Widener University (Commonwealth)

3800 Vartan Way
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717) 541-3903

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National Comparison: Overview of Facts

#96 in Highest Tuition

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #96 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($45,870). We rank from a total of 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, ranking twice those law schools that have different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.

#109 in Public Sector Salary

Widener Law Commonwealth is tied for #109 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($52,000).

#111 in Private Sector Salary

Widener Law Commonwealth is tied for #111 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($69,000).

#138 in Presence of Minority Students

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #138 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (25.3%).

#141 in Bar Passage Rate

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #141 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (71.4%), and it underperforms by -8.2% the state of Pennsylvania’s overall bar passage rate of 79.6%. (A national comparison on this metric should be taken in a qualified sense and with caution, because every state has a different bar passage rate.)

#151 in Employment Rate at 10 Months

#160 in Employment Rate at Graduation
Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #151 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (67.2%) and #160 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (23.0%) .

#162 in Presence of Female Faculty

Widener Law Commonwealth is tied for #162 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (32.1%).

#166 in Student to Faculty Ratio

Widener Law Commonwealth is tied for #166 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (9.1:1).

#169 in Acceptance Rate

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #169 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 62.1% among those who applied for admission.

#171 in Library Size

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #171 in terms of library size with 196,222 volumes or equivalents.

#174 in Median Undergraduate GPA

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #174 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.11) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.

#185 in Median LSAT

Widener Law Commonwealth is tied for #185 in terms of the median LSAT score (147) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.

#189 in Presence of Minority Faculty

Widener Law Commonwealth ranks #189 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (3.8%).

Fall 2020 Application Information

Application Deadline: May 15
Application Fee: $0

Admissions Statistics

2020 2017
Acceptance Rate 62.1% 67.4%
LSAT Score (Median) 147 148
LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) 145-148 145-151
GPA (Median) 3.11 3.11
GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) 2.83-3.45 2.82-3.39

Bar Exam Statistics

2020 2017
State in which most graduates took bar exam: PA PA
School's bar passage rate: 71.4% 81.1%
State overall bar passage rate: 79.6% 80.8%
School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: -8.2% +0.3%

Employment Statistics

2020 2017
Graduates employed at graduation: 23.0% 20.4%
Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: 67.2% 67.3%

Tuition and Expenses

2020 2017
Tuition: $45,870 N/A
Room and Board: $12,150 $11,034
Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: 94.1% 78.1%
Median grant amount among full-time students: $12,909 $10,000
Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: $141,044 $148,496
Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: 86.8% 91.0%
View National Comparison

Students & Faculty

2020 2017
Total Students: 316 137
Men: 49.6% 56.9%
Women: 50.4% 43.1%
Student Racial Demographics:

White: 74.7% N/A
Black: 11.1% N/A
Hispanic: 7.6% N/A
Asian: 3.2% N/A
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 9.1 : 1 N/A
Total Faculty: 53 N/A
Male: 67.9% N/A
Female: 32.1% N/A
Minority: 3.8% N/A

Full-Time Starting Salaries

2020 2017
Private Sector (Median): $69,000 $50,000
Public Sector (Median): $52,000 $49,000
View National Comparison

Library Resources

2020 2017
Volumes and equivalents: 196,222 195,454