News

The Duke University School of Law Class of 2010 includes 207 students from 39 states, five countries, and 97 undergraduate institutions. Their backgrounds include science, education, entertainment, the arts, public policy, government, business, technology, sports, and non-profit sector work. Of this year’s 1L students, 46 percent are recent college graduates, 49 percent graduated 1 to 5 years ago, and 6 percent graduated 6 or more years ago. Twenty-two percent of the entering class intend to pursue a joint degree. The median undergraduate GPA for the Class of 2010 was 3.74 and the median LSAT score was 169 (GPA 75/25 percentiles: 3.82/3.61 and LSAT 75/25 percentiles: 170/167).

More impressive than their GPA and LSAT numbers is what Duke Law 1Ls did before they started school this year:

• Completed a doctoral degree in health sciences and technology from M.I.T.
• Served as the tennis team captain and the No. 1 singles player at Georgetown University
• Received 26 U.S. patents and has 30 patents pending
• Provided daily HIV/AIDS education throughout rural Tanzania as an educator and community organizer with the Students for International Change
• Worked in the press office of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
• Studied contemporary dance in the Czech Republic
• Worked as a producer for C-SPAN’s BookTV
• Earned a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University
• Received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do
• Wrote and published two books in Korea
• Received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge
• Served as president of the Yale Glee Club
• Taught at the State School for the Deaf in Accra, Ghana
• Performed regularly with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company
• Earned a master’s degree in health administration from The Ohio State University
• Was the youngest of seven finalists in the Steinway National Competition
• Served as assistant to Judy Woodruff for the 2004 CNN Presidential Debates
• Interned for the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission
• Served as a co-captain of the Duke University varsity football team
• Was appointed to serve on the Durham County Women’s Commission
• Played string and electric bass for the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble and Harlequin’s Musical Theater Company
• Ranked among the top 100 chess players in the U.S., age 19-20
• Earned an master’s degree in special education from Johns Hopkins University
• Worked as a reporter in the news division of Beijing TV
• Trained at the Julliard School
• Served as a disaster worker for the Red Cross
• Worked with Swazi Business GrowthTrust, a project of the U.S. Agency for International Development
• Was a cheerleader at UCLA
• Served as head program director of HELPLine, a crisis service in Charlottesville, VA
• Earned an master’s degree in logic from Carnegie Mellon University
• Served in the Peace Corps as a small business/NGO development volunteer in Togo, Africa
• Co-founded “Random Acts of Kindness,” an organization dedicated to spreading kindness in the community
• Coordinated the program “Play with the Devils,” which gives underprivileged children an opportunity to play basketball with Duke varsity team members
• Founded “Step Up Employment Training Program,” a program that teaches employability skills to over 200 convicted juveniles each year
• Was a USA Hockey instructor
• Volunteered at the Virginia Living Museum, caring for wildlife used in museum programs
• Coordinated the Fayetteville Youth Education Program and was honored by the Fayetteville daily newspaper as the youngest of the “Top 20 Most Influential Under Age 40”
• Was a fly-fishing guide in Southeast Alaska
• Played professional baseball for two years in the Seattle Mariners minor league baseball system, pitching for the Everett AquaSox and the Wisconsin TimerRattlers
• Received a FAA private pilot license and soloed at age 18
• Earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from California Institute of Technology
• Umpired and refereed over 500 baseball and basketball games
• Ran a marathon
• Completed a doctoral degree in philosophy at Vanderbilt University