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University of Chicago law school
The University of Chicago Law School is the graduate school of law at theUniversity of Chicago. It was founded in 1902 by a coalition of donors led by John D. Rockefeller,[2] and is consistently one of the highest-rated law schools in the United States. The U.S. News & World Report ranks it fifth among U.S. law schools, and it is noted particularly for its influence on the economic analysis of law.[3]
D'Angelo Law Library
The D'Angelo Law Library is part of the greater University of Chicago library system. Renovated in 2006, it features a spacious second-story reading room accessible by staircase made of steel, glass, and mahogany. Its upper floors are furnished with Modernist architect Eero Saarinen's Tulip and Womb chairs and Pedestal tables.
The Law Library is open 90 hours per week and employs the equivalent of 10 full-time librarians. It has study space for 483, a wireless network, and 26 networked computers available to students.
Admission
Admission to The University of Chicago Law School is highly selective and enrolls approximately 185 new students each fall. According to its most recent ABA profile, Chicago received 5,579 applications and sent 849 offers. The Fall 2011 entering class has a median GPA of 3.87 and a median LSAT of 171.[6]
Grading
The University of Chicago Law School employs an exclusive grading system that places students on a scale of 155-186. The scale was 55-86 prior to 2003, but since then the school has utilized a prefix of "1" to eliminate confusion with the traditional 100 point grading scale. These numerical grades convert to the more familiar alphabetical scale roughly as follows: 155-159 = F, 160-167 = D, 168-173 = C, 174-179 = B, 180-186 = A. For classes of more than 10 students, professors are required to set the median grade at 177, with the number of grades above a 180 approximately equaling the number of grades below a 173.
In a 21 June 2010 article in The New York Times, business writer Catherine Rampell criticized other schools' problems with grade inflation, but commended Chicago's system, saying "[Chicago] has managed to maintain the integrity of its grades."[7]
A student graduates "with honors" if a final average of 179 is attained, "with high honors" if a final average of 180.5 is attained, and "with highest honors" if a final average of 182 is attained. The last of these achievements is rare; typically only one student every few years will attain the requisite 182 average. Additionally, the Law School awards two honors at graduation that are based on class rank. Of the students who earned at the Law School at least 79 of the 105 credits required to graduate, the top 10% are elected to the "Order of the Coif."[8] Students finishing their first or second years in the top 5% of their class, or graduating in the top 10%, are honored as "Kirkland and Ellis Scholars"[9] (a designation created in 2006 by a $7 million donation from the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis).[10]
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