MORGANTOWN – Nearly 70 prospective students attended the latest installment of West Virginia University College of Law’s twice-yearly Experience WVU Law Day on Jan. 28.
“The event was very successful,” Beth A. Pierpont, assistant dean for admission and student financial support for the West Virginia University College of Law, told The West Virginia Record.
Pierpont said the prospective students in attendance had the chance to meet with faculty, current students and representatives from the school’s admissions and financial aid departments and to take a tour of the school’s recently remodeled building.
“(The prospective students) learn more about what makes a strong application, how to pay for law school, what types of academic programs and clinics we offer, how our Career Services office will benefit them and they get to hear from current students about their experiences here,” Pierpont said. “They also get to meet other prospective students who may one day become their classmates.”
Pierpont said participants in the Jan. 28 Experience WVU Law Day ranged from college freshmen who are just starting to consider going to law school to students who are already in the application process.
“It’s a chance for us to help students make the right decision about which law school to attend, and to help students feel more confident about their decision to attend law school,” she said.
Ultimately, Pierpont said the college hopes all of the students in attendance consider applying to WVU Law.
The next Experience WVU Law Day will be held during the fall semester.
“This is a good chance for students who are thinking about going to law school to learn more about us and get their questions answered, all in one place,” Pierpont said.
According to information provided by WVU Law, sessions available to students attending the Experience WVU Law days include the application process, academic offerings and career options.
In addition, the college said event participants can also sit in on a “mock law class” as part of the event.
Statistics provided on the WVU Law website show that the average student debt for WVU Law students is $85,063, compared with a $110,310 national average.
In addition, WVU Law boasts an 8-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, as well as a 72.8 percent bar passage required graduate employment rate and a 7.2 percent “JD Advantage,” resulting in a combined rate that is 10 percent higher than the national average, according to American Bar Association statistics for 2015 graduates.
ABA data shows that 50.4 percent of WVU Law students who graduated in 2015 went into private practice, 19.2 percent took on judicial clerkships, 11.9 percent found jobs in business and industry, 10.1 percent worked for the government, 2.7 percent worked in the public interest sector, and 1.8 percent pursued education jobs.
Meanwhile, National Association for Law Placement statistics on the average salary for members of the WVU Law class of 2015 10 months after graduation was $62,700 for those in jobs that required passage of the bar, $60,847 for JD Advantage graduates, with a $35,000 to $135,000 salary range for all WVU Law graduates in all types of jobs.