Preparing for law school at Calvin
The Calvin pre-law program assists students in gaining an excellent liberal arts education, culminating in a Bachelor's Degree that prepares them for the rigors and focus of law school. There is no prescribed or generally accepted program for students planning to enter law school other than that the applicants have earned an undergraduate degree and taken the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).
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Choosing a major
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Choosing courses
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Law school timelines for your years at Calvin
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Top ranked law schools where Calvin
students have been accepted
Choosing a major
The American Bar Association (ABA) advises students to:
- select a major that fulfills their intellectual interests
- seek out difficult courses and demanding professors
- take courses that develop core skills of writing, analyzing, problem-solving, researching, organizing, communicating, and listening
- develop a broad knowledge of history (especially American history), political theory, ethical theory and justice, economics, basic mathematics, human behavior, and diverse cultures
The most common pre-law majors are political science, international relations, business, philosophy, psychology, economics, history and English, but law schools admit students from a wide variety of majors. For example, current Calvin College pre-law students represent more than 36 difference majors and minors, and between 1996-2005, the University of Michigan Law School accepted students from 74 different undergraduate majors.
Choosing courses
Calvin's strong core liberal arts requirements help to develop many of the skills needed for law school, and additional courses are available to hone your abilities further. By selecting difficult courses which demand lengthy papers and classroom discussion, you will receive excellent preparation for taking the LSAT and attending law school.
Specific courses recommendations
(not requirements, since no student would be able to take every Calvin College course which help prepare for a legal career)
Law school timelines for your years at Calvin
As a pre-law student at Calvin, you can begin preparing in your first year of college. Select a major that reflects your interests and passion, become involved in student activities, and plan ahead. Preparation and following some specific timelines will pay off as you reach the point of attending law school.
Top-ranked law schools at which Calvin students have been accepted in recent years:
- Yale University
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- Columbia University
- University of Chicago
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Duke University
- University of Virginia
- Cornell University
- Georgetown University
- Boston College
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Iowa
- Boston University
- Emory University
- University of Minnesota
- New York University
- University of Wisconsin
- University of Illinois
- University of Notre Dame
