PRELAW ADVISING
Are you interested in attending law school or pursuing a career in the legal profession? The prelaw advising service in the college's office at 270 Lincoln Hall has information at all stages of a student's undergraduate career.Since Liberal Arts and Sciences, College ofCurriculaPreLaw advising"prelaw" is more a "state of mind" than a specific curriculum, students have great flexibility in pursing an undergraduate degree program and in selecting courses to prepare themselves for law school. Admission is based primarily on the undergraduate grade-point average and the Law School Admission Test (the LSAT) which students should plan on taking in the summer between their junior and senior years. Law schools admit students from almost every undergraduate background; for instance, among the students applying to law school from the University in a recent year, no less than forty-nine separate undergraduate majors were represented, and students were accepted from every college.
On the other hand, if law schools could advise students as to what they should do, they would emphasize that students take a good, broad liberal education, and they would urge students to challenge themselves by moving to advanced level courses as soon as they find a subject in which they have significant interest. Since law study places a high emphasis on verbal and analytic skills, course work in areas that develop such skills is often chosen; specifically classes in the humanities and social sciences that emphasize writing and reading comprehension are helpful. The LAS Student Affairs Office has a one-page handout which suggests some courses that students interested in a career in law might find helpful. Also, students in the general curriculum and in sciences and letters majors in LAS can request a prelaw coding. Although this coding has no curriculum implications, it enables students to be placed on a mailing list which permits them to receive information mailed from the prelaw adviser. Students from other colleges without access to the prelaw coding can be placed on the mailing list by providing the pre law secretary in 270 Lincoln Hall with their current addresses each semester.
The prelaw secretary also oversees a "Letter of Recommendation Service" that students planning to apply to law school can use from the beginning of their undergraduate program. Letters of recommendation can be solicited from faculty and be placed on file until the individual is ready to send off applications. Details can be obtained in 270 Lincoln Hall.
When the student is ready to apply to law school, the prelaw adviser can help in overseeing the application process and in answering questions about specific schools and their programs, about forms and procedures, and about where and when to apply. The adviser also can review with a student the personal statement and make students aware of special programs and opportunities, such as visits to campus from representatives of the law schools.
The prelaw adviser also keeps a library of material from law schools and from Law Services which oversees the administration of the LSAT. LSAT booklets also are available in 270 Lincoln Hall. Additionally, admission statistics at all of the nearly 180 American Bar Association-approved law schools are available not only in The Guide to U.S. Law Schools published by Law Services, but also from the data compiled by the prelaw adviser. The Prelaw Handbook, which answers the most asked questions, and a pamphlet on the application process also can be obtained from the prelaw adviser. Some information on careers in law and on alternative directions with a law school education also can be found in the prelaw advising service.
An informational meeting for freshmen prelaw students takes place in the fall of every year, and a similar meeting for third year students who will be in the process of applying to law school in the fall of their senior year is conducted each spring. Students can make an appointment with the prelaw adviser at any stage of their undergraduate programs to discuss these or other concerns.