KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee College of Law has welcomed its most diverse class in the college’s history. Of the 160 students enrolled for the Class of 2014, 46 of them, or 29 percent, are students of color.
Class members range in age from 21 to 65. Approximately 42 percent of the class is female and 58 percent is male, tracking the national applicant pool that is predominantly male this year. The Class of 2014, one of the college’s largest, was selected from nearly 1,300 applicants.
This class had a 3.53 undergraduate GPA median and an LSAT median of 160. In addition to the 87 percent of the class that hails from Tennessee, students come from 15 other states. Nearly 50 class members attended UT Knoxville for their undergraduate degrees. In all, class members graduated from 75 undergraduate institutions.
Douglas A. Blaze, dean of the college, said the breadth and diversity of this year’s entering class enriches the school as a whole.
“For the first time in the history of the College of Law, nearly one-third of the students in our entering class are students of color,” Blaze said. “Recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 25 public law schools with a diverse student body, the number of talented students at UT Law who hail from a variety of backgrounds continues to grow. From academic leaders fresh out of college to seasoned professionals heading in new directions, our new first-year students bring a combination of enthusiasm and determination that will enrich UT’s entire student body.”
Karen R. Britton, director of admissions, financial aid and career services for the college, said that despite economic concerns worldwide, competition for admittance into this year’s class was strong.
“Difficult decisions had to be made with such a deep pool of qualified candidates who applied to study here,” Britton said. “Applicants who were not admitted this year are welcome to reactivate their applications for the Class of 2015.”
Britton said a large portion of admitted students received scholarship funding to help pay for their studies.
“Forty-three percent of the entering class members received a scholarship for the first year,” Britton said. “All scholarships offered are renewable for the second and third years of law school, provided the student remains in good academic standing.”
Applications for admissions for the Class of 2015 are now available.
Visit http://www.law.utk.edu to learn about UT and www.lsac.org to learn about the LSAT examination and the admission process.
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C O N T A C T :
Tanya G. Brown, Director of Communications, College of Law, 865-974-6788, tgbrown@utk.edu
Karen Britton, Director of Admissions, Financial Aid and Career Services, College of Law, 865-974-4131 , britton@utk.ed