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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2002)
Fewer women, more minorities enter law school Incoming University students’ median LSAT scores place them above the national average By Jillian Daley Oregon Daily Emerald School of Law Admissions Di rector Katherine A. Jemberg leads incoming University students along the first few steps they take into the school. This year, Jernberg said that the makeup of the new students is a little different than it has been in previous years. There are fewer women than in past years and more minorities. There is also a high number of nonresident stu dents this year. She said that she thought that the economy, as well as the reper cussions from Sept. 11, may have indirectly affected the makeup of the incoming class. “I think the way the world changed shows in this class,” she said. Jernberg said she saw an in creased interest in international law and diplomacy among this year’s class. Law school spokeswoman Eliza Schmidkunz said that the demographic breakdown of in coming students is similar in some ways to that of past years. Schmidkunz said that the most common undergraduate degrees for the new students are political science, history and English, which are fairly typical for law students. However, an unusually high number of students — 54 percent — are from out of state. Those who matriculated are 34 percent women and 66 percent 7 think the way the world has changed shows in this class.” Katherine A. Jernberg admissions director law school men. Last year, the number of women who attended was a few percentage points higher. The law school admitted 53 percent of the women who ap plied and 47 percent of the men. Schmidkunz said that an equal number of women and men are admitted, but that more men de cided to matriculate. Jernberg said that women ac cepted 43 percent of the financial awards that the law school had to offer, and men accepted 57 per cent of the scholarships. Women may have been less likely to ac cept financial awards than men, she said, because many women were probably awarded higher scholarships at other universities. Jernberg said that female law students try to be savvy with scholarships, picking carefully because they will most likely re ceive lower pay than men when they graduate. She added that the law school works hard to recruit female students. In addition, enrollment is up by 9.8 percent over last year; this year’s class is comprised of 183 new students. This represents ap proximately 10.5 percent of the 1,734 people who applied to the University’s law program. Minority enrollment has also in creased to around 15.6 percent, which is marginally higher than last year. The breakdown of minorities is 6 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian, 2 percent African Ameri can, 0.6 percent American Indi an, and 2 percent were of a differ ent ethnicity. The incoming class reflects in creasingly high standards for law students, with a median 3.4 GPA and a median score of 159 on the Law School Admissions Test, which is rated on a scale of 120 180. These LSAT scores are above the national average, which is esti mated to be 151, and places incom ing University law students in the 78th percentile on a national scale. The new students not only have above-average marks, they are also well-educated: 7 percent already have graduate degrees. Yet, while a graduate degree can denote a certain level of ma turity, this first-year class is also younger on average than most classes have been for years. The average age of last year’s class was 27 years old, which is typical for the University, but this year’s class is 25 years old on average. Students attending the law school range in age from 20 to 42. However, whatever new demo graphics the current addition to the law school student body may exemplify, Jernberg will miss guiding them through the appli cation process. Jernberg called the feeling she has “empty nest syndrome.” When law students start classes, she will not get to see them as of ten to answer their questions and discuss their applications. “I work with them so closely,” Jernberg said. “I brought them to this point, helped them along. “I just have to let them go.” Contact the reporter atjilliandaley@dailyemerald.com. 014370 1 Block east of 8th and Garfield 1901 West 8th Ave., Eugene 683-9430 also at 225 B Main St. in Springfield STUDENT CHECKING 24-HOUR BANKING The {Jn/y Bank „ , Uo caZ°K °n the. . mPus; , *«8SS5RkSES*v«*. SZST""* *'”• *■*»«»»», /""‘ * °-S Barn. ecf< Caw * °s- Sank ,nt e'r money. • usi Amc°« • ,,fiar-—9 .... " wst .. re»ster to J Po° to ODen . na°VDpfner>'^Oelvt;.s . Oy r Pf'Ze pacr • "•‘oft Check;- . Duc]V % ^cCOUnt _ A( * aPpare/ an . Unr and o»femi^«s°n *ams ’ dn,o«/ 870 "S"?8**** sses?* N°purchase ^SdZT' f^2yt?y8ntef Wfc n applicable tal The Pr'*e wmn^ °fa9e or n^6 enfrV £6&j ember FDic. 0mP'ete aetai,s
