Loyola University Chicago School of Law Overview
Founded in 1909, the Loyola University Chicago School of Law is one of the most enduring legal institutions established by the Catholic Order of the Jesuits in the United States. Located in the heart of Chicago, the school offers great access to many corporate, government, and nonprofit opportunities for its students.
Known for being student-focused with traditional sensibilities, the school stays faithful to the principles of its founding while maintaining an open mind to the evolving legal culture of the world. Service to others is a core tenet of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Students seeking work in the nonprofit sector and private charity organizations can get started by pursuing dual degrees with the Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work. For this program, successful students would be awarded a JD and a Master of Social Work degree.
The school is heavily concerned with contributing to the legal frameworks related to the most basic unit of society: the family. Students who don't want to practice law can attain a Master of Jurisprudence degree in Children's Law and Policy, which is a unique program the school offers online. Many legal clinics are also available for further education:
- Federal Tax Clinic
- Health Justice Project
- Legislation and Policy Clinic
- Civitas ChildLaw Clinic
- Business Law Clinic
Outside the walls of the libraries and classrooms are opportunities to serve society through various practical programs, educational centers, and school-coordinated institutes. The Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy is a center specializing in the education of health care professionals, policymakers, executives, and researchers. The center offers experiential learning opportunities, classroom training, and online study focused on corporate laws and government regulations in the health care space.
The Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy aims to make lawyers adept at handling dispute resolution, conducting trials, and dealing with appellate advocacy. The center is ranked second in the United States in the Trial Competition Performance ranking by Fordham Law, a standard for competitiveness in national and regional events. It is also 15th in the country in the U.S. News & World Report's 2019 ranking of the Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, and Alternative Dispute Resolution specialty.
Here are some other centers that students can patronize for practical learning:
- Curt and Linda Rodin Center for Social Justice
- Center for Business Law
- Center for Compliance Studies
- Center for the Human Rights of Children
- Center for Public Interest Law
- Education Law and Policy Institute
- Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies
- Institute for International Law and Practice
- Institute for Investor Protection
- Rule of Law for Development Program
- Dispute Resolution Program
- Intellectual Property Law Program
- National Security and Civil Rights Program
- Tax and Estate Planning Program
There is a humanitarian and advocacy component to all Loyola University Chicago School of Law policies and programs. Students who try to gain admission have a great interest in these subjects, which sets them apart from the average undergraduate working toward a purely financial end.
On top of their devotion to social justice, the health care law specialty program at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law is one of the best in the United States. Also offered are many well-regarded certificate programs and legal clinics for students who want to home in on their niches. Many law students pursue dual degrees with JD and MBA offerings in conjunction with the Loyola University Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law Rankings
The Loyola University Chicago School of Law is highly praised for its humanitarian and advocacy programs. The school ranked second in Fordham Law's Trial Competition Performance Ranking for the 2018-2019 school year, all thanks to the programs available at the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy.
The law school's Moot Court program has also placed third across the United States in the Blakely Advocacy Institute's rankings for the 2018-2019 period. Because of the faculty's hands-on approach to learning, students often excel at Transactional, Dispute Resolution, and Mock Trial competitions. For the Advocacy specialty, U.S. News & World Report ranked Loyola 15th in its specialties ranking for 2019.
Overall, Loyola ranks 90th among the best law schools in the United States as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. It shares that spot with Saint Louis University, the University of Arkansas Fayetteville, and Florida National University.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law Admissions
What Is the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Acceptance Rate?
The school sees a healthy competition among applicants who want to help. Because of the school's strength in advocacy, family, and child law, most students who apply at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law want to make a difference in their communities. The school teaches aspiring lawyers not only how to win in court but how to be successful community builders as well.
A law school can be called "good" depending on what a student is trying to accomplish. The Loyola University Chicago School of Law is very competitive among aspiring lawyers who want to practice advocacy law, litigation, and child law in Chicago and the Midwest. Applications normally come from more than 1,000 students per year, and graduates who leave are almost always impressed with the quality of their education.
For the class of 2018, the Loyola University Chicago School of Law received 1,076 applications and accepted only 46%. This does not put the school on the tier with Yale or Berkeley, but the acceptance rate is still pretty competitive. Of the accepted students, about 268 are presently enrolled.
The Loyola University Chicago School of Law is also very attractive to prospective arbitrators, community planners, policymakers, judges, counselors, and mediators. With full-time law classes and a weekend JD course, students can work full-time jobs as they study, which makes the school all the more attractive for students who want to pay off student loans while still in school.
Recent reports from the American Bar Association show that the school has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, which falls in the average among law schools across America. Because the average student intake is only the hundreds, the school has made the best of every opportunity to make the student experience worthwhile. Offering the latest classroom technologies and having practicing attorneys among the faculty help make the school one of the top choices for local and international students.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law LSAT Percentiles
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2024 Entering Class Profile
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Application Deadlines
When will the Loyola University Chicago School of Law's application materials be available?
Application materials are available through the Law School Admission Council's website, lsac.org.
When does the Loyola University Chicago School of Law begin accepting applications?
The school will start accepting applications by October 1, will begin reviewing applications in December, and will reveal the list of students admitted on a rolling basis starting in January.
How are applications to Loyola University Chicago School of Law submitted?
Applications are submitted through the Law School Admission Council's website at lsac.org. A link can be accessed in the admissions page of the school's website.
Does Loyola University Chicago School of Law have an "early admission" or "early decision" process?
An early decision means that an applicant would close all applications to other law schools for a guaranteed spot in Loyola. The school does not offer this process.
How much is the application fee, and when is the deadline?
Does the Loyola University Chicago School of Law grant interviews?
Sometimes, law schools will invite students for interviews to supplement or expedite their admissions to the school. Loyola does not offer this option.
Employment After Loyola University Chicago School of Law
After attending law school, most students seek immediate employment so they can begin to pay back their student debt. Graduates from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law can find jobs easily, with the 2019 class enjoying an employment rate of 95%. Only 1% of students in this class are currently working toward another degree.
Many graduates from Loyola practice in Illinois, making the state the top bar jurisdiction for its past and current students. In all, 192 of the 230 Loyola students who took the Illinois bar passed, giving them an average passing rate of 85.4%. These graduates are currently practicing as lawyers primarily for businesses and nonprofits, and a few pursued work in the public sector.
Law firms take the lion's share of Loyola graduates, with a tracer study indicating that 49% of the 2019 class now work in law firms. Their salaries can vary greatly, depending on the complexity of the cases they handle, their volume, and the kinds of clients they advise. The majority of these graduates work in Illinois.
About 24% of the graduates now work in some capacity in the field of business. They might have started law firms with former classmates or simply found work as independent corporate lawyers for Chicago businesses. About 2% found jobs in academics, and chances are high that the same graduates who are pursuing further education are among this group.
The realm of government, policymaking, and public interest took up an aggregate of 20% of Loyola University Chicago School of Law's 2019 graduates. About 14% of them work for the government, and 6% are working for public interests. This is one of the higher ratios of public sector jobs per class, which can be attributed to the school's focus on advocacy and policy work.