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Welcome to Pre-Law
A strong liberal arts education is an ideal way to prepare for the professional study of law. You should acquire the skills that enable critical thinking, logical reasoning and effective writing by pursuing a balanced and challenging undergraduate program. Successful study of the law requires the ability to speak clearly and correctly. Plan to continue sharpening these skills throughout your undergraduate education. Participate in extracurricular activities, student organizations, and enroll in courses stressing group interaction and leadership responsibilities. It is important to challenge yourself to think independently, attaining exactness of thought, and making valid analytical comparisons and differentiations. Spend time investigating courses which demand precise thinking and close reading.
What to Study
The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts has no official prescribed Pre-Law concentration or program. This position is consistent with repeated advice from law school deans and faculty, from the Law School Admission Council, and from the American Bar Association. The American Bar Association does not recommend any particular group of undergraduate majors, or courses, that should be taken by those wishing to prepare for legal education; developing such a list is neither possible nor desirable. The law is too multifaceted, and the human mind too adaptable, to permit such a linear approach to preparing for law school or the practice of law. Nonetheless, there are important skills and values, and significant bodies of knowledge, that can be acquired prior to law school and that will provide a sound foundation for a sophisticated legal education.
Pre-Law Programs
Each Fall and Winter Term, Pre-Law Information Programs on the UM Campus are sponsored by Newnan LSA Academic Advising Center and other groups and offices on campus, such as: the Law School; The Career Center; the Black Undergraduate Law Association; Delta Gamma Phi; Michigan Pre-Law Society; Kappa Alpha Pi.
Fellowships and Summer Programs
Summer Prep Programs help students to prepare for the very rigorous legal education ahead. Summer Pre-Law Programs are offered by various universities and consist of an internship with practicing attorneys or study abroad experiences with course work in policy or legal issues. Alumni Fellowships seek outstanding individuals from a variety of discipline backgrounds who are interested in the administration of justice and making a contribution to the judiciary.
Careers in Law
Attorneys do many different things. The challenge for you, as a student, is learning the different things they do and assessing how your skill sets line up with possible practice areas. Keep in mind; the debt load for law school could be very high so you should be sure it is the correct move for you. You do not need to know a practice area of law to start law school but the more you have thought about your interests and created opportunities for yourself in the work place that assist you in learning about different practice areas, the richer you will be in setting a professional path for yourself.
Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
"The Law School Admission Test is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension of complex tests with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability to reason critically; and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and argument of others." The LSAT is administered four times a year, June, October, December, and February. The test should be completed one year prior to anticipated law school enrollment. It is best to plan to take it once and do well. Most students take the test in June after their junior year or in the fall of their senior year.
Law School Application Process
Admissions is an art and not a science: Bottom-line, one candidate with certain numbers and a certain set of experiences might fare quite differently from another with identical numbers and similar background, simply because one was persuasive and one was not. The bounds of diversity are endless. But the concept is real; it is not narrowly limited to race; and it has far-reaching effect in our admissions decisions. We are committed to matriculating an extraordinary group of students to the Law School every year, and we know that “extraordinary” is not a term we can narrowly define.
Financing Your Legal Education
Money for law school is available in the form of scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans. By far, most students finance most of their education through loans, either from the federal government or from private sources. However to qualify for loans, you must have a good credit rating. As you begin the application process, order a copy of your financial credit report and review it. Mistakes are made on the reports (particularly if you have a common name) and it may take many months to correct the information. Some forethought to your credit rating will assure your borrowing power is not jeopardized!
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional association in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public. The Mission of the American Bar Association is to be the national representative of the legal profession, serving the public and the profession by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the law.
Books on Law From LSAC
It is wonderful to have some context of the greats in legal practice as well as some firsthand knowledge of what legal study will entail and how to be best prepared for it.
Statistics
TOP 20 Law Schools by Michigan Graduate applications, TOP 20 Attended by Michigan Graduates, Law Schools by Percentage Admitted from Michigan, Law Schools attended by Michigan applicants, UM and National Applicants Accepted Over Time
Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-Law Frequently Asked Questions
Course Options
Pre-Law course options at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Additional classes may be offered in specific terms. Please check the online LSA Course Guide and use the advance search feature with pre-law or legal studies as keywords
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