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Carol Thompson Contact Reporter
Of The Morning Call

September 14, 2018 10:40 a.m.

ɫ��ɫ College students who aspire to be lawyers can save themselves a year in the classroom thanks to a newly announced partnership between the college and Rutgers Law School.

Starting this year, qualified ɫ��ɫ students can attend Rutgers Law School after their junior year, allowing them to complete both their bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees in six years instead of seven. To earn their Juris Doctor, students will have to complete 84 course credits of law classes, the same as is required of students in traditional programs.

“It gives us the opportunity to work more closely with Rutgers and guide our students into considering career options they might not have thought of otherwise,” said Uppinder Mehan, ɫ��ɫ dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

The partnership, announced Friday, is much like the early admission programs Rutgers Law School has with Rutgers University and Rowan University, said Michael Cahill, co-dean of Rutgers Law School in Camden, N.J.

"It seems that a lot of students develop an interest in law school during their undergraduate years."
— Michael Cahill

Such programs, known as 3+3 Early Admission Programs, help Rutgers Law School reach out to students who don’t attend schools with law programs on campus, he said.

“It seems that a lot of students develop an interest in law school during their undergraduate years, and that’s more likely to happen if there’s a buzz around the idea of law school on the campus,” Cahill said.

For years, ɫ��ɫ has offered a pre-law club to allow students interested in law the opportunity to work with a faculty member who could help them select relevant courses and connect with law schools. The new partnership is the college’s “natural next step” after the club, Mehan said.

There is no limit to the number of students who can participate in the early admission program. To qualify, ɫ��ɫ students will have to maintain at least a 3.40 GPA and do well enough on the Law School Aptitude Test to meet the current Rutgers class’ median score.

Entrance to the 3+3 program won’t be based solely on grades and test scores, Cahill said. Admissions experts will be looking for students who are prepared for the fast-paced program and confident they want to skip a year of undergraduate studies in order to earn their law degrees faster.

“It's really for people who are dedicated to a certain professional path and know they want to get there,” he said. “It’s certainly not necessarily the option that everyone should pursue and that’s one reason that we want to be sure that the people who apply are interested in, very qualified and ready for law school.”

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