MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA—This is orientation week for the 103 members of the Class of 2018 at the West Virginia University College of Law.
Since Monday (August 10), these future lawyers have been learning the ins and outs of law school and getting to know each other and the faculty and staff.
The WVU Law Class of 2018 comes from 14 states and two-thirds are from West Virginia. Students who identify themselves as a minority make up 11 percent of the class and 42 percent are female. The age range is 21 to 49 years old; the median LSAT score is 153; and the median undergraduateGPA is 3.35.
Students in the Class of 2018 graduated from almost every college and university in West Virginia, including WVU, Marshall, Shepherd, Fairmont State, Wheeling Jesuit, and West Virginia Wesleyan.
The Class of 2018 also includes graduates from Boston University, the College of William and Mary, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M, Texas Christian University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Pittsburgh.
Other characteristics of the WVU Law Class of 2018:
• Several veterans;
• Two Eagle Scouts;
• An NCAA Division I baseball player, football player, and rower;
• A rugby player invited to try out for the 2016 Summer Olympic United States Rugby 7’s Team;
• A professional boxer;
• A newlywed couple starting law school together (among the several newlyweds in the class);
• Former Capitol Hill staff members or interns for Senator Joseph Manchin (D-WV), Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), former Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), and former Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA);
• A Ph.D., a doctor of pharmacy and many master’s degree recipients;
• Several former teachers including an assistant professor from Dongguk University in Seoul, Korea;
• A top regional media personality;
• Many are world travelers, including a Peace Corps volunteer and one student who just finished a 17-country tour that included hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro;
• Many speak two or more languages;
• Many were undergraduate student leaders, mock trial participants and Model United Nations members;
• Many have already worked in the legal field; many have also worked as servers and bartenders;
• Many have family members who are WVU Law alumni; many are first generation college students.
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jj/08/12/15
