NUSL Admission: Frequent Questions

Nationally recognized for its commitment to public interest law, Northeastern University School of Law is a dynamic center for service as well as learning. Whether they are representing indigent clients, combating discrimination, working with survivors of domestic violence, advocating for equal access to health care or ensuring fair treatment for immigrants, Northeastern students, graduates, staff and faculty are on the front lines making the world a more humane and compassionate place.

Is Northeastern the right place for me if I am not interested in a career in public interest law?

While the law school is committed to the belief that all attorneys have a duty to serve society in some capacity, we recognize that not everyone intends to practice traditional public interest law upon graduation. Our mission is to graduate students who have a clear understanding of the immense power they have as lawyers in our society and the ethical and social implications of the decisions they will make in this role. On average, graduates of Northeastern enter public interest careers at a rate that is five times the national average. However, the majority of our graduates work in law firms, corporations and government. They tell us that what they learned while students at Northeastern has helped to guide them in the way they think about their clients, cases and the kind of lawyers they want to be.

Northeastern seeks a student body with a broad set of interests, backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives. Such diversity is important in a law school, which must train its graduates not only to analyze and interpret the law, but also to reflect on competing viewpoints, advance arguments persuasively in a variety of forums, and develop policies affecting a broad range of people. Historically, the School of Law's diverse student body has produced graduates who have served all segments of society, and who have become leaders in many fields of law. Exposure to a wide array of ideas, outlooks and experiences is an important part of our students' educational and professional development.

Our students represent various political ideologies as well as religious, cultural and social backgrounds, including a large number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Students of color represent almost 30 percent of our students. The faculty is also diverse: 53 percent are women and 25 percent are people of color.

What is the starting salary for Northeastern University School of Law graduates?

There is a very wide range of salaries paid to entry-level lawyers. While there is some geographic variation in salary, the biggest variation is in the type of legal work that people do (corporate, public interest, policy work) and the setting in which they do this work (small, medium or large firm, government, corporation, judiciary). For instance, on the low-end of entry-level salaries are generally lawyers who work for public interest organizations or in the criminal justice system (as prosecutors or public defenders). The starting salaries can be in the low to mid $30,000. The high-end of entry-level salaries are lawyers who work for large corporate law firms in major cities. The starting salaries can be $125,000 - $160,000.

No. We only offer full-time enrollment in the fall due to the schedule students must follow to participate in the Co-op Program (mandatory for all students).

The School of Law has two application deadlines: one for Early Action and the other for regular admission.

Applications must be postmarked by November 15 to be considered for Early Action – no exceptions are made. Admission decisions will be mailed to Early Action candidates by January 15. Decisions include admit, deny, wait list and defer. Students who are deferred in this process are rolled into the regular admissions pool and considered later in the application season. A deferral is not an indication that an applicant will not be granted admission later in the process. If a student is deferred, a final decision — admit, deny or wait list — will be mailed by April 15.

Students who apply through the regular admission process are encouraged to submit their applications well before the March 1 deadline. The School of Law received more than 3,000 applications last year. Applying early indicates to the Admission Committee that you are sincerely interested in the law school; it also gives the Committee time to thoroughly review your file. We mail decisions to all applicants by April 15 (assuming applicants meet the deadline of March 1). Applications received after our deadline will not be given priority and we cannot guarantee a mail date for decisions. All admitted students must deposit by May 1, unless otherwise indicated on the admit letter.

Once the law school receives your application, we contact the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) in order to obtain copies of your transcript(s), LSAT score(s), letters of recommendation and any other information you have sent to LSAC. After we receive this information, along with your $75 application fee, personal statement and rèsumè, we will review your application. We do our best to inform you if your application is incomplete but cannot guarantee that all applicants will be notified. We expect that you will keep track of your application and contact us if you are concerned about your status.

For the class of 2010, the median LSAT score was 161 and the median GPA was 3.39. The respective 25^th/75^th percentiles for the class were 156/162 and 3.14/3.60.

I would like to transfer to Northeastern University School of Law. What is the admission policy for transfer students and how does co-op fit into the transfer process?

The School of Law welcomes transfer applicants. Each year we have a varying number of openings available in the second-year class and are able to admit new students to fill these spaces. Many students who were not able to gain entry into the first-year class are admitted after a successful first year of law school elsewhere. LSAT scores and the undergraduate GPA carry less weight in the transfer process as the emphasis moves to the successful completion of the first year of law school. For more information on the transfer process go to Transfer FAQ.

I applied last year and was wait-listed/denied. How do I reapply for this year?

If you have applied to Northeastern University School of Law within the last year, you must include a new personal statement (and optional essays) and updated resume. Your LSAT score must be no more than five years old as of the date of your new application. One new additional letter of recommendation must be submitted by someone who can discuss your work and personal growth since your previous application. You do not need to pay an additional application fee.

Is there a tuition discount for students who participate in the joint degree programs?

There is no tuition discount, but the opportunity to complete the programs in a shorter amount of time is considered financially advantageous.

Please refer to the Financial Aid Instructions for important information about applying for aid. The Financial Aid Application must be returned to the Office of Financial Aid by February 15.

Yes. On-campus housing is available each year to a limited number of first-year law students. The demand for these housing spots varies year to year but a good rule of thumb is to contact the Housing Services at (617) 373-2814 early so that you are in the best position to obtain on-campus housing for the coming year. Many law students prefer to live in apartments in the surrounding area and the Office of Admission does its best to provide admitted students with resources to assist in finding these housing opportunities. A packet containing information to help in the housing search is mailed to all admitted students starting in early April in order to give students information early in the process. In addition, we provide a chat room for admitted students to connect and share information about the Boston area and explore housing options.

I am currently out-of-state. How do I find out about housing?
Most of our students live off campus and there are many apartments available near campus and public transportation. The Admission Office will mail you information about housing when you are admitted. You can also find apartment listings at www.craigslist.com or www.boston.com.

Because the adacemic quarters are shorter than the semesters at other law schools, is less material covered?

No. We cover about the same amount of material in our courses as in other schools. Though our quarters are eleven weeks and semesters are usuallly fourteen or fifteen weeks, most semester schools run fifty-minute hours, but we use sixty. Sixty-minute classes meeting three times a week for eleven weeks provide 1980 minutes of classroom time. Fifty-minute classes meeting three time a week for fouteen weeks provide 2100 minutes of classroom time. That is a difference of only about two hours. What Notheatern's compressed schedule does is elimate much of what we like to call the "hello and goodbye." Professors rarely have leisurely introductions to courses, nor is there much time for in-class review. The pace certainly feels faster, though actual time in class differences tend to be small.

Tell me about the concurrent/dual JD/MPH, JD/MBA, JD/MS/MBA, JD/MS/PhD programs.

Concurrent or dual degrees are a wonderful option for students who are interested in specific areas of the law. Students apply separately for each program and if admitted to both enjoy the economic benefit of obtaining two degrees in a shorter time than it would take to pursue the degrees separately. The number of students in these programs varies year to year depending on interest.

How long does it take to complete the joint degree program compared to doing the JD and MPH or MBA separately?

It will take three and one half years to complete the JD/MPH degree and four years to complete the JD/MBA degree if taken together. To pursue the degrees separately would take three years for the JD degree and two years for the MPH or MBA for a total of five years of school. Clearly, if a student wants both degrees, the joint degree program is the most economical solution.

The School of Law's grading system cultivates an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect. Rather than alphabetic or numeric grades, our students receive narrative evaluations from professors and co-op employers. In addition to these narrative evaluations, which are prepared for all courses in all three years, students may receive Honors or High Honors for strong academic performance in upper-level courses. There is no class rank or GPA. Students work together to achieve individual and group results--a cooperative spirit that becomes an asset in their legal careers. Northeastern's system helps you focus on what matters most: honing your skills through detailed feedback and learning to collaborate so that you are more fully prepared for the practice of law.

Yes. Every first-year student is assigned a faculty advisor. After first year, you can choose your own advisor, depending on what specialty you are interested in.

Northeastern's unique approach to training law students for a career in the legal profession is known as Cooperative Legal Education. Under this program, students complete a traditional first year of academic study and then, for the remaining two years, alternate every three months between full-time legal work and attending classes on a full-time basis. The successful completion of four cooperative work quarters is a graduation requirement for all Northeastern law students.

You can apply to participating co-op employers (employers who have an established relationship with Northeastern and may only be contacted through the school's co-op application process) and/ or you may create your own. If you create your own, you must get prior approval for the co-op. Please refer to the "Developing Your Own Co-op Guide" available at the Co-op Office or on the Co-op Office's Web page. for further information.

If you choose to apply to participating co-op employers (as the vast majority of students do), the process is as follows: Each quarter the Co-op Office publishes a list of participating employers that are hiring. During the third or fourth week of each quarter there is a rèsumè collection date on which you may apply to ten participating employers for the following quarter by submitting application packets to the Co-op Office. The Co-op Office will send your packets to the employers. Starting the following week, employers will contact the Co-op Office to post interview requests and offers. Students have twenty-four hours to reply to interview requests, and three buisness days (not including the posting day) to reply to offers. During the eigth week of each quarter, there is a supplemental mailing for students still looking for co-ops. In between these times, additional job postings will be sent to you. Information and rules regarding this process are available in the Co-op handbook and on the Co-op Office's Web page. it is crucially important for you to meet with a Co-op advisor immediately upon your arrival to ensure that your participation in this process runs smoothly.

Students are compensated based on the ability of individual employers to pay. Salaries range from minimal compensation for public interest/public service employers to more than $2,500 per week for large private firms. There are two ways that students who are on low-paid or non-paid co-ops can make ends meet: the law school provides approximately $500,000 each year to students participating in public interest co-ops and judicial internships, including a number of specially designated co-op stipends that are awarded on a case-by-case basis. The Cooperative Income Sharing Program (CISP), a student run organization, also offers modest stipends to students who may need financial assistance during their co-ops.

Yes. Students go on co-ops all over the country and around the world with the program’s more than 800 employers. The major co-op hubs outside of Boston are New York City, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. The Office of Cooperative Legal Education assists students in setting up new co-ops throughout the world, provided that potential employers meet the program requirements. All students work with a co-op advisor who guides you through the process of finding a co-op, taking into consideration your desired location and the type of work you wish to pursue.

Some call this the Zen of co-op. Each student who goes on co-op writes a summary of their experience for the next student(s) who may be looking for the same position. The summary usually includes some tips and information about finding housing in the area. In addition, students stay connected to their classmates through the Internet and Intranet when on co-op, and this is the easiest way to let people know about housing availability in a certain area. Students always find the housing they need and transition into their new living and work situations each quarter.

No. Students are able to complete their JD requirements in the same three years as their counterparts at other law schools. Better yet, they do this while gaining a full year of solid legal work experience.

Career Services

I know that Northeastern is known for public interest law. Does that mean that everyone who attends goes into public interest law after graduating?

Not at all. It is our philosopy that all students graduate from the School of Law with an understanding of what social justice means and how ethics apply to the law. We instigate dialogue both in and out of the classroom that challenges you to define what this means to you and the way you fit these philosophies into your professional life when you graduate - - creating "thinking" lawyers, not just practicing ones. We are proud of the fact that we are also a leader in public interest law - - graduating five times the national average of students planning to pusue public interest law after graduation (about fifteen to twenty percent of the graduating class each year).

I heard that Northeastern doesn't have grades. Is that true?

Yes. When the law school re-opened in the sixties, we wanted to create a place where the typical adversarial law school enviorment was replaced by teamwork and collaboration. In order to do this successfully, we believed that we needed to remove the ranking of students and traditional grades. Therefore, we offer students written evaluations in lieu of letter or number grades. This process:

    -Allows students the opportunity to work with classmates without worrying     that they are givveing away the opportunity to be at the top of a grading         curve.

    -Gives students a more thorough review of their work by professors so that     they know just where they are doing well and where they need to improve     their performance.

    -Teaches students, before they go to their co-ops and careers, how to work     well on teams and get more out of their work because others depend on it.

Does the fact that Northeastern does not have grades hurt students' chances of getting jobs?

Northeastern has an excellent placement rate, which consistently exceeds the national average of law schools nationwide. This success is due, in large part, to the fact that our graduates obtain significant practical legal experience and make many professional connections through our Cooperative Legal Education Program.

The lack of traditional grades may be more relevant to some employers than others, as explained in more detail below.

Public Interest Employers -- Northeastern has an excellent reputation in the national public interest community due to the many, many graduates who work in this area as well as the progressive reputation of the school and its faculty. Our grading system generally does not create an obstacle for anyone seeking employment in this sector.

Large Corporate Law Firms - - The employers most interested in traditional grades and law school rank are large corporate law firms. The large Boston-area law firms are very familiar with Northeastern and our evaluation system, and feel they can distinguish those students and graduates with strong academic credentials. It is sometimes more difficult for our recent graduates to secure large corporate law firm positions ourside of the Boston area because some of these employers are less familiar or unfamiliar with our grading system. However, students who develop co-ops with these employers position themselves well for post-graduate consideration.

Clerkships - - Each year 16-25% of Northeastern graduates begin their career doing judicial clerkships (one- or two- year positions working directly with a judge. These are prestigious positions. While there are some judges who would prefer traditional grades to our evaluation system, there are many who have hired our graduates throughout the years. Strong letters of recommendation and a good writing sample are important components of the selection process. Because the evaluations sometimes reveal much more about an applicant's specific skills than a grade does, and our graduates often have direct practical experience gained on co-op (including many who have worked for judges as interns), we have great success in this area.

Everything else (small and medium firms, government agencies, corporations, law-related fields, etc.) - - Many of these employers value work experience as much as, or more then law school performance. Some, but not all may ask for law school transcripts, but see our evaluations do not appear to be a hinderance to our graduates securing employment in these areas. The only exception might be the federal government honors programs (Department of Justice and several other agencies) who are looking for students with ourstanding academic credentials. Again, our grading system does not prevent our graduates from getting hired for these positions, but these agencies, who may utilize an electronic screening process, may have difficulty sorting through lengthy narrative evaluations.