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Students Receive Stipends & Fee Waivers to Prepare for Law School

The University of Akron School of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law, Duke University School of Law, University of Houston Law Center, and St. John’s University School of Law will have the resources to assist first- and second-year college students who want to learn more about the legal profession and earn a law degree thanks to a Law School Admission Council Diversity Initiatives grant program.

����Ӱҵ’s Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program is designed to increase the number of lawyers from underrepresented groups by introducing college students early on to the skills important for success in law school. Each of the five law schools will receive a three-year grant totaling $300,000, dispersed in three $100,000 installments, so that each can host 20-30 participants for about four weeks during three summers, paying them a stipend of $1,000 each. Upon completing the program, participants also receive an ����Ӱҵ fee waiver that they can use to cover the cost of taking the LSAT, all of their law school application fees, and registering for ����Ӱҵ’s Credential Assembly Service. A free Official LSAT SuperPrep book is included as part of the fee waiver package.

“We consider ����Ӱҵ PLUS programs to be an investment in the future of the diversity of the legal profession,” said Kellye Testy, ����Ӱҵ President and CEO. “The schools that are the recipients of PLUS grants have designed programs that introduce students from diverse backgrounds to the rigors and rewards of a career in law. Grants for PLUS programs are provided by ����Ӱҵ’s Diversity Initiatives Fund.”

Since 2002, 23 ����Ӱҵ-member law schools have received grants to host these programs, with 2,342 students participating. The majority of participants—51 percent—have been African American, followed by Hispanic/Latino participants at 14.7 percent. Of these DLPP alumni, 79 percent were admitted to law school, compared to 72 percent of similar applicants. PLUS alumni were also admitted to more law schools, with 3.4 admits for participants compared to 2.7 admits for similar applicants. Alumni also improved their undergraduate GPA by an average of 2.7 percent from freshman year to the time of law school application, compared to a GPA average drop of -0.5% for similar applicants.