Overview

Applicants
273
Acceptance Rate
90%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.26
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
72

Test Scores

LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
130 - 162

Application Process

Rolling Admissions
Yes

Application Fee
$35

CAS Service Used
Yes

Applicants accepted in terms other than fall
No

Transfer Applicants Accepted
Yes

Deferred Admission
Yes

Other Admission Factors

Academic

LSAT Score
Undergraduate GPA
Essay / Personal Statement

Selectivity Rating

Faculty Information

Student/Faculty
12:1
Total Faculty
16

31
Female


Students Say

Despite being the only law school in the entire state, the School of Law at The University of South Dakota attract students from across the region, with nearly half of all those enrolled coming from out of state. Many students find their education “perfect for practice in rural America,” and others go on to larger urban practices, yet the cost of tuition is “fairly inexpensive.” “Having gone to a New York private school for undergrad and paying the private New York school price, when I got my first bill from USD I thought maybe they had left something major off,” says one student.
The “mostly excellent” professors provide students with practical applications for the workplace and “focus on the real world more than just understanding case law and the bar exam materials.” There are very few professors who “don't care about actually teaching you in class, they just get through the material,” but for the most part, “all of the professors really care about your education at USD and are willing to meet outside of class to discuss exams or just to chat.” This “diverse, non-judgmental, reputable, and highly knowledgeable” faculty aptly maintains “a youthful and inexperienced cognizant approach when proffering to that particular audience,” and “more than make up for any of the limitations with resources.”
There are no formal law specialization options at USD; students say that “specialization” here means taking a few “mostly overview courses” in Native American or environmental law, for which “there is no indication on your degree that you specialized in a particular field.” The administration helps by “supplanting our academic needs with a broad range of extern and internships, and facilitate our transition from layman to lawyer.”
However, this same administration can often be unresponsive and “disorganized,” but hopefully the arrival of a new dean will help set it right. As a smaller school, “it's hard NOT to get to know your professors.” The professor that teaches criminal procedure and evidence trains police officers and “is one of the best teachers I have ever had,” according to one student. The civil procedure and insurance law professor is “nationally renowned in the area of ERISA,” and the Native American Law professor is on the Rosebud Supreme Court. “Not only that, but you can watch him read poetry on YouTube.”
Understandably, the school has an excellent relationship with the state bar association, the Circuit Court, and the State Supreme Court, which convenes here every year. Unfortunately, Career Services and on-campus recruitment does not fare as well in the students’ opinions. There is “a constant anxiety over getting jobs because according to one student. Luckily, “there is a strong alumni” group that is willing to help students out when and where they can. “I think the school does the best with what it has,” says a 2L transfer student.

Career overview

Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
80%
Median Starting Salary
$46,000
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
87%
% of job accepting graduates providing useable salary information
34%

Career Services

On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
Yes

On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes

# of Employers that Recruit on Campus Each Year
35

Employers who most frequently hire graduates
Tim Johnson, U.S. Senator; David Gilbertson, chief justice, SD Supreme Ct.; CAPT Carol Ricciardello, JAGC, USN (ret), admin. Judge and former (2001-04) chief trial judge, Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary; Harvey C. Jewett IV, attorney, educator, and business executive, including SD Board of Regents, Education Assistance Corp., and The Rivett Group, LLC.

Graduates Employed by Area

36%
Private Practice
19%
Judicial Clerkships
17%
Business/Industry
8%
Government
4%
Academic
1%
Public Interes

Graduates Employed by Region

77%
MidWest
14%
Mountain
4%
South
2%
Pacific

Prominent Alumni

Tim Johnson
U.S. Senator

David Gilbertson
Chief Justice, SD Supreme Ct

Lori S. Wilbur
Justice, SD Supreme Court

Thomas J. Erickson
Past Commissioner, US Commodity Futures Trading Commis

Roger Wollman
US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

Dates

Application Deadlines
Apr 1

Financial Aid Statistics

Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded
$26,237

% Students Receiving Some Aid
92%

Expenses per Academic Year

In-State Tuition
$7,654
Out-Of-State Tuition
$23,268
Estimated On-Campus Room and Board
$7,032
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$8,409
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$1,400
Fees
$6,121

Student Body Profile

Parent Institution Enrollement
10,061

Demographics


Campus Life

Students Say

Vermillion, though small, has “a lot of cultural and entertainment opportunities—you just have to look.” The law school itself has plenty of opportunities to socialize, students “just have to be open to them.” Having Sioux Falls and Sioux City so close “makes it an ideal environment for law school,” as “there are few distractions within the city but plenty of distractions within forty-five minutes when you need one.”
With such a small student body, everyone does know everyone, which “can be annoying during stressful times of the year, but by graduation time, I have a feeling we will all love each other like a family.” “During my first semester there was a death in my family and the whole law-school staff, professors, and students were very supportive. Accommodations and help was readily available from everyone,” says one student. There is still competition among the students, but “it is a fair competition that is to be expected in coming to law school—not cutthroat and downright mean.”
Facilities are universally disliked. They are “outdated but functional” because of certain particular drawbacks in some of the buildings. There “are no windows in two of the four classrooms,” and the walls are “gray cinderblock, [so] when you sit in class, it feels like you're sitting in a prison.” The library is transitioning towards “offering more services and relying more on electronic research for non-South Dakota state codes,” but the computer lab is “small and ancient.” Students do like that they each have their own carrel in which they can study in between classes. One student explains that “[you’re] able to trust leaving your stuff there when [you’re] not studying.”

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%

Admissions Office Contact

Contact
Liz Taggart
Director of Admissions

Address
University of South Dakota School of Law
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069-2390

Phone
605-677-6358

Email
law@usd.edu