One day you find yourself pondering about what you want to do when you finish high school, you decide that you want to become a law student. Now you find yourself asking how one becomes a law student, do I go to college first or can I go straight to a law school? How many years is it going to take to finally reach this goal? Will, it cost me an arm and leg in order to accomplish this goal? Does it matter what degree I get or what college I decide to go to? Are there another requirement in order to get into law school? Does it matter what law school I go to? Finally, what specialties are offered that meet the end goal of what one wants to be after finishing law school? So much information and question to be asked and researched before getting to law school.
First thing is first, after some research we can see that someone that wants to become a law student must first finish a four-year bachelor’s degree. Receiving an undergraduate degree is the minimum requirement to be able to be admitted into a law school (Writers 2014). There is no degree emphasis required in order to get into law school. The most common areas of studies that law schools see are: ‘English, political science, economics, business, philosophy, and journalism (Writers 2014).’ Some of these studies may not be as interesting to certain people and that’s why it is good to know that some students can gain admission even if one of these undergraduate degrees is not what they received.
After all that hard work you finally have that undergraduate degree that roughly takes some four years to complete in whatever study was chosen, if you were lucky and did not fail any class or could not handle full loads. Hopefully, during this time, you were also studying to take the Law School Admission Test. Well, of course, there was not enough time to study, all the time was given to earn a bachelor’s degree. If that is the case it is now time to study. The Law School Admission Test is used during the admission time for any law school (Writers 2014). The score that is received after the test is taken, is used to measure the knowledge of the applicants in the areas of ‘legal work, including reading comprehension, information management, analysis, and critical thinking, reasoning, and argumentation (Writers 2014).’ The Law School Admission Test includes five multiple-choice sections and a writing sample that is not scored (Writers 2014).
127 our experts are availableright now
After completing these tasks, choosing a law school will be next because all the basic requirements that most law schools are looking for have been completed. The University Of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School Of Law requires that transcripts be sent once you have registered for the Law School Admission Test (UNLV 2019). UNLV Law also requires, ‘a personal statement no longer than three typed pages (double spaced, 12-point font)…a resume including educational background, work experience honors, and community service…between four letters of recommendations…someone who supervised you in an academic or professional setting; at least one academic letter is highly recommended (UNLV 2019).’
Tuition for a Nevada resident attending UNLV- Law full time meaning twelve or more credits will cost $25,900 to attend (UNLV 2019). This does not include other fees that law students are charged, which include, graduate student association fees, law student activity fee, rebel recycling fee, student health service fee, mental health fee, student life facilities fee, technology fee (per credit), iNtegrate fee (per credit), and finally the health insurance fee which can be waived and is mostly for international students (UNLV 2019). These student fees can add up to almost 600 hundred dollars (UNLV 2019). ‘The estimated cost of attendance (excluding tuition and fees) for resident students living off-campus during the 2017-2018 academic year is $21,372 (UNLV 2019).’
University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School offers different programs to fit different students’ circumstances. Some of the programs offered are full-time and part-time, at the time to apply for the program’s students have to choose which program (UNLV 2019). The full-time program is a ‘three-year day program with classes held Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 12 to 16 credit hours per semester (UNLV 2019).’ The part-time program is a ‘four-year, day program with classes held Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 8 to 11 credit hours per semester (UNLV 2019). Finally, the part-time evening is a ‘four-year, evening program with classes held Monday through Thursday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 8 to 11 credit hours per semester (UNLV 2019).’ UNLV Law also offers dual degrees with three options being, Masters of Business Administration, Master of Social Work, and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (UNLV 2019).
UNLV Law School was ranked the highest in 2019, ranking at 59th out of 194 accredited schools (UNLV 2019). The UNLV Law campus has many facilities, one important one being the Weiner-Rogers Law Library which contains collections of legal materials, computer labs, classrooms, conference rooms and study rooms (UNLV 201). Campus also includes “the Thomas and Mack Moot Court Facility supports the school’s trial advocacy programs and provides a venue for judicial proceedings by state and federal courts, including the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (UNLV 2019).”
Finally, now starts the decision of which programs will suit you the best. Can you afford to be a full-time student and if not, will you be more suited for the day or evening program. This is the time as well to apply for financial aid and some scholarships to assist with tuition and fees as well as books and materials that will be needed. If this is still not enough there are also loans that can assist. Make sure to meet the deadlines of submitting an application beginning October 1 and deadline of March 15 (UNLV 2019).
Reference:
- UNLV – William S. Boyd School of Law, 2019, law.unlv.edu/.
- Writers, Staff. “Law Schools & Careers | How to Become a Lawyer.” How to Become, LearnHowToBecome.org, 3 Feb. 2014, www.learnhowtobecome.org/lawyer/.
