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Miami students meet law school representatives at annual Law Day event

Written by Arman Aboutorabi, CAS communications intern

Two students talk with a law school representative from Indiana University.

On October 16, the Sue J. Henry Center for Pre-Law Education hosted its annual Law Day. Housed in the John Dolibois room in Shriver Center, representatives from 42 different law schools came to Miami University to give students interested in law the chance to learn more about their programs and the law school admissions process.

Law schools came from every region of the country, and excellent programs such as Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and the Vanderbilt University School of Law interacted with Miami students by sharing the unique offerings of their programs.

Prior to the Law Fair portion of the day, a few admissions directors held a special Mock Admissions Panel event, where they reviewed anonymous applications and provided insight into how an admissions committee comes to a decision.

While many students often assume that law school admissions is strictly about grades and test scores, this event illuminated the holistic nature of the law school admissions process. The importance of strong letters of recommendations was stressed, and even more abstract skills were seen as positives in an application.

"Seeing examples of time management has been a strong positive in some applications and has come up a lot in admissions decisions," said Aly Ricci, assistant director of admissions at Saint Louis University School of Law.

A Miami student shares a lighter moment with a law school representative at the 2019 Law Fair.

The Mock Admissions Panel segued straight into the Law Fair, where each school had set up a table filled with valuable and informative pamphlets, magazines, and brochures. The event was well-attended, as the room quickly became filled with students actively engaging with law school admissions reps to get a feel for which law schools could be the best fit for them.

"Miami's Law Day provides the invaluable opportunity to interact 1-1 with law school representative from a wide array of schools," said senior political science and English literature major Haley George. "This experience helped me develop connections with admissions staff and gave me a better understanding of what different law schools have to offer."

Senior political science and Spanish major Amelia Stefan observed how important an event like this is for a student not yet familiar with the law school admission process.

"This event is very important at Miami because, if you are not taking any pre-law courses, this a great way to get some of that information," she said.

"We had near record student turn out this year at the Law Fair," said Maria Vitullo, director of the Henry Pre-Law Center. "The Fair is a great opportunity for students to hear directly from law schools about their programming and better understand the law school admission process. It's great to see so many students interacting with law schools and taking advantage of the opportunity to meet face-to-face with admissions representatives."

In addition to holding events such as Law Day, the Sue J. Henry Center for Pre-Law Education has its own team of advisors and offers courses designed to prepare students for a career in law and success when applying to law schools. The program also provides multiple free practice Law School Admissions Tests (LSAT) throughout the year.

If you are possibly interested in a career in law, visit the Sue J. Henry Center website to learn about this invaluable resource at Miami University.