The University’s Eighth Annual Law School Fair will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Talley Student Center from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Mary Tetro, coordinator of Pre-Law Services, said the past law fairs have all been extremely successful, with between 300 and 400 students attending.
“We have 1,200 students signed up on our list-serve that say they are interested in applying to law school,” Tetro said. “We would love to see all of them come out, as well as other students from all majors and disciplines.”
Lauren Lamontagne, a senior in English, is president of the Pre-Law Students Association, a club that works to help students in applying to law school.
Lamontagne advises students to look over the list of questions on the PLSA Web site to prepare for the fair. She also said students should wear business casual to business attire, depending on their reasons for attending.
“Freshmen and sophomores can go just to get more information,” Lamontagne said. “Juniors and seniors may want to have specific questions prepared beforehand and make contacts at schools they are really interested in, but all students should research schools they want to talk to at the fair.”
All of North Carolina’s seven law schools will be represented, as well as 77 schools from all over the nation, ranging from California to New York. All of the attending law schools’ average GPA and LSAT ranges and bar passage rates can be found on the PLSA Web site, so students will not need to ask those questions at the law fair.
“We are very fortunate to have excellent law schools in North Carolina,” Lamontagne said. “And now Campbell Law School, which has wonderful facilities, is right here in Raleigh.”
The PLSA encourages all students to attend because law schools do not require a certain major or specific classes to be accepted, according to Tetro.
“Law schools look at a student’s grades, LSAT scores and resume,” Tetro said. “They do not give preference to any major over another. All students should take this opportunity, even if they have just started thinking about law school as an option.”
Daniel Rowe, a sophomore in philosophy and business administration and treasurer of the PSLA, went to the fair last year and said he learned a lot of valuable information.
“It is a good opportunity to meet with representatives from different law schools you are interested in, especially out-of-state,” Rowe said. “Just make sure you write down questions beforehand so you don’t forget what you were planning to say.”
Tetro said continuing education past a bachelor’s degree has become increasingly popular due to the economic recession.
“We are opening the fair to all members of the community because many people are going back to school now,” Tetro said. “Although the law profession is difficult to walk into at this point in time, the profession also has a high turnaround rate. That means that when the economy picks up lawyers will likely be some of the first people in demand.”
