For an unprecedented six years in a row, USC Gould School of Law has welcomed a record-setting JD class.
With a median LSAT of 169 and median GPA of 3.91, the Class of 2027 represents the strongest individual and combined academic scores to ever enter the law school, said Associate Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid and Innovation David Kirschner. The new class also has the lowest acceptance rate in USC Gould history, at 12.3%.
“Our new students have already displayed a remarkable level of energy and accomplished a great deal in their lives before coming to study with us,” said Franita Tolson, USC Gould Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law. “We are fortunate to be able to teach such a strong group.”
Change-makers and leaders
The new JD class continues to have representation among Fulbright Scholars, a Peace Corps volunteer, world champion athletes, entrepreneurs, military veterans and more.
Students’ passions range from public interest and social justice-related work, to social entrepreneurship and education reform. The class includes one student who moved to Paris to support refugees via the French Refugee Council; one who led a fundraiser at El Consuelo in Bogota; and students who founded organizations that collect shoes for unhoused individuals and bring art history to schools.
Several class members performed music professionally as solo acts and as part of a group; experienced the entertainment industry from the business side in various roles; and created art in both the traditional sense and as content creators on social media. The class also features military leaders including an executive officer in the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, a cryptologic linguist in the Marine Corps and an Army captain who served as a signal intelligence officer and received a Purple Heart.
Athleticism and entrepreneurship also are abundant among the 1Ls, with both competitive collegiate and professional athletes, from a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader to a nationally ranked equestrian competitor. Numerous students had professional careers before enrolling at USC Gould, with previous employers including law firms, court systems, corporate financial firms, national newspapers and more.
Building on a foundation of excellence
The 201 members of the entering JD class continued the momentum of elevating the USC Gould community. For the sixth year in a row, more than half — 59% — are women, which pays tribute to USC Gould’s history of enrolling women law students even back to its earliest years, when 115 women graduated from Gould between 1900 and 1930, Kirschner said.
A third of the Class of 2027 is the first in their family to receive a college degree or pursue a graduate degree, including two students from the California Pathways to Law program. Almost half self-identify as members of a historically under-represented minority group. The cohort represents 23 different U.S. states, three Canadian provinces and 80 undergraduate institutions, with almost 50 different areas of study, from liberal arts areas like political science and psychology, to STEM disciplines like biology and veterinary science. Of the 30 1Ls who attended USC for their undergraduate degree, a record-setting 12 enrolled in the class as part of the 3+3 program.
In his remarks to the Class of 2027, Kirschner summarized his aspirations for the group: “It is my hope that over the next three years, those of us who you will meet, the faculty and deans, the staff, and your classmates, can help you finish law school just like you started today: with optimism, with a sense of humor and a sense of duty, and with a passion for justice,” he said.
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