Brief Summary
Recent News
Whittier Law School is located in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. Whittier is a fourth tier law school. Whittier recently was on probation by the ABA and could have possibly lost its ABA accreditation, but made significant changes. Whittier not only kept its accreditation but made so many positive changes that the ABA voted to release Whittier from its probationary status earlier than anticipated. Recently, Whittier Law School has greatly improved their bar passage rate.
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Whittier Law School
Location
Whittier Law School's location in Orange County California makes it a great place to live and play, but not the most optimal place for obtaining a legal position. Orange County does not have a huge legal community, but it is growing and has a U.S. District Court and a U.S. Bankruptcy Court (both located in Santa Ana about 6 miles away from Whittier). Most legal jobs are in Irvine, California where approximately 19 large law firms have offices; Irvine is about 6 miles from Whittier.
Newport and Hunington Beach are about 8 miles away from Whittier. These beaches are great areas to hang out to relax, but can be very expensive to live in (e.g. $1100 for a studio). However, there are less expensive places to live near the school e.g. Fountain Valley. The school is located in a business district.
Campus
Whittier Law School moved to its Costa Mesa campus in 1997. The campus was a large office complex converted to house the law school. It is fairly modern, but not too aesthetically pleasing. There is a small cafeteria that has hot food for a reasonable price. The law library is large with a many computers available for students. There is also plenty of parking. It is a commuter campus as there is no residential area nearby nor dormitories on campus, although the school plans to add dormitories in the future.
Grading System
Whittier Law School has a notoriously difficult grading system. The grading system is based on a 100 point system with a corresponding letter grade. The point system and corresponding letter grades are as follows:
A = 95 to 100 points
B = 85 to 94 points
C = 77 to 84 points
C- = 75 to 76 points
D = 65 to 74 points
F = 55 to 64 points
For most first year courses the forced grading curve requires that each course has the following grades:
A= 0-10% of the course grades
B's= 15-25% of the course grades
A's and B's= 15-30% of the course grades
C's= 35-65% of the course grades
D's= 20-35% of the course grades
F's= 0-10% of the course grades
D's and F's= 20-35% of the course grades
The average grade for each first year course must be within the 77 to 81 point range. Meaning, the curve is within the C+ to B- range. This seems very difficult especially considering that at leat 20% of the class must fail and possibly more than 35% will fail the course.
For Second and Third year courses with more than 21 students, the following forced grading curve applies:
A's= 0-10% of the course grades
B's= 15-25% of the course grades
A's and B's= 20-30% of the course grades
C's= 50-75% of the course grades
D's= 5-20% of the course grades
F's= 0-10% of the course grades
D's and F's= 5-20% of the course grades
The average grade for each second and third year course must be within the 77 to 83 point range.
Any student that earns less than an average 77 for the first semester will be placed on academic probation and may be dismissed if the student's average does not rise to a 77 or above at the end of the second semester.
Overall, the grading curve seems very difficult. Although, the second and third year curve is easier it is still a C+ to B- curve. The law school does not have a 4.0 scale thus it seems it may be difficult for many prospective employers to read through the grading system. It seems odd that a 77 is barely a C grade and a 76 is a C-, and a 70-74 is a D (failing) grade; of course you should not be satisfied with a 74 grade, but it should represent a solid C as it does in almost all the other grading systems in every other law school in the country.
This seemingly difficult grading curve may prevent some graduates from earning associate positions as their grades may be lower than expected for prospective associates.
Whittier's Administration Building
Whittier's Law Library Building
| |
Whittier Law School |
|
Public or
Private
|
Private
|
| Tuition |
$33,900 |
|
Acceptance
Rate
|
59% |
|
State
Bar
Pass Rate
|
California, July 2008
84.6%
(Avg.
CA bar pass rate for all CA ABA law schools, 83%.)
(Avg. Bar Pass rate for all first time takers, 75%)
|
|
Employment
Rate after
9 mos. from
Graduation
|
92.1% |
|
Employment
Rate
at
Graduation
|
Statistic not available
from School
|
|
Average Salary for
Graduates in
the Private Sector
|
$70,000
|
|
Student Body
Population
|
372
|
|
LSAT score
bottom
25th percentile of
incoming class
|
149
|
|
LSAT score
top
25th percentile of
incoming class
|
153
|
|
Median LSAT
of incoming class
|
151
|
|
Bottom 25th
percentile of
incoming class
undergraduate
GPA (UGPA)
|
2.62
|
|
Top 25th
percentile of
incoming class
UGPA
|
3.12 |
| Median
UGPA |
2.99 |
Whittier Law School's July 2008 California Bar Pass Rate Highest ever for the school:
Whittier Law School's first time taker's bar pass rate for the California July 2008 exam was 84.6 percent; 1.6 percent above the first time pass rate for all California ABA law schools.
Whittier Law School will have a new dean in July 2009
Whittier Law School's departing Dean Neil Cogan will be replaced by University of Denver law professor Penelope Bryan. Dean Cogan has been the Dean of Whittier Law School since 2001.
Whittier Law School Reccomended by ABA council to be placed off Probation
On April 17, 2008 the ABA Accreditation reccomended that the ABA remove Whittier from its probationary status. Under the new ABA rule for bar passage rates Whittier is in full compliance for 2003 until 2007.
Whittier Law School's Probationary Status Extended
On Aug., 10 2007 Whittier's probationary status was extended by the ABA until Feb., 15 2009.
Whittier Law School Placed on Probation
On Aug., 9 2005 Whittier was placed on probationary status by the ABA for two years citing a low bar passage rate and a lack of a substantive legal writing requirement for graduation.