Law-Related Experiences
It can be helpful, but not necessary, to obtain law-related experiences in preparation for law school. Most importantly, obtaining law-related experiences prior to law school will help you get a more realistic sense for the field of law and/or what lawyers do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Before applying to and attending law school, you want to be very sure that law school is the right path for you to reach your career goals.
Law-related experiences mainly consist of a job, internship, or volunteer in a law setting or law environment. Here are some options for obtaining these types of experiences:
- Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc.
- Intake Volunteer
- Volunteer Advocates for Children
- Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society
- Legal Internship
- Social Media and Event Internship
- Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida
- Volunteer Involvement Program
- Offers internships, externships, and volunteer opportunities to law school students, undergraduate students, paralegals, and other community members.
- Volunteer Involvement Program
- FSU College of Law Donald J. Weidner Summer for Undergraduates
- This program brings to campus undergraduate students from throughout the country for a month-long immersion into legal study. The primary goal of the program is to acquaint students with the study of law and to assist them in acquiring skills that will benefit their undergraduate and future law school studies.
- There is NO tuition or room and board charge for this program. FSU Law provides all meals, residence-hall accommodations, course materials, and a stipend to all participants. Students are responsible only for their travel expenses to and from Tallahassee.
DIVERSITY PRE-LAW PREPARATION SUMMER PROGRAMS AND INSTITUTES
- University of California Davis School of Law – King Hall Outreach Program
- CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute
- LSAC’s Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Programs
- UHLC Pre-Law Pipeline Program
- IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Progra
- LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s LAWbound
- PLSI–Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives
- St. John’s University School of Law Prep Program for College Students
- SEO Law Fellowship
- TRIALS Training and Recruitment Initiative for Admission to Leading Law Schools
GENERAL PRE-LAW SUMMER PROGRAMS – OPEN TO ALL
Non-Law-Related Experiences
Showing evidence of non-law-related experiences, such as jobs, internships, and volunteerism in ANY areas, can have multiple benefits for your law school application. For example, non-law-related experiences can provide the law schools insight in to your:
1) areas of interest or passion (ex. volunteering with Habitat for Humanity or Feed the Homeless),
2) “skill sets” as referenced on our Pre-Law Student Academic Preparation webpage (ex. listening and counseling skills by working or volunteering for a crisis call center), and
3) work ethic and/or multi-tasking (ex. holding a job part-time or full-time while also taking classes in college).
Here are a few options for obtaining these types of experiences: