Pre-Law Services is growing and continuing to help students on their varying paths to law schools according to Mary Tetro, coordinator.

“Law schools actually prefer the method that we have, allowing our students to take advantage of the diversity of our academic programs,” Tetro said.

The American Bar Association does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education, she said.

“Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline,” Tetro said. “We are sending students to law schools from every college on campus.”

Students are encouraged by the ABA to pursue an area of study that interests and challenges them, according to Tetro, and the pre-law program currently holds about 1,100 students.

Most of the students on that list didn’t plan for law school initially, she said.

“Only about 4 percent of incoming freshmen tell the University that they want to go to law school,” Tetro said.

Lauren LaMontagne, vice president of the Pre-Law Students Association, was one of the other 96 percent.

However, she said she soon realized that that was what she wanted to do.

“I decided that I wanted to go to law school after my first semester,” LaMontagne said.

Tony Comento, president of the Pre-Law Students Association, said his story was slightly different.

“I started out at a community college while working full time,” he said.

“Then, I took a year off and worked 50 to 60 hours a week. When I found out that I would be going to State, I knew that I wanted to be an attorney.”

Pre-Law Services has been hosting a Law School Fair for seven years, Tetro Said.

Some of the Law Schools that attended the Oct. 21 event included Boston College, Cornell University, Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Northeastern, University of Tennesse, Vanderbilt and William and Mary.

Workshops were a part of the fair to educate students, LaMontagne said.

“There was workshops on writing, acedemic conduct, financing law school, and underrepresented populations in law schools,” she said.

One of the activites that Pre-Law Services offers is called Mock Admissions, LaMontagne said.

“What happens is we look at some applications and decide whether those students should get into law school,” she said. “We get the applications with all the confidential information blacked out. The Mock Admission helps us to see the admissions process from both sides-the applicant, which is us, and the admissions point of view.”

State has a strong reputation within the law school community, according to Tetro.

“We want to remain a respected undergraduate school,” LaMontagne said.

Throughout the semester, Pre-Law Services holds workshops that range from the application process to what attorneys really do, Tetro said.

On Thursday Nov. 6 at 4 pm in the honors commons there will be a workshop for freshman, sophomores, and transfer students in room 110A, she said.

“The University Pre-Law Services here has helped make the dream I once had a reality,” Comento said.