The average median LSAT score of this year’s incoming class at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law has seen a significant increase, following a five-year effort to increase the level of qualifications for applicants, Dean John DiPippa said.

Since the 2008 incoming class began the application process, the average median LSAT score has risen from 152 to 154. The average median GPA has stayed level around 3.3.

Scores in the 75th percentile have also risen, from 155 to 158, as well as scores in the 25th percentile – from 149 to 151. It is the rise in the median, however, that means the most to the levels of preparedness in an incoming class, according to DiPippa.

“Of all these increases, the median is most impressive, given the difficulty in moving the entire middle of the class,” he said. “Our 2011 median is the same as our 2008 75th percentile,” DiPippa said. “This movement shows that more highly qualified students are considering Bowen as a first choice.”

The applicant pool for the 2011 incoming class included 1,527 individuals from throughout the world. Only 9.8 percent of those applicants were accepted. As a point of comparison, in 2003, only 700 applications were received for the same size class.

The new class includes 151 students – 94 in the full-time day division and 57 in the part-time evening division. Students of color make up about 19 percent of the class. About 71 percent of the class is from Arkansas, but students in the class hail from three countries and 20 states. Female students make up 46 percent of the entering class.

“The entering class of 2011 exemplifies Bowen’s commitment to attracting the best, most diverse students possible,” said Valerie Nation, Bowen’s assistant dean for admissions.  “Our applicant pool allows us to increase entering student credentials while remaining committed to wide-ranging diversity. As students and eventually as lawyers, this cohort will contribute to our state’s legal community for the long term.”