KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee College of Law has welcomed one of its largest classes in years, with 169 students enrolling. The class of 2013 was selected from more than 1,500 applicants.
Karen R. Britton, director of admissions, financial aid and career services for the College of Law, said the large class is consistent with enrollment trends at law schools nationwide.
“We are seeing greater numbers of students returning to school to pursue a law degree,” Britton said. “The uptick could be due, in part, to the softer economic environment.
“Difficult decisions had to be made with such a deep pool of qualified applicants. We worked hard to include as many candidates as we could and to make law school as accessible as our resources allowed, awarding scholarships to 61.5 percent of this year’s entering class. Students who were not accepted this year are welcome to reapply for future consideration.”
The class also is the most diverse in the college’s history, with 45 students of color that represents 27 percent of the entering class. Class members range in age from 20 to 40. Approximately 40 percent of the class is female and 60 percent is male, tracking the national applicant pool that is predominantly male this year.
This class had a 3.61 undergraduate GPA median, compared to 3.55 last year. With the LSAT median approaching 161, the group is among the most academically distinguished classes in the law school’s long history. Fully 25 percent of class members reported an undergraduate GPA above 3.81 and an LSAT score above 162.
In addition to the 82 percent of the class that hails from Tennessee, students come from 18 additional states, as well as China and Korea. Nearly one-third of class members attended UT Knoxville for their undergraduate degree. In all, the class members graduated from 82 undergraduate institutions.
Douglas A. Blaze, dean of the College of Law, said the breadth and diversity of this year’s entering class enriches the school as a whole.
“The bar is raised each year by our talented students, and not just by their academic potential, which is considerable,” Blaze said. “They have been campus and community leaders, and many had interesting careers in government, journalism, the sciences and engineering before taking on the challenges of law school. Artists, musicians and athletes, former soldiers, analysts and administrators — they bring an array of talent and life experience to the college that will enhance the learning experience for the entire class.”
Applications for admission for the Class of 2014 are available Sept. 1. For more information, visit http://www.law.utk.edu.
CONTACT:
Tanya G. Brown, College of Law Director of Communications, (865-974-6788, tgbrown@utk.edu)
Karen Britton, College of Law Director of Admissions, Financial Aid and Career Services, (865-974-4348, britton@utk.edu)
Kristi Hintz, UT media relations, (865-974-3993, khintz@utk.edu)