PRELAW HANDBOOK - Florida Law Schools

FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
SUMMARY

TOPICS

FIVE YEAR RANKINGS
DATA ON FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS.

ACADEMIC INFORMATION

RANKINGS

GETTING IN

FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
FIVE YEAR RANKINGS

Florida has ten law schools:

Nine are fully accredited (Florida A&M is only provisionally accredited).

LAW SCHOOL 2003 2007 2008 2009 2010

U Florida 47.0 41.0 48.5 48.0 51.0

Florida State U 66.0 54.5 54.5 56.5 53.0

U Miami 84.5 67.0 73.0 84.5 72.5

Stetson Tier 3 102 102 Tier 3

Florida
International NR NR Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 4

Barry U NR Tier 4 Tier 4 Tier 4

St Thomas U

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Florida Coastal

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Nova
Southeastern U

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Tier 4

Florida A&M
(FAMU)

NR

NR

NR

Tier 4

Tier 4



THE 2008 (APRIL 9, 2007)
DATA ON FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS

JUDGE/

2006

2006

2006

PEER

LAWYER

GPA

LSAT

2006

Student/

USN

SCORE

SCORE

25th-75th

25th-75th

Acceptance

Factuly

RANK

LAW SCHOOL

5.0 max

5.0 max

Percentile

Percentile

Rate

Ratio

48.5

U Florida

3.1

3.5

3.42-3.83

155-161

41.2%

17.6

54.5

Florida State U

2.8

3.0

3.26-3.74

158-161

24.3%

13.8

73

U Miami

2.8

3.0

3.25-3.66

156-160

49.7%

18.2

102

Stetson U

2.1

2.6

3.19-3.62

152-157

28.6%

17.0

Tier 3

Florida International U

1.5

1.6

3.01-3.65

153-156

21.6%

15.7

Tier 4

Nova Southeastern U

1.8

1.9

2.94-3.47

149-153

34.4%

13.9

Tier 4

St. Thomas U

1.4

2.1

2.70-3.38

147-152

42.2%

18.7

Tier 4

Florida Coastal

1.3

1.7

2.89-3.49

149-154

47.9%

20.3

Tier 4

Barry U

1.2

1.2

2.85-3.38

147-151

48.8%

16.5

Florida A&M (FAMU)

2.78-3.40

141-147

52.0%

15.9

THE 2008 (APRIL 9, 2007)
RANKING OF FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
BY SELECTIVITY

The rank can vary from 1 (highest) to 184 (lowest)

USA

GPA

GPA

GPA

LSAT

LSAT

LSAT

Selec-

USN

USN

25th-75th

25th Pct

75th Pct

25th-75th

25th Pct

75th Pct

tivity

RANK

SCORE

LAW SCHOOL

Percentile

Rank

Rank

Percentile

Rank

Rank

Rank

48.5

52

U Florida

3.42-3.83

20.0

17.0

155-161

92

78

51

54.5

48

Florida State U

3.26-3.74

61.0

56.5

158-161

56.5

78

60

73

43

U Miami

3.25-3.66

64.5

97.0

156-160

79

92.5

86

102

37

Stetson U

3.19-3.62

83.0

115.0

152-157

129.5

131.5

125

Tier 3

Florida International U

3.01-3.65

139.5

103.0

153-156

117

148

131

Tier 4

Florida Coastal SL

2.89-3.49

168.5

161.0

149-154

169

168

167

Tier 4

Nova Southeastern U

2.94-3.47

161.0

165.0

149-153

169

173.5

169

Tier 4

Barry U

2.85-3.38

173.5

178.5

147-151

178.5

182

177

Tier 4

St. Thomas U

2.70-3.38

181.0

178.5

147-152

178.5

178.5

180

Florida A&M University

2.78-3.40

178.0

174.5

141-147

185

185

184

Florida Average

123.0

124.6

135.4

141.5

133.0

U. S. Average

92.5

92.5

92.5

92.5

92.5

FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
2010 RANKINGS

LAW SCHOOL RANKINGS. LAW SCHOOL RANKINGS. U.S. News and World Report annually (second week in April) ranks law schools. "To be listed, a law school must be accredited and fully approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and must draw most of its students from the United States;" note that FAMU is excluded since they have not been accredited and fully approved by the ABA. The only Florida Law Schools in the top 102 (top half) according to this ranking are:
          University of Florida 48.5(April 2007), 41 (April 2006); 43.5 (April 2005).
          Florida State University 54.5 (April 2007), 54.5 (April 2006); 56.5 (April 2005).
          University of Miami 67 (April 2006); 74.5 (April 2005)

          Stetson University: 102 (April 2007); 102-136 (April, 2006), 103-136 (April 2005).
Each of the top three law schools listed above is on the campus of a large university with an excellent football program. Unfortunately these universities do not have law schools that their football teams can be proud of.
FLORIDA LAW SCHOOL RANKING PREDICTIONS. It is probably safe to say that the University of Florida College of Law, the Florida State University College of Law, and the University of Miami School of Law will, in some order, retain the top three spots among Florida law schools for years to come.
     The Stetson University College of Law is located in Gulfport (near St. Petersburg and in the "vibrant Tampa Bay area") whereas the main campus of Stetson University is in DeLand, about 125 miles away. The Stetson University College of Law ranked in the third quartile (103-136) of the U.S. News and World Report Law School Ranking.
     In the third quartile (106-139) we have Florida International University. In the fourth, and last tier (139-184), we have the law schools ranked no better than 137, we find, in alphabetical order, Barry University, Florida Coastal School of Law, Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center, and St. Thomas University School of Law. One can only expect that these Florida law schools presently in the fourth tier will, at least for the near future, remain in the fourthtier.
     Florida International University, which opened in 1972, is a university on the move (or they have a great PR department). It is not unrealistic to expect that within five to ten years, the FIU College of Law will rise to fourth or fifth in a ranking of the Florida law schools.
     The Barry University School of Law is located in Orlando whereas the main campus is in Miami Shores.
     The Florida Coastal School of Law is the only for-profit law school that has received full ABA accreditation; this occurred in August 2002.
U.S. NEWS NATIONAL RANKING of THE TOP 111 NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES. U.S. News and World Report annually (August or September) ranks colleges and universities. The most prestigious categories are Best National Universities and Best Liberal Arts Colleges. For Best National Universities, only the top 114, 115, or 111 were listed in the past two years. The only Florida Law Schools among the top 115 according to this ranking are:

COLLEGE Aug 2007 Aug 2006 Aug 2005 Aug 2004

U Florida 49 49 50.5 50.5

U Miami 52.5 55 56 59.5

Florda State 114.5 110.5 111.5 113

INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS OF UNIVERSITIES. The Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University produced, in 2004, Academic Ratings of World Universities (ARWU). Note that ARWU is an academic rating of world universities, not a rating of law schools. ARWU, which I believe has merit, indicates their top 500. In this rating, six Florida universities (the four in bold have a law school) were mentioned:
          University of Florida (Rank 67)
          University of Miami (Rank 101-152)
          Florida State University (Rank 153-201)
          University of South Florida (Rank 202-301)
          Florida International University (Rank 404-502)
          University of Central Florida (Rank 404-502)

FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
ACADEMIC INFORMATION

ABA-LSAC ABA-LSAC

OFFICIAL GUIDE OFFICIAL GUIDE

LAW SCHOOL 2008 EDITION 2005 EDITION

University of Florida

Gainesville

     Student/Faculty Ratio      17.6 to 1        14.8 to 1

     Number of first year students          450           375

     Attrition Rate (First Year)           0.5            2.1

     Attrition Rate (Second Year)           0.5            1.2

     Tranfer in            0      Not available

     Transfer Out            2      Not available

     Bar Passage Rate           83            85

     Male (Percent of all students):        53.4           53.7

     Full Time (Percent)        100           100

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile         155 - 161        153 - 161

     LSAT Median          159      Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile      3.42 - 3.83        3.32 - 3.80

     GPA Median          3.66      Not available

     Acceptance Rate         41.18          18.00

     Yield Rate         42.82           47.61

     Tuition and Fees (Resident)        $9,861          $6,431

     Tuition and Fees (Nonresident)       $29,227         $23,035

Florida State University

Tallahassee

     Student/Faculty Ratio 13.8 to 1 16.3 to 1

     Number of first-year students 195 243

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 4.4 3.4

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 0.0 1.0

     Tranfer in 59 Not available

     Transfer Out 11 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 79 88

     Male (Percent of all students): 60.1 52.7

     Full Time (Percent) 100 100

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 158 - 161 154 - 159

     LSAT Median 159 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile       3.26 - 3.74 3.32 - 3.75

     GPA Median 3.46 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 24.33 21.21

     Yield Rate 24.32 32.61

     Tuition and Fees (resident) $9,837 $6,374

     Tuition and Fees (nonresident) $29,849 $23,570

University of Miami

Coral Gables

     Student/Faculty Ratio 18.2 to 1 20.7 to 1

     Number of first-year students 450 398

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 10.1 2.3

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 0.5 11.3

     Tranfer in 20.0 Not available

     Transfer Out 30 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 88 82

     Male (Percent of all students): 56.5 51.7

     Full Time (Percent) 96.3 96.5

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 156 - 160 154 - 160

     LSAT Median 158 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 3.25 - 3.66 3.14 -3.55

     GPA Median 3.47 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 48.98 33.86

     Yield Rate 17.95 23.85

     Tuition and Fees $32,820 $27,912

Stetson University

Gulfport

     Student/Faculty Ratio 17.0 to 1 18.7 to 1

     Number of first-year students 358 359

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 4.1 14.7

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 5.0 0.0

     Tranfer in 2 Not available

     Transfer Out 10 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 77 85

     Male (Percent of all students): 46.9 45.7

     Full Time (Percent) 78.0 85.1

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 152-157 149 - 156

     LSAT Median 155 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 3.19 - 3.62 3.07 - 3.56

     GPA Median 3.44 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 28.61 31.74

     Yield Rate 35.68 29.91

     Tuition and Fees $27,860 $24,104

Florida International University

Miami

     Student/Faculty Ratio 15.7 to 1 Not available

     Number of first-year students 176 Not available

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 23.3 Not available

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 0.0 Not available

     Tranfer in 7 Not available

     Transfer Out 2 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 78 Not available

     Male (Percent of all students): 54.2 Not available

     Full Time (Percent) 62.0 Not available

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 153 -156 Not available

     LSAT Median 155 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 2.99 - 3.63 Not available

     GPA Median 3.31 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 21.61 Not available

     Yield Rate 32.50 Not available

     Tuition and Fees (Resident) $8,801 Not available

     Tuition and Fees (Nonresident) $23,061 Not available

Nova Southeastern U

Fort Lauderdale

     Student/Faculty Ratio 13.9 to 1 15.8 to 1

     Number of first-year students 326 336.0

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 21.8 9.9

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 4.7 1.8

     Tranfer in 16 Not available

     Transfer Out 22 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 64 72

     Male (Percent of all students): 49.5 50.5

     Full Time (Percent) 80.4 79.3

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT (25th-75th Percentile) 149 - 153 146 -152

     LSAT Median 151 Not available

     GPA (25th-75th Percentile) 2.94 - 3.47 2.82 - 3.32

     GPA Median 3.19 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 34.36 34.70

     Yield Rate 31.75 42.06

     Tuition and Fees $27,550 $22,500

St. Thomas U

Miami Gardens

     Student/Faculty Ratio 18.8 to 1 32.2 to 1

     Number of first year students 228 298

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 28.5 24.3

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 2.6 5.5

     Tranfer in 1 Not available

     Transfer Out 42 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 53 53

     Male (Percent of all students): 51.2 52.2

     Full Time (Percent) 100 100

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 147 - 152 148 - 152

     LSAT Median 150 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 2.70 - 3.38 3.56 - 3.21

     GPA: Median 3.04 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 42.17 42.75

     Yield Rate 20.15 40.54

     Tuition and Fees (in dollars) $26,580 $24,700

Florida Coastal

Jacksonville

     Student/Faculty Ratio 20.3 to 1 19.7 to 1

     Number of first-year students 561 423

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 23.7 7.9

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 8.3 0.0

     Tranfer in 7 Not available

     Transfer Out 30 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 80 75.0

     Male (Percent of all students): 53.4 54.3

     Full Time (Percent) 83.4 60.0

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 149 -154 149 -154

     LSAT: Median 151 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 2.89 - 3.49 2.65 - 3.30

     GPA: Median 3.22 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 47.87 35.37

     Yield Rate 26.30 13.80

     Tuition and Fees (in dollars) $27,088 $22,260

Barry University

Orlando

     Student/Faculty Ratio 16.6 to 1 19.4 to 1

     Number of first-year students 202 176

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 27.6 5.3

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 3.4 6.6

     Tranfer in 4 Not available

     Transfer Out 17 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 60 40

     Male (Percent of all students): 51.0 52.9

     Full Time (Percent) 72.3 56.8

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 147 -151 145 - 152

     LSAT: Median 149 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 2.85 - 3.38 2.74 - 3.37

     GPA: Median 3.16 Not available

     Acceptance Rate 48.80 43.60

     Yield Rate 48.84 39.06

     Tuition and Fees $27,560 $23,600

Florida A&M University

Orlando

     Student/Faculty Ratio 15.9 to 1 Not available

     Number of first-year students 336 Not available

     Attrition Rate (First Year) 8.7 Not available

     Attrition Rate (Second Year) 3.8 Not available

     Tranfer in 0 Not available

     Transfer Out 7 Not available

     Bar Passage Rate 54 Not available

     Male (Percent of all students): 42.0 Not available

     Full Time (Percent) 62.1 Not available

The following applies to full-time students only

     LSAT: 25th-75th Percentile 141 - 147 Not available

     LSAT: Median 143 Not available

     GPA: 25th-75th Percentile 2.78 - 3.40 Not available

     GPA: Median 3.08 Not available

     Acceptance Rate $51.98 Not available

     Yield Rate 41.13 Not available

     Tuition and Fees (Resident) $7,567 Not available

     Tuition and Fees (Nonresident) $26,828 Not available

FLORIDA LAW SCHOOLS
ACCREDITATION INFORMATION

Florida has ten law schools: nine fully accredited and one only provisionally accredited (Florida A&M University, a/k/a FAMU).
ABOUT PROVISIONAL ACCREDITATION. Provisional accreditation for a college of law signifies that the college of law substantially complies with all of the ABA's Standards for the Approval of Law Schools and has presented a reliable plan to achieve full compliance with those standards within three years. Under ABA rules, a student at a provisionally approved law school and any individual who graduates while the school is provisionally approved are entitled to the same recognition given to students and graduates of fully approved law schools. Provisionally approved law schools are closely monitored by the ABA and remain in provisional status for at least three years.