The School of Law welcomed nearly 200 attendees to its first Admitted Student event for this admission cycle on Saturday, March 25. Admitted students, joined by their friends and families, and a strong show of support from current students, faculty, staff, and alumni, who were all in attendance. Santa Clara Law is in the midst of an Admitted Students Day 2023 incredibly strong and exciting admission cycle. Our overall applications are way ahead of the regional and California rates. Moreover, applications for our innovative hybrid Flex JD program are up an astonishing 100% over last year’s in-person part-time program. The new Flex JD program already has realized its goal of making a Santa Clara legal education more affordable and accessible to students from all walks of life and all stages of their professional careers.

Dean Michael Kaufman noted “In my welcoming remarks to our admitted students and their loved ones, I described our many distinctive strengths, including our diversity; our faculty and staff educators of renowned scholars, exceptional and caring teachers, and dedicated public servants; our signature centers, programs, and clinics; our loyal alumni network, and our location within a state-of-the-art building, a stunning campus, and a world-class university…we are not just a great law school—we are a transformative learning community built on an ethic of loving-kindness. I am immensely grateful to all of the members of our community who proved that point by surrounding our admitted students with love and support.” 

Santa Clara Law hosted a second successful Admitted Students Day on April 15, with around 200 total participants including candidates, their friends and families, current students, alumni, staff, and faculty. 

The Santa Clara Law community showed up in record numbers to support our newly admitted students. In addition to faculty and staff, our most enthusiastic and supportive alumni–Alumni Ambassadors Rebecca “Beck” Jones J.D. ’83, Randy Reyes J.D. ’15, and Parminder Sandhu J.D. ’16–were in attendance to share their Santa Clara Law experiences with prospective students and family. Having experienced all three stages of the law school journey–from prospective student to Juris Doctor degree candidate, and now alumni–their presence during the lunch hour served as inspiration for how transformational a Santa Clara legal education can be. Our alumni attendee of note was the Honorable Delbert Gee (ret.) J.D. ’80, whose legal career spanned public interest and private practice in the areas of criminal law, health and liability insurance litigation, medical malpractice litigation, and health care law. He retired from the bench in 2022 as Judge of the Superior Court of California for the County of Alameda. The continued engagement of our alumni with the Law School is a reflection of how supportive this community will be during these new students’ journey toward a legal career.

The feedback we are receiving from the attendees validates the impact of community participation. The overwhelming turnout made them feel welcomed and left a lasting impression on our admitted candidates. “On behalf of the Law Admissions and Financial Aid team, thanks go to the Santa Clara University School of Law community, as a whole, for showing up, in force, to this event,” said Bryan Hinkle, Assistant Dean for Law Admissions and Financial Aid. “We were truly overwhelmed by the turnout, and filled with gratitude for your commitment. We have never had so many community members in attendance.”