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Advising

While TCNJ doesn’t offer a specific Pre-Law program, there are many things you can do to prepare yourself. By utilizing the programs TCNJ does offer, 91% of TCNJ seniors applying to law school were admitted to at least one school, and 88% of those admitted actually attended. Our alumni have gone on to schools including Yale, Harvard, NYU, Rutgers (Camden and Newark), Seton Hall, Cardozo, Fordham, UPenn, and Duke.

Most students pursue undergraduate majors in Economics, Business, English, History, Philosophy, Religion, and Political Science, but any major is applicable, provided you achieve good grades and a great LSAT score. “Different” majors can even stand out to law school admissions committees, and so can benefit you, provided your GPA and LSAT scores are high. Writing and critical thinking are most pertinent to prepare yourself, so make sure you choose courses that will give you experience and skill in these areas.

The school does endorse specific programs that are tailored to give you this experience. First, the Law and Society Interdisciplinary Concentration consists of 8 courses in several areas that fulfill your liberal learning breadth requirements. Second, the Politics, Law, and Philosophy Minor consists of 5 courses that give you a more practical course distribution of courses in philosophy, business, economics, criminology, and political science.

Several specific courses can give you a great deal of law experience:

BUS 300: Law for Business*

BUS 325: Employment Law

BUS 360: International Business Law

CRI 201: Courts and Judicial Process*

CRI 203: Applied Criminal Procedure*

CRI 300: Crimes and Offenses*

CRI 301: Foundations of Reasoning and Advocacy*

ECO 365: Economics of the Law*

PHL 120: Introduction to Logic

PHL 220: Metalogic*

PHL 275: Philosophy of Law*

PHL 375: Law and Ethics*

POL 320: Constitutional Law

POL 321: Civil Liberties

POL 337: International Law

POL 365: Origins of the United States Constitution

POL 390: Tutorial – Moot Court

Of course, you wouldn’t need to take every one of these classes, but any combination of them will be quite helpful. The advisors tend to say that PHL 120 and PHL 220 are great for LSAT practice. Any of the POL courses tend to give you a lot of practice in writing near to the type you will do in law school. POL 390 gives you a lot of practice public speaking in the way you will need to do in law school. The CRI classes give you practical experience with the law, as do any of the courses on specific types of law. A variety of these courses, chosen under advisement, will prepare you quite well.

To start, there are six faculty members on the Pre-Law Advisory Committee:

Any of these professors can give you valuable insight from their own experiences, give advice on admissions, and provide assistance in preparing your law school applications. Dr. Fair should be your first point of contact, and handles certain portions of the application process (Dean’s Letters and Certifications, if required). He can put you in contact with the advisor whom he thinks will be best to advise you based on your specific situation.

For more information, please visit http://www.tcnj.edu/~culture/prelaw/index.html or contact anyone on either the Pre-Law Society Board (for a student’s perspective) or the Pre-Law Advisory Board (for a faculty perspective).