Spring Break
UConn to hire pre-law advisor
Paul Petrone
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: News
After six years of hard work, Lynne Goodstein, associate vice provost and director of the Honors Program, has finally reached one of her most elusive goals: a full-time pre-law advisor at the UConn
"This is a gap of services that has existed for many years and we are, as far as I know, the only major research university that does not have a full-time pre-law advisor on staff," Goodstein said.
This new position, which is going through the application process and will likely be filled within the month, will help all UConn pre-law students on the many issues they face, according to Goodstein.
This includes what classes would be most beneficial to take depending on the type of law the student is interested in, preparation for the LSATs and applying for law schools, she continued.
Two pre-law advisor candidates gave presentations on how to prepare a personal statement for law school applications on campus on Jan. 26 and 27, according to the Honors Program Web site. Students were able to provide feedback via an online survey tool.
The candidates are Rebecca Flanagan, JD, University of North Carolina, and Peter Mitchell, JD, Georgetown University.
Currently there is a miss-match with students who are either way too overqualified for the law schools they have applied to while other students are applying to Yale and Harvard when they have no chance to get admitted," Goodstein said. "This advisor should help fix that."
The advisor will also be in-charge of the Special Program in Law plan that Goodstein has also started. This program, which would seek out high-achieving high school students, would essentially guarantee acceptance into UConn's law school if certain conditions (i.e. a high GPA, a good score on LSATs) were met, according to the university's Web site.
Before, pre-law students had political science graduate student Frank Goetz as their advisor. However, Goetz was a part time employee, working10 hours a week only during the weeks of the semester.
For many pre-law students, this should make the transition to law school easier.
"You're pretty much on your own," said Lili Chapman, an 8th-semester pre-law student, describing how she felt during her years at UConn.
She elaborated that most of the information needed to prepare for law school she found on her own by researching online or asking people who have gone through the process.
"I think it is good that they are getting an advisor," Chapman said. "It should make the process easier."
Goodstein hopes not that this increases the amount of pre-law students but instead the quality of pre-law students at the university.
"This is a very good thing for the undergraduate population," she said, optimistic for the future.
"This is a gap of services that has existed for many years and we are, as far as I know, the only major research university that does not have a full-time pre-law advisor on staff," Goodstein said.
This new position, which is going through the application process and will likely be filled within the month, will help all UConn pre-law students on the many issues they face, according to Goodstein.
This includes what classes would be most beneficial to take depending on the type of law the student is interested in, preparation for the LSATs and applying for law schools, she continued.
Two pre-law advisor candidates gave presentations on how to prepare a personal statement for law school applications on campus on Jan. 26 and 27, according to the Honors Program Web site. Students were able to provide feedback via an online survey tool.
The candidates are Rebecca Flanagan, JD, University of North Carolina, and Peter Mitchell, JD, Georgetown University.
Currently there is a miss-match with students who are either way too overqualified for the law schools they have applied to while other students are applying to Yale and Harvard when they have no chance to get admitted," Goodstein said. "This advisor should help fix that."
The advisor will also be in-charge of the Special Program in Law plan that Goodstein has also started. This program, which would seek out high-achieving high school students, would essentially guarantee acceptance into UConn's law school if certain conditions (i.e. a high GPA, a good score on LSATs) were met, according to the university's Web site.
Before, pre-law students had political science graduate student Frank Goetz as their advisor. However, Goetz was a part time employee, working10 hours a week only during the weeks of the semester.
For many pre-law students, this should make the transition to law school easier.
"You're pretty much on your own," said Lili Chapman, an 8th-semester pre-law student, describing how she felt during her years at UConn.
She elaborated that most of the information needed to prepare for law school she found on her own by researching online or asking people who have gone through the process.
"I think it is good that they are getting an advisor," Chapman said. "It should make the process easier."
Goodstein hopes not that this increases the amount of pre-law students but instead the quality of pre-law students at the university.
"This is a very good thing for the undergraduate population," she said, optimistic for the future.
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