Sturm College of Law Launches 2025-2026 Academic Year
Incoming Sturm College of Law students assemble on the steps of the Ricketson Law Building on August 14, 2025.
Saturday, August 16, marked the start of the fall semester for students at the Sturm College of Law.
This year, admissions officers reviewed 2,292 applications before selecting the incoming class of 287 JD students. Of those, 235 will attend full time and 52 part time. Students come to Law from 37 different states and hold degrees from 140 undergraduate institutions. The median age of the class is 24, with students ranging in age from 21 to 58, 63% of which are female. Additionally, 27% of students identify as an ethnic minority other than white.*
The Class of 2025 enters with a median undergraduate GPA of 3.66 and a median LSAT score of 160 (both increased from last year), reflecting the academic strength of the cohort. Students will have access to a wide range of experiential learning opportunities, including seven in-house clinics in the Student Law Office and over 700 externship placements. Scholarship support remains strong, with 67% of students receiving awards ranging from $18,000 to full tuition plus stipend.*
Learn more about at the Sturm College of Law.
Orientation
Even before the start of classes, incoming students had a busy week. Orientation for new full-time JD students began on Tuesday, August 12, with a welcome address from Dean Bruce Smith and Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Kevin Lynch. In his remarks to the new students, Dean Smith recounted some of his experiences as a young lawyer, and the importance of having humility as part of one’s work ethic. Dean Lynch emphasized that faculty and administrators are people too — and that students should not be afraid to get to know them.
In his keynote address, Justice Carlos Samour, Jr., JD'90, of the Colorado Supreme Court told the very personal story of his family’s escape from El Salvador to the United States when he was 13. His father, a successful attorney, had received death threats when he refused to comply with an illegal request from a military official. His father never worked as a lawyer in this country, but Samour never stopped dreaming of following in his father’s footsteps. He earned his JD from the Sturm College of Law in 1990, went on to a federal clerkship with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and built on one experience after another to find himself on the Colorado Supreme Court.
Samour told the students, “if you remember one thing from my comments today, remember this: dreams really do come true.” He also quoted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, saying “the size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them.”
Preparing for the Year Ahead
In alignment with the vision of the to promote the public good, incoming students participated in a on Wednesday, August 13 — an event started 10 years ago to allow students to work together to support nonprofits, individuals, and communities in . This year, students supported nearly a dozen organizations, providing some with legal guidance, while getting their first taste of the practical experience for which the Sturm College of Law is nationally recognized.
On the final day of orientation, August 14, students engaged in sessions designed to help take care of their well-being beyond the academic rigors of law school. The sessions, led by faculty and student support services staff, included topics such as Managing Stress and Accessing Resources, Professionalism in Law School and Beyond, Sobriety in Law School, an “Ask Us Anything” panel with returning student leaders, and small group lunch conversations with faculty members. The orientation activities ended with an optional social hour downtown followed by a favorite orientation tradition: cheering on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Pre-Orientation: Law Ascent
Prior to orientation week, a group of 29 students (25 full time and four part time) arrived at the Ricketson Law Building to participate in , a pre-orientation program created to welcome and support students from communities historically underrepresented in the legal profession. All admitted students are welcome to apply to the program, which is now in its fifth year. Ascent participants have opportunities to develop academic skills that will help them throughout their law school careers, and more importantly, to build communities and find support resources that will prepare them for success in law school and beyond.
*As of the first day of class, August 18, 2025. Data not yet verified for ABA purposes.
