The Boston University School of Law (BUSL) attracts a diverse student body of top students from across the nation and around the world. Forty-three states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 21 foreign countries are represented. Alumni then take their BUSL educations across the country and worldwide, with 18,700 alumni in 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 73 countries worldwide. BUSL is a community of top legal scholars, teachers, students, and alumni dedicated to providing the finest legal education in the nation. Students learn all about the law in a rigorous but supportive environment. Since its founding in 1872, BUSL has welcomed qualified men and women, without regard to background or belief. BUSL's founding principle is that legal education should emphasize not just theory and analysis but practical applications. This idea still governs the curriculum today.
Since recent entering classes have usually been slightly smaller than 300 people, the student-faculty ratio is superb: 10 to 7. Classes are small, and the faculty's attention to students is renowned. In order to enjoy such attention, students must meet the high standards that have been set by past classes. The average GPA of the class of 2007 was 3.59; the average LSAT score, 164. Even if students do garner such high scores, the chances of their being accepted are still slim. BUSL admits less than 20% of applicants on average. But the end result of a BUSL legal education is virtually unmatched: 100% of students are employed nine months after graduation.
BUSL's world-class library, The Pappas Law Library, contains one of the largest law school research collections in the United States. Students have access to the library's collection of more than 500,000 volumes and microform equivalents, as well as a wide range of law-related CD-ROM titles and educational interactive materials from the Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). The library's resources also include state and federal primary materials, legal periodicals, and a major collection of treatises, as well as specialized collections in international law, intellectual property law, health law, banking law, taxation, and U.S. government publications.
BUSL understands the demands put on students. Far from leaving them to their own devices, the Pappas Law Library has designed programs to assist students with their classes, assignments, and writing. All first-year law students are required to attend library-sponsored training. The First Year Writing Program requires students to attend several training sessions which will prepare them for their research assignments. This training includes an overview of the library collection, an introduction to online legal research, and Lexis Nexis and Westlaw hands-on training. The Pappas Law Library's website features tutorials to assist students with their research projects. One tutorial, "Research Road Map," provides step-by-step instructions on how to select a topic, conduct research, and write a final paper. If a student needs more personalized assistance, reference librarians and elective classes are available. At BUSL, help, support, and guidance are always accessible.
BUSL is home to respected centers for advanced research, scholarship, and service to the public and the legal profession. Professors Robert and Ann Seidman developed BUSL's first distance (Internet) learning course, The International Distance Legislative Drafting Program. The program teaches legislative drafting to third-world and transitional countries who wish to research, draft, and implement effective legislation for their countries. The Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law conducts specialized research and provides continuing education in banking and financial services law. The center publishes the Annual Review of Banking & Financial Law, one of the six student-run scholarly journals at BUSL. The other journals run by J.D. students include the Boston University Law Review, the American Journal of Law & Medicine, the Boston University International Law Journal, the Journal of Science & Technology Law, and the Public Interest Law Journal. As writing is an integral aspect in the field of law, journal membership fosters research, writing, and analytical skills.
Although clinical programs are offered by most every law school, the clinics at BUSL differ greatly. BUSL was one of the first law schools in the nation to staff its clinical programs with full-time faculty, and most of the current clinical professors now have more than 20 years of courtroom and teaching experience. In the clinics, students perform the work of professional attorneys, representing real clients in real cases, from initial interview to final courtroom summation. These programs provide a rare opportunity to practice law while receiving close, personal supervision and training from highly qualified, full-time faculty. The student-faculty ratio here is 8 to 1, allowing faculty to closely supervise student work and serve simultaneously as mentors and as colleagues. The clinical experience for BUSL is a cut above other clinical programs.
The Boston University School of Law has no need to toot its own horn. BUSL has received rave reviews from some top authorities. The Best Law Schools, a Princeton Review Guide, has named BUSL's faculty "The Best Teaching Faculty in America" for five consecutive years. BUSL's programs have consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation. The training given to students in ethics and moral and political theory ranks among the top six in the country. The students themselves sing the praises of BUSL. The Princeton Review recently surveyed the opinions of more than 7,000 students at 117 law schools about the quality of their experiences. Based on the students' responses, BUSL scored 6th in Best Overall Academic Experience and 4th in Best Career Prospects. The nationally recognized Boston University School of Law is an excellent choice for a superior legal education.
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