Georgetown Law enrolled its first 25 students in 1870. Today, the school offers one of the largest and most diverse curricula compared to its global peer institutions.
Students can specialize in over 20 areas, including National Security Law, Social Welfare & Employment, and more.
The full-time Juris Doctor (J.D.) program only takes six semesters to complete. Students spend the first year developing a foundation in the primary focus areas of law while honing their research, analytical, and written skills. They begin participating in legal simulations as early as the first week!
Students can choose from two curricula in their first year: A or B.
For example, students enrolled in Curriculum A take courses in civil procedure, constitutional law, and torts. Curriculum B offers a more interdisciplinary approach, where students can engage in courses like Bargain, Exchange, and Liability.
In years two and three, upper-class students work to satisfy several requirements: a legal writing requirement, a professional responsibility requirement, and an experiential requirement.
Students complete a paper of 6,000+ words on a chosen topic to fulfill the legal writing requirement.
Studying close to the center of the American government obviously has its advantages. Ahead, we discuss Georgetown Law Center’s acceptance rate and recent GPA/LSAT score statistics, in addition to the requirements for admission.
After discussing the school’s rankings and notable alumni, we conclude with more reasons to enroll in one of the best law schools in the country.
Georgetown University Law Center Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate into Georgetown University Law Center is 12.9%.
The school witnessed a significant spike in applications received over the most recent admissions cycle. Of all the law school applicants in America, 20% (14,052) applied to Georgetown Law.
The 561 new law school students make up Georgetown Law’s most diverse cohort to date – 40% identify as students of color, representing the highest-ever percentages of Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous students in the school’s history.
The Year 1 students come from 45 different states and 17 countries. The highly accomplished group boasts six Fulbright Scholars, 13 military service members, 11 teachers, and five former student body presidents.
Dean of Admissions Andrew Cornblatt attributes Georgetown’s location as a critical factor in the surge in applications, commenting that many applicants cited the George Floyd protests and storming of the U.S. Capitol as the impetus for their desire to move to Washington, D.C.
Georgetown’s proximity to the Supreme Court and U.S. Capitol are apparent reasons why law students flock to Georgetown.
A significant draw of attending the school is its emphasis on experiential learning. Georgetown offers clinics, simulations, and externships that place students at the center of legal interpretation and policy-making. Georgetown students have unparalleled access to successful legislators, top-notch resources, and accomplished professors.
There are almost as many courses as there are incoming law students. Once Y1s complete their first-year J.D. requirements, they can access more than 500 classes. Students can explore areas like health policy, transnational law, and human rights, to name a few.
Georgetown Law Center GPA & Requirements
The Georgetown Law Center Office of Admissions explicitly states that they do not use numerical cutoffs in the application review process. They are much more concerned with an applicant’s personal statement, letter(s) of recommendations, professional/academic experiences, and extracurricular activities.
That said, GPA, LSAT scores, and academic grades certainly factor into the decision-making process.
The Georgetown Law Class of 2024 recorded the school’s highest GPA and LSAT scores ever! Their median LSAT score was 171, and their median GPA was 3.85.
Georgetown Law Center candidates must report their LSAT scores as part of their application packages. They can submit their GRE and GMAT scores, which should have been received in the past five years. All applicants must also submit their academic transcripts.
Hopefuls must have attained a baccalaureate degree from an accredited American college or university or its equivalent from an international institution.
Candidates have the option of applying to the full-time program or the nights-only program. The former track can be completed within three academic years, while the evening program usually takes an additional year.
All candidates submit an application through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and pay an $85 application fee.
Georgetown Law will grant merit- or need-based fee waivers as they receive them. Members of the Peace Corps, Teach for America, U.S. military, and Truman Scholars program are also eligible for application fee waivers.
As previously mentioned, the Office of Admissions sees the most value in an applicant’s personal statement and letters of recommendation.
They recommend two double-spaced pages as an appropriate length for the personal statement, and candidates are not limited to any particular topic.
Applicants need only submit one letter of recommendation from a professor who can attest to the student’s ethic and work, but candidates can send additional letters.
The Diversity Statement encourages students to help the Admissions team understand how their personal background can make a difference within the Georgetown community.
The Optional Response poses five prompts – students can submit a 250-word answer for as many as all five. One question asks candidates to share a personal top ten list, while the other asks them to elaborate on an unpopular opinion they hold.
Georgetown Law School Notable Alumni
Georgetown Law School is home to nearly 100 past and present members of the United States Congress. Some of the most recognizable names include U.S Representative Barbara Comstock and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.
U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock from Virginia is known for building and maintaining the “Republican playbook” in defense of President George W. Bush’s nominees. She can now be viewed on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News as a political commentator.
Hailing from Illinois, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005 and Senate majority whip since 2021.
In Congress, he has the reputation of being an excellent debater, which can likely be attributed to his experience as a trial lawyer. Durbin was also on presidential nominee Al Gore’s shortlist for potential vice presidential running mates.
Former Virginia governor and DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe also started at Georgetown Law. McAuliffe served on the election campaigns of both President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Georgetown Law alumnus Jerome Powell has served as the 16th Chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018 – he has operated under the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.
Many graduates become professors at esteemed law schools like Stanford, Harvard, Duke, and George Washington University. Others use their expertise as owners or general managers of professional athletic teams and organizations, like the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, or the entire Southeastern Conference.
Georgetown University Law Center Ranking
Georgetown Law Center consistently ranks among the best law schools in the world; in fact, the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities rated the school #13 overall.
Georgetown also excels within the rankings of specific types of law. U.S. News, for example, lists them as #1 in Clinical Training, #2 in Tax Law, and #3 in Criminal Law.
In addition to reigning supreme in the United States, Georgetown Law offers one of the most comprehensive transnational law programs across the globe.
Semester-long programs occur at partner institutions like the Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Argentina, the National Law School of India University, and the University of Bern in Switzerland. Law students can achieve up to 14 credits during a study-abroad session.
Georgetown maintains a reputation of being the best American law school to study national security law. At the Center on National Security and the Law, students collaborate on research projects related to biometrics, national security agreements, and habeas litigation. The Center offers students access to various externships, an essential component of a Georgetown Law degree experience.
Another notable institution at Georgetown is its Domestic Violence Clinic – the best program in America devoted to representing indigent victims of domestic abuse.
Students work with low-income clients as trial advocates and gain invaluable experience learning housing law, prisoners’ rights, and disability law.
Yet another strong division within the Georgetown Law Center is that of consumer protection law. Student contributions have led to best-selling books on social welfare, a framework for advancing affirmative action, and policies designed to increase positive outcomes for historically marginalized youth.
Should You Apply to Georgetown University Law Center?
Georgetown University Law Center graduates experience great success in their law careers. Of the 672 graduates from the class of 2021, 85% held long-term, full-time positions which required passage of the bar exam.
More than 93% were employed within months of graduation, while several opted to pursue a higher-level graduate degree. The median starting salary for a 2019 J.D. graduate in the private sector was $190,000.
In addition to lucrative salaries, Georgetown law students benefit from various experiential learning programs. These opportunities are divided into clinics, pro bono cases, externships, practicums, and simulations.
Students begin participating in these opportunities as early as their first year of law school and even more so in the second and third years.
Let’s start with clinics: Georgetown law operates the most extensive and best-regarded in-house clinical program in the United States. Students represent actual clients navigating actual legal conflicts. They work alongside faculty who serve as soundboards and guides. Most students spend 25-35 hours weekly on clinic-related tasks and benefit from student-to-faculty ratios as low as 5:1.
Students are encouraged to seek pro bono work as early as their first year. The Georgetown Pro Bono Project links students with appropriate matches, requiring less time than in-house clinics. In externships, law students work under a seasoned lawyer’s supervision to complete projects that would typically be assigned to an entry-level attorney.
Simulations are akin to clinics but based on hypothetical scenarios. The goal of a simulation is to refine practice and reflection through ongoing feedback cycles from expert faculty members.
Regarding practicum courses, Georgetown law students can choose project-based practicum courses and fieldwork practicum courses.
In the former option, students participate in a weekly seminar and devote 5-15 hours per week to a project under the guidance of their professor.
In the latter option, students engage in the same time commitment but with an outside organization.
These opportunities, along with an array of scholarships and study abroad opportunities, are only a few reasons why ambitious students should consider applying to Georgetown Law School.
