Liberal Education offers Excellent Preparation for Careers in Law

An undergraduate preparation for a career in law does not require the study of a specific body of courses. The American Bar Association recently published a statement emphasizing that no particular field of study is the best way to prepare for law school. They endorsed Ripon’s approach to preparing for law school: emphasizing the development of skills necessary for success in the profession.

Law schools demand that pre-law training at the undergraduate level center on intellectual development in four areas: the capacity to write clear and precise analytical prose, the capacity to think logically at a pragmatic level, the capacity to articulate ideas clearly in oral expression, and an understanding of the role of institutions in society.

While many other schools also have pre-law programs, pre-law students likely will find features of a Ripon education distinctly advantageous. Most of Ripon’s courses strongly emphasize analytical writing, which builds the particular writing skills sought by law schools.

Ripon has an unusually low faculty/student ratio and a long tradition of close faculty-student relationships. As a result, Ripon students are able to back their law school applications with the detailed letters of recommendation that law schools seek in making admission decisions. Ripon graduates also have a sufficiently distinctive rate of success in their law schools that makes these schools willing to give our graduates special consideration in admission decisions. Finally, Ripon has a faculty member specifically designated pre-law adviser who is fully accessible at all times to all students.