Prospective Students' Page

This page contains some information that we hope will be helpful for students considering "prelaw" study. We hope you will decide to study at Juniata, but you don't have to come to Juniata to make use of this information.

What will I study?

Whatever you want to study. "Prelaw" students at Juniata have followed a diverse array of undergraduate programs, including Art History, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, and many others. Just make sure you take courses that will help you learn to write well and think critically.

Where do Juniata Students go to law school?

In the last few years, Juniata students and alumni have been accepted to the following law schools:
 

University of Akron School of Law  Albany Law School  Baylor University School of Law  Boston University School of Law  University of Dayton School of Law  Dickinson School of Law (Penn State University)  Duquesne University School of Law  George Mason University School of Law  Indiana University School of Law  Ohio Northern University School of Law  University of Pittsburgh School of Law  University of Richmond School of Law  Syracuse University School of Law

University of Southern California School of Law  Temple University School of Law  Vanderbilt University School of Law  Vermont Law School  Villanova University School of Law  The University of Virginia School of Law  Wake Forest University School of Law  The Washington College of Law, American University  Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law  Washington and Lee University School of Law  Widener University School of Law  Yale Law School

 So, what can you do and how can we help you?

First, take courses that are intellectually challenging and require you to put forth your best effort. The more time you spend working through intellectual challenges, the easier law school (and the LSAT) will be. Above all, develop your writing ability. Study abroad, if you can; American business and law increasingly require a global perspective.     Juniata offers challenging courses in the liberal arts. Our low student-faculty ratio means that professors can give students individual attention, which is especially important for improving writing skills. Among colleges its size, Juniata offers one of the most extensive programs of study abroad.

Second, together with your pre-law advisor, work out your game plan. Think about the areas of law that interest you, and how you might be able to work in those areas without getting a law degree. Think about planning to take some time off between college and law school, and what you might do -- the Peace Corps, further study, business, etc.     Our pre-law advisor has extensive experience in helping students formulate a game plan. Sometimes the best strategy is to apply to law school and work on other plans at the same time. Our job is to help students find an appropriate and satisfying career path.

Third, practice. Nobody can play the violin well the first time they pick it up; the LSAT is no different. Begin taking LSAT practice in your freshman year, so that by the time you're a senior, it's old hat. The LSAT score is (regrettably) the most important single factor in law school admissions (GPA is a distant second), and so it is important to do well.     We offer regular LSAT practice tests, and make available an array of study aids, including on-campus preparation classes. (By the way: taking challenging classes helps you do better on the LSAT, too.)

Fourth, try your hand at legal work through internships, career shadowing, or summer work. Although this won't help you much in getting into law school (remember: law schools think of themselves as the alternative to older forms of legal apprenticeship), it can tell you whether a legal career is something you really want to pursue.     Juniata has a variety of internship placements, and an extensive alumni network that is willing to help you -- both during the academic year and in the summer, for credit or not for credit, paid and unpaid, locally or in major cities -- that can help you decide if law is the right career.

Some Straight Talk about Law School Placement

Juniata students have been admitted to a reasonably impressive list of law schools. But what are your chances, really? The truth is, getting into law school is not easy, wherever you go to college. You will have to work hard, get good grades, and prepare yourself. Getting a good education (as you will at Juniata) is not a guarantee, all by itself.

Some colleges advertise a 100% placement rate for their law school applicants. This tells you something very important about their pre-law advising. It means their first priority is keeping that 100% statistic.

At Juniata, we put students ahead of statistics. The fact is, no pre-law advisor can just call up a law school and have a student admitted. No college has the magic curriculum that will guarantee that you get in. We can't do it for you. But we can give you the tools to do your best.

Not everyone from Juniata who applies to law school gets in on the first try. But everyone who applies knows the odds, and we make sure that all our applicants, regardless of their mathematical chances of getting into law school, have considered the alternatives. Our priority is our students, not our statistics.