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J.D. Class of 2023

 

J.D. Class of 2023 (first-year students 2020-21)

As of August 20, 2020 

  • 5,181 applicants
  • 182 students (three first-year sections of about 60 students)
  • 62% women
  • 22% minority
  • 23 median age
  • 31 states; Washington, D.C.; Canada; and Korea represented   | LIST |
  • 104 undergraduate schools represented   | LIST |
  • 11 students (6%) hold advanced degrees: M.A. (5); M.S.(4); M.P.A.; Ph.D.

 

Experience counts               

The majority of the Class of 2023 (65%) graduated college at least one year before entering VLS; 22% were age 25 to 31 at entry. Collectively, the members of the class bring a wealth of experience in a variety of areas. Their backgrounds include business, science, education, technology, service, public policy, and graduate training in a number of fields.

 

Members of the Class of 2023...                  

... have worked for law firms or in-house counsel (sample):

Alexandria, VA; Arlington Heights, IL; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Bardstown, KY; Berkeley, CA; Bethesda, MD; Birmingham, AL; Blacksburg, VA; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Cary, NC; Chattanooga, TN; Chicago, IL; Clarksburg, WV; College Station, TX; Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, SC; Costa Mesa, CA; Cut Off, LA; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Evansville, IN; Fort Worth, TX; Gaithersburg, MD; Greenville, SC; Houston, TX; Irvine, CA; Kansas City, MO; London, England; Los Angeles, CA; Miami Lakes, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Norman, OK; Oakland, CA; Oklahoma City, OK; Orlando, FL; Oxford, MS; Paris, France; Plainview, NY; Plainview, NY; Pottsville, PA; Provo, UT; Raynham, MA; San Francisco, CA; Santa Ana, CA; Silver Spring, MD; St. Augustine, FL; Tallahassee, FL; Tampa, FL; Toledo, OH; Tupelo, MS; Tuscaloosa, AL; Washington, D.C.; West Hollywood, CA; Westbury, NY; Wheaton, IL

 

... have worked for government, prosecutors, public defenders, courts or municipalities (sample):

18th Judicial District Attorney's Office; Adams County Common Pleas Court, OH; Adams County Prosecutor's Office, OH; Arlington County Police Department, VA; Auglaize County Juvenile Probation, OH; California State Assembly; Canadian Parliament; Cobb County District Attorney's Office, GA; Cook County State Attorney's Office, IL; Council on Foreign Relations; DeKalb Probate Court, Decatur, GA; Executive Office of the President of the United States; Federal Housing Finance Agency; Florida Democratic Party; Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, Richmond, TX; Georgia House Democratic Caucus; Illinois Department of Transportation; Indiana State Senate; Kent County GOP, MI; LA County Department of Coroner; Maryland Office of the Public Defender; Massachusetts State House; Mecklenburg County Public Defender, NC; Minnesota State Senate; Nashville Mayor's Office; Nassau County Courthouse; Nassau District Attorney's Office; New York State Attorney General's Office; New York State Supreme Court; North Carolina General Assembly; Office of the Speaker, PA House of Representatives; Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial District, Tampa, FL; Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission; Paducah City Commissioner; Philadelphia District Attorney's Office; Public Defender 2nd Judicial Circuit, FL; Republican National Committee; Republican Party of Texas; Scottish Parliament; Shelby County Trustee's Office; Speaker Paul Ryan's Office; Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles; Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia; Tarrant County Criminal Court 9, Fort Worth, TX; Tennessee GOP; Tennessee State Senator; The Manufactured Housing Institute; Tulsa County Public Defender's Office; United Nations; United States Attorney's Office; United States District Court for the Western District of Washington; United States Office of Public Counsel; United States House of Representatives; United States Senate; US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas; US Chamber of Commerce; US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit; US Department of Education; US Department of State; US Postal Inspection Service; US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; West Virginia State Senate; White House Initiative of Education Excellence

 

... have worked for public interest organizations, non-profits, or NGOs (sample):

ACLU; Advocates Abroad, Greece; American Jewish Committee; Bergen County Justice Center; Brennan Center for Justice at NYU; Camp Kesem; Center for Child and Family Policy, Durham, NC; Center for Education Policy Research, Cambridge, MA; City Year (AmeriCorps); College Advising Corps (AmeriCorps); Corporate Accountability, Boston, MA; Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); Cure Rare Disease, Boston, MA; Doctors Without Borders; End Citizen's United; Family Violence Law Center, Oakland, CA; Ford Foundation; GirlForward, Chicago; Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Austin, TX; Global Water 2020; GlobalGiving; Habitat for Humanity; HIAS Pennsylvania; Homeless Women's Project, Boston, MA; Hudson Institute; Human Rights Office & Women's Legal Aid Center (Tanzania); IDEO.org; International Aid; Network, Serbia; International Institute of New England; JusticeCorps Los Angeles; Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC), San Francisco; NAACP; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Network for Youth; National Safety Council; National Security Action; Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County; New Sector Alliance, San Francisco; Our Children, Our Future (WV); Panetta Institute for Public Policy; Planned Parenthood; Project Hope, Philippines; Project SAVE, New Orleans, LA; Refugee One, Chicago; Ronald McDonald House; San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (SDCCOI); Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee; Smile Train International Children's Charity; Smith's Women's Empowerment Institute; Social Science Research Council; Someone You Know; Tennessee Justice Center; Tennessee Post-Conviction Defender; The Children's Assessment Center; The International Rescue Committee; The Legal Aid Society, NY; The Prajnya Trust, India; Trenton Prevention Policy Board; UNICEF; USAID; Whatever it Takes, Athens, GA

 

...have lived, worked or studied in:

Afghanistan; Australia 2; Austria  2; Belgium; Canada; Cambodia; Chile 4; China 2; Cuba; Czech Republic 4; Dominica; Ecuador; El Salvador; France 7; Germany 4; Greece; Hungary; India 3; Iraq; Ireland  3; Israel 3; Italy 13; Jamaica; Japan 4; Mexico; Morocco 2; Netherlands 2; Nigeria; Peru 2; Philippines; Russia 3; Serbia; South Africa 3; Spain 12; Switzerland 2; Thailand; Trinidad & Tobago; Turkey; Uganda; UK 20; Vietnam 

 

... know these languages: 

Arabic 3; Chinese 3; Creole; Czech 2; Dutch; Esan; French 14; German 4; Haitian Creole 2; Hebrew; Hindi 3; Igbo; Italian 3; Japanese  3; Kannada; Korean 3; Latin 4; Marathi; Portuguese 2; Russian; Spanish 24; Swedish 2; Tamil; Telugu  2

 

Fun Facts 

 

  • 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do     
  • Adjunct Professor (2)
  • Admissions Tour Guides
  • Advanced diving certified             
  • Aerial Silks          
  • Avalanche Safety Qualified          
  • Baker   
  • Ballroom Dance Instructor          
  • Barista 
  • Baseball Umpire              
  • Black Belt in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.              
  • Black Belt in Tang Soo Do Karate              
  • Blogger for American Quarter Horse Association
  • Bookstore Owner           
  • Calligrapher       
  • Clarinet player  
  • Co-founder of health and wellness startup           
  • College Cheerleading    
  • College Golf       
  • College Newspaper Editor           
  • College Soccer Team      
  • College Softball Team    
  • College Track and Field Team     
  • Color Guard       
  • Competitive Horseback Rider (2)
  • Consultant         
  • Dog parents      
  • Drum Major      
  • Eagle Scout (4)
  • Electric guitarist               
  • Emergency Medical Responder 
  • Extreme Grilling
  • Fencing                
  • Flutist   
  • Former Level 10 Gymnast           
  • Gallery featured artist   
  • Gardener            
  • Grand Ole Opry Tour guide         
  • Guitar  
  • Harry Potter Enthusiast
  • Her Campus Writer (2)
  • International English Teachers (Japan)            
  • Jiu-jitsu instructor           
  • Key chain collector          
  • Landscaper        
  • Latte artist         
  • Marathon Runner           
  • Monologue Director      
  • Musical theater stage manager 
  • Notary Public for State of NY      
  • Pianist  
  • Piccolo player   
  • Podcast Assistant Producer         
  • Powerlifting      
  • Rock climber/Boulderer (2)
  • Scuba Diver       
  • Second Degree Black Belt            
  • Sex Educator     
  • Sketch Comedy Group  
  • Sports Reporter (3)
  • Tea Enthusiast  
  • Teach for America (5)
  • Tennis coach      
  • TESL/TESOL Teacher      
  • US Army (3)
  • Violinist               
  • Watercolor Painter         
  • Weightlifter       
  • Wilderness Guide           
  • Wine steward   
  • Woodworking  
  • Yacht detailer

 

A tradition of excellence               

While the members of the Class of 2023 comprise a diverse group in multiple dimensions, they share a common bond of academic excellence. As the following statistics indicate, they excelled in their undergraduate studies and show outstanding promise for law studies.

 

J.D. Class of 2023:               

  • 75th percentile GPA: 3.91
  • Median GPA: 3.82
  • 25th percentile GPA: 3.66
  • 75th percentile LSAT: 168 (96th percentile among test-takers)
  • Median LSAT: 167 (94th percentile among test-takers)
  • 25th percentile LSAT: 162 (85th percentile among test-takers)

             

Historic J.D. entering class statistics and links to prior class profiles