisted, be prepared for a long wait. You can improve your chances by sending in periodic LOCI (or letters of continued interest) with any significant updates to your application. These might include new publications, a new job, a new semester that improved your UGPA, a new LSAT score, etc. This will also show that you are interested in St. John's, and they will appreciate the attention! That said, don't hound them with dozens of letters; just significant updates will do.

Transfer Students

Many students transfer into and out of St. John's every year. In the last ABA report, the school reported that 12 students transferred in and 9 students transferred out. The school had the following to say about the requirements to transfer:

Based upon availability, admission is offered to transfer applicants who have demonstrated sufficient capacity to complete the program of studies successfully and who generally have achieved grades at the "B" level or higher through the first year of attendance at another ABA-approved law school.

Students can submit applications to transfer in either the fall or the spring. For the fall, the priority deadline is June 1^st, and for the spring, the priority deadline is December 1^st. To learn more about transferring or attending St. John's as a visiting student, click here.

Urms (or Underrepresented Minorities)

Because of their disadvantaged histories in the United States, certain minorities enjoy a significant boost in the application process. To read more about this boost and whether you classify it as a URM, click here. In addition, many pre-law programs are specifically created to help URM applicants get accepted to top schools. To read more about some of these programs, click here.

Law School Culture

St. John's is located in Jamaica, a neighborhood in Queens in New York City. Although Jamaica isn't the greatest place to spend three years, it is located near downtown New York City, one of the country's premier social, cultural, and recreational capitals. Students are just a short cab ride or subway trip away from the heart of the Big Apple, so there are plenty of opportunities for students to have fun.

St. John's is traditionally known as a commuter school, and current students confirm this stereotype. One student writes, "St. John's is a commuter school, especially for the law school." When further pressed about student life on campus, the same student responded:

No one hangs out near campus because no one has any affiliation with the campus. A couple of bars close to campus tend to have law school students there for a happy hour immediately after classes, but most people hang out where they live (typically Brooklyn) or go into Manhattan. Queens is pretty bad, so people don't tend to hang out here much.

So, if you're looking for a cohesive student body and exciting social opportunities on campus, St. John's might be a poor choice. One student remarked, "I'm sure the undergrad has a good campus life, but the law school is very disconnected from them; everything is in one building right inside the gates." That being said, the school does have extracurricular options for those who seek them out. For instance, the school offers clubs like the Muslim Law Students Association, the Women's Law Society, or the Intellectual Property Law Club (or IPL Club).

Parking on campus should be relatively painless, and the school is quite safe. One student writes:

I've never really walked around campus, so I'm not sure about safety, but there seem always to be Public Safety officers around. Parking is alright, it costs only $100 for the year, but if your classes are later in the day, you have to park farther away from the law school. Still, it's a small campus, so no walk is terrible.

There are plenty of different dining options for St. John's students on and near campus. For instance, students can take advantage of the new St. Vincent's Cafe, D'Angelo Center Food Emporium, and Starbucks Cafe. And, of course, St. John's is located right outside of Manhattan, which offers some of the most ethnically diverse food in the United States. For more dining at St. John's, click here.

Housing

When asked about housing on campus, one student was largely negative. He writes, "The only possible housing you can obtain through the school is a mile from campus, and they treat you like undergrads, so the desire to stay in those apartments is minimal." He goes on to claim that the university's treatment of law students is the "biggest negative" about the school:

The biggest negative is the involvement the university (not the law school) tries to have in the law students' lives. It is mainly only because of the housing, but they are overbearing and treat law students like undergraduates.

However, he concedes that living in the campus apartments is not "a completely terrible idea for 1Ls (first-year law students) because you meet a lot of people from other sections (each class is separated into three sections, who you have all your classes with the first year)."

Facilities

One area where the school shines is in its state-of-the-art facilities. One student writes:

The academic facilities here are nice. We have a large library, a computer lab with state-of-the-art Mac computers, and ample classroom space equipped with projectors. Some classrooms have chalkboards; others have dry-erase boards. The law school has its own network and a very helpful IT staff that knows what they're doing.

In terms of recreational facilities, the school offers its students outdoor tennis courts, an outdoor track, locker rooms, a fitness center, and a gym where students can play basketball, volleyball, tennis, and badminton. For more about St. John's recreational opportunities, click here.

Journals

Likewise, St. John's has many different journals that students can participate in and learn from. They include the St. John's Law Review, the Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, the St. John's Journal of International and Comparative Law", the New York International Law Review, "Commercial Division Online Law Report", the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal, and the "Sports Law Journal".

Requirements for membership differ from journal to journal, but generally, students must achieve a high first-year GPA and do well in the school's write-on competition to be accepted. For instance, for the most prestigious journal at the school, the St. John's Law Review, "approximately 200 students" enter the competition each year, and "between 32 and 37 are asked to join the Law Review." Members of the Law Review also staff the school's Journal of Catholic Legal Studies.

Requirements are slightly laxer for the other journals: the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development and the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review require a 3.2 GPA and completion of the school's write-on competition, and the New York International Law Review and the N.Y. Litigator require a 3.0 GPA and completion of the same write-on competition.

The journals give students a valuable opportunity to get hands-on experience developing "their research, writing, and analytical skills through the scholarly treatment of current legal issues." The above publications span a variety of subject matter, so students should be able to find something they're interested in. Above all, membership in a journal will help when it comes time to apply for a job, and in this economy, students can use all the help they can get!

Academics and Curriculum

St. John's facilities are decent, but the school needs outstanding academic programs that would set it apart from other schools. The student-to-faculty ratio is 17 to 1, which could be a turnoff for some students. However, most professors are accessible, so if you are motivated enough to use the resources, you can get an excellent education at St. John's. One student writes:

The majority of professors are very good, but there are some that you know are on staff only because they are good researchers. Even the dean teaches, and he is one of the university's best professors. All the professors are very available to their students and genuinely want their students to succeed.

This same student even wrote, "The biggest positive about St. John's is that the professors are so accessible and involved with the students." Thus, it is possible for ambitious students to form long-lasting relationships with their professors; this will help them get letters of recommendation and find jobs in general.

To graduate with a J.D., the school requires 86 credits, 56 of which must be completed while a member of the university. This takes three years for full-time students to finish and four years for part-time students. The school offers both a part-time day program and a part-time evening program, so students from all stages of life should be able to complete a degree at St. John's. For more about St. John's diverse selections, click here.

LL.M. Degrees and Joint Degrees

The school also has four different specialized LL.M. degrees: the LL.M. in Bankruptcy, the LL.M. in U.S. Legal Studies for foreign law school graduates, LL.M. in International and Comparative Sports Law, and LL.M. in Transnational Legal Practice. Only twenty-four to thirty credits are required for these degrees, and they should only take one year to complete (or two years if you're part-time). The school's website explains:

We offer the nation's only LL.M. in Bankruptcy and accept only about a dozen highly motivated students a year. Our intensive and comprehensive curriculum includes more than two-dozen specialized bankruptcy courses taught by a world-class faculty of leading professors, judges and practitioners. Our graduates are successful and are employed by leading firms and courts. The LL.M. in U.S. Legal Studies for Foreign Law School Graduates provides foreign lawyers with an invaluable opportunity to come to St. John's Law School and New York City to acquire new skills in U.S. legal studies and gain eligibility to apply for the New York Bar and to provide foreign law graduates full exposure to the core subjects of U.S. law.

The school also offers its students a variety of combined and joint degrees. For instance, students can obtain a joint / M.A. degree in Government and Politics, a joint J.D. / M.B.A., etc. To read a TLS article about joint degrees, click here.

Centers

St. John's has several legal centers where students can participate in different academic pursuits. They include the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, the Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution, the Center for Labor and Employment Law, the Center for Bankruptcy Studies, the Public Interest Center, the Center for Law and Religion, and the Center for International and Comparative Law. Sometimes indirectly, these centers play a significant role in the average student's education at St. John's.

The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Justice scope goes outside the St. John's community. Each year, the school hosts a summer prep class for college students interested in going to law school. Those eligible are either "low-income or first-generation college students or members of a group underrepresented in law school education" and must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students must join the program as sophomores, although they can continue it in their junior year. The center also hosts symposia, presents "Trailblazer Awards" to members of the community that "demonstrate a commitment to uplifting under-represented groups and individuals," and awards scholarships to "law students with stellar academic records and acknowledged interest in civil rights and economic development."

The Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution is a brand new creation, only opened in the fall of 2009. However, its expansive plans for the future will make dispute resolution at St. John's an even stronger program than it already is. The center plans to expand current course offerings on dispute resolution and give students more clinical and externship opportunities. The school's Dispute Resolution Society (or DRS), described as the "student arm of the Carey Center," has already "hosted two internal competitions and participated in several external competitions." The organization was only started in 2007! With different conferences, symposia, and hands-on events for students like the Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon, the center is certainly improving the school's resolution program.

The school's Center for Labor and Employment Law plays a similar role in the school's labor and employment law curriculum. Students can take courses in employment discrimination, labor and employment arbitration, and many other specialized areas. The center arranges externships in this field and hosts a "Distinguished Speaker Series" where "internationally renowned leaders" discuss "important issues and events in the field." The center also offers scholarships to students to help pay for tuition and (presumably pro bono or low-paying) summer employment.

Clinics and Externships

St. John's is proud of its clinical program, and the students see it as a pivotal part of their legal education. One 1L student explains:

The clinics here are supposedly excellent. My roommate works in one, and it's very work intensive, but they look good to future employers. There is a very large Public Interest group, and the university is involved in Public Interest Career fairs in the city (hosted by NYU, but many universities are involved).

The school's clinical website further explains, "Clinics allow students to go beyond the theory learned in the classroom and take it into the real practice of law. Students will learn and develop essential lawyering skills and professionalism while representing real clients." Second and third-year students can participate in various clinics, including the Child Advocacy Clinic, the Domestic Violence Clinic, and the Securities Arbitration Clinic.

As previously mentioned, the school has several externships available for students. The school's website explains:

The St. John's Externship Program offers students the opportunity to work in pre-approved placements under the guidance of carefully selected mentor attorneys while participating in a clinical externship seminar. Students work 140 hours a semester and receive 4 credits, 2 pass/fail credits for the placement component of the course, and 2 letter-graded credits for the seminar.

St. John's students can go out into the community and teach "practical law" to high school students at Jamaica High School in Queens, NY. The school views this program as "playing [ing] a critical role in shaping the community's respect for and understanding of the law." The school achieves this through "teaching inner-city students their legal rights and responsibilities, [encouraging] their participation in the democratic process, and [strengthening] their oral and written communication skills through advocacy training."

Employment Prospects

Graduates from St. John's University who work in the private sector make an average of $85,000 shortly after graduation. This number may vary depending on the type of job a graduate chooses, but generally, those who work in the private sector make more than those who pursue other options. A little more than 60% of law graduates from St. John's University go on to work for law firms, while a small percentage choose to clerk for a judge or enter public interest. Almost all graduates pass the bar on their first try.

Keeping in mind all of this information, it should be clear that placing well in your class is important in finding a good job and paying off your potentially significant student debt. With tuition prices soaring, it seems that if you are unlucky enough to land in the bottom half of your class (and thus lose your scholarship), you could end up in a very bad situation. Paying off sticker debt with any of the above median salaries (besides the inflated "Law Firms" one) will take a great deal of time and energy, so make sure that you study hard, meet with professors, and network well to increase the chance of ending up in a successful career after graduating. One current 1L does seem optimistic about his post-graduate chances:

It is only my first year, so I haven't thought much of post-graduation, but they promise our job prospects will be better than those of the current graduating class. St John's has a high employment rate, especially if you want to practice in New York. While it is difficult to find jobs in today's economy, and while people aren't getting the same job they would like, pretty much everyone is getting some kind of job. I have not talked to Career Services, but everyone says they are very useful and have helped them find internships for the summer. The school was very honest about job prospects when I was applying; since their job turnout is very good, it would not behoove them to lie.

Thus, it seems likely that graduates will be able to find some form of employment after they graduate. However, if you cannot find a firm job, paying off a student's substantial debt at sticker price will be very tricky.

Synopsis

There are a few reasons why there might be better choices for someone pursuing a legal career than St. John's. Firstly, the cost of attendance and cost of living are both high compared to other schools. Secondly, the academic programs at St. John's are less intense than those at other schools. Finally, there needs to be more student body cohesion, making it difficult to find a support network. However, ambitious and determined students can still have successful careers in law firms or public interest groups if they work hard and maintain their scholarships.

Contact Information

St. John's University
School of Law
J.D. Admissions Office
8000 Utopia Parkway,
Queens, NY 11439
Phone: 718-990-6474
Email: lawinfo@stjohns.edu
https://www.stjohns.edu/law/jd-admissions

Summary

Established	1925
Location	Queens, NY
Dean	George W. Matheson
2022 US News Ranking	84th
LSAT Median Score	162
GPA Median Score	3.62
Bar Passage Rate	91% (2022)
Employment Rate	61% (2022)
Cost	$67,800 Full‐time Living on Campus
Average Debt	$117,182
Application Deadline	November 1, 2022 (Early Decision) November 15, 2022(Early Action) January 1, 2023 (Regular Decision)

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Reference

https://www.stjohns.edu/law
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