FAMU Law boosts first-year student enrollment by 44 percent

1Ls participate in Oath of Professionalism Ceremony during Foundations for Law School Success

Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law welcomed 219 new students for the 2017-2018 academic year, increasing enrollment by 44 percent from 152 students in the 2016-2017 academic year.

Interim Dean LeRoy Pernell credited recent national recognition for diversity and academic performance as well as an enhanced recruiting initiative for the enrollment increase.

“Alumni and friends of the FAMU College of Law have long known that we provide a quality legal education program,” Pernell said. “Now, with mainstream publications listing us in top-level rankings, and our recruiters spreading the word nationwide, more and more students are learning about our value and enrolling at FAMU Law.”

FAMU College of Law was ranked among the Top 10 in the nation for diversity in the winter 2017 issue of PreLaw Magazine and in the Top 10 in the nation for Law School Diversity for the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Grad Schools Rankings. FAMU Law was also ranked among the Top Five in the nation for bar exam outperformance based on LSAT scores and other indicators, and among the Top 40 law schools for bar preparation in the winter 2017 issue of PreLaw Magazine.

The 2017 entering class includes represents a wide range of diversity with a make-up of 45 percent Black/African American, 29 percent Caucasian/White, 19 percent Hispanic/Latino and 8 percent Asian. Students in the first-year class range in age from 20 to 67 and the gender breakdown is 63 percent female and 37 percent male.

While some students have come to FAMU Law immediately after acquiring an undergraduate degree, many students are pursuing law as a second career. The class features a human resources consultant in international business and a father and daughter in the full-time day program, along with a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper in the part-time evening program.

A total of 18 states and 76 colleges are represented in the 2017 entering class, including 13 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Expanded recruiting efforts on FAMU’s main campus, at other Florida schools, and across the nation led to more prospective students learning about FAMU College of Law’s unique offerings. FAMU Law added two full-time recruiters during the 2016-2017 academic year. Both FAMU Law grads, the recruiters targeted students in pre-law programs as well as unconventional prospective students, visiting individual classes in political science, engineering and business schools.

“This is one of our largest classes in several years,” Pernell said. “I’m confident that the students in the 2017 entering class are bringing a unique set of skills and experiences to the law school that will blend well with the exceptional talents of our returning students and our faculty and staff.”

FAMU College of Law has a total enrollment of 524 students. Classes for the fall 2017 semester began August 14, 2017.