While Georgetown is a popular destination for prospective undergraduates, it is even more popular among law school hopefuls. Last year, the Law Center received 12,404 applications – the most of any law school in the nation – for 592 spots; one in every seven law school applicants nationwide submitted an application to the Law Center.

Georgetown undergraduates in particular feel the lure of the university’s own law school. In 2009, they sent the Law Center more applications than did the undergraduates of any other school. This fall, 44 of the 592 members of the entering class had an undergraduate degree from the university, according to Patrice Robinson, special assistant to the Law Center dean of admissions.

Eight percent of students from the Class of 2009 headed to law school directly after graduation, according to the Career Education Center’s senior survey. Among those students, the Law Center was the most popular option, followed by the Washington College of Law at American University. Of last year’s senior class, 326 applied, according to the Career Center’s pre-law adviser, Victoria Turco.

One of the key factors in stimulating interest in the Law Center for Georgetown undergraduates is the Early Assurance Program, created in 2009 to allow Georgetown juniors to apply directly to the Law Center without having to take the LSATs. Last year, 66 students applied, of whom 10 were accepted, according to Turco. The program is rigorous – it suggests that applicants maintain a 3.8 GPA – but it still appeals to students.

“The standards are rigorous, and the university advertises that fact, but in terms of the actual application, it’s much less complex than the regular application, if only because you don’t have to deal with the LSATs,” Ena Dekanic (COL ’11), who was accepted last spring, said.

The program has a lot of pull for students with firm plans for the future.

“I wanted to apply to law school, and so I thought that the sooner I could hear, the better,” said Frank Bond (COL ’11), a student accepted into the program last year.

Dekanic said that she applied because Georgetown law’s offerings were unique compared to other schools. Now, she is relieved to have her plans finalized.

“I already knew that I was interested in studying law at Georgetown, because of the Human Rights Institute, and the international human rights degree,” she said. “I’m definitely attending Georgetown Law. I haven’t taken the LSATs or applied to other universities. I considered taking the LSATs, but I felt that all the time and effort and energy required to take them could be better invested in something else.”

The majority of law school applicants come from the School of Foreign Service and the College.

The Admissions Office of the Georgetown University Law School declined to discuss trends and statistics dealing with the current applicant cycle, citing a lack of data.