Pre-Law

SIX REASONS you should choose Hillsdale College if you are interested in law school

HIGHEST LSAT SCORES IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

Hillsdale College students regularly have the highest LSAT averages of any college or university in the state of Michigan. The LSAT, or Law School Admissions Test, is one of the most important factors for getting into law school. Last year our average LSAT score was 163 (88th percentile).

ADMISSION TO TOP LAW SCHOOLS

Hillsdale College students have had tremendous success getting into the law school of their choice. Every year our students have been admitted to the most selective law schools in the country, including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, George Mason University, and the University of Notre Dame.

SUCCESS IN LAW SCHOOL

In the last ten years EIGHT Hillsdale College graduates have clerked on the Supreme Court.

AN OUTSTANDING LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION

Law schools do not want students with a degree in "pre-law," and we do not offer one. They are interested in bright, well-rounded, mature, independent, and ethical human beings. This is the product of a Hillsdale College liberal arts education. Unlike many other institutions which claim to offer an education in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College takes seriously its role as a "trustee of modern man's intellectual and spiritual inheritance from the Judeo-Christian faith and Greco-Roman culture, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law" (Hillsdale College Mission Statement). Through our core curriculum students learn the kinds of skills that are essential for getting into and succeeding in law school and the legal profession. They learn close and careful reading of difficult texts; they receive training in grammar, rhetoric and logic; and they gain an intimate familiarity with the philosophical, moral and legal foundations of our political institutions.

CLOSE CONTACT WITH FACULTY

Our 8:1 student to faculty ratio gives students the opportunity to develop close personal relationships with their professors. These close relationships result in individual instruction for students, professional mentoring by professors, and meaningful letters of recommendation.

A SOLID PRE-LAW PROGRAM

Though we do not offer a law or pre-law degree, we offer many resources for students who are interested in law school. Our Pre-law Director advises interested students on every aspect of the law school admissions process. The Pre-law Director also teaches a course every year called "Law and Society," which students are encouraged to take during their sophomore or junior year. This course introduces students to the basics of our legal system and gives them important information for applying to and succeeding in law school. In this course students take a practice LSAT, visit a law school, and attend a trial, and hear guest lectures on law school admissions and the practice of law. The College also offers other courses in law which students can take as electives, including Constitutional Law, Business Law, and Law and Economics.