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