Checklist: First and Second Year

During your freshman and sophomore years, your focus should be on your academics and building your resume. You shouldn’t worry too much about choosing law schools or the application process. That can wait. Right now, take interesting, challenging courses, do well in them, and get involved on campus.

You should also take this time to begin to further explore why you want to go to law school. What, specifically, is motivating this decision? Try to learn as much as possible about legal careers, the job market for lawyers, and the cost of law school. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do after law school, but you should begin to be able to answer that question soon.

Specifically, you should aim to:

  • Meet with the pre-law advisor to introduce yourself freshman year and then again sophomore year to update your file.
  • Follow UConn Pre-Law on Instagram (@uconn_prelaw)
  • Get involved on campus:
    • Join clubs that fit with your interests and your goals, but also consider some of the pre-law student organizations here on campus.
    • Law Society is a great introduction to different areas of law. Lawyers without Borders works on issues of human rights and international law. Moot Court and Mock Trial give you the chance to compete against other colleges and universities.
  • Explore different academic areas. Take classes in a variety of disciplines, particularly if they help fill your core requirements.
  • Work on developing strong reading and writing skills. Most of the work of lawyers is reading and writing. You need to excel at both.
  • Choose a major based on your interests and skills. Don’t choose a major because you think it will help with law school admissions.
  • Meet with the Center for Career Development to begin preparing for internships.
  • Get to know your professors!
    • Sit in the front of the classroom and participate.
    • Go to office hours to discuss the class or the field of study.
    • Remember, you’ll ultimately need at least two letters of recommendation from faculty. The better letters come from professors who know you as an individual and not just a grade.
  • Attend as many pre-law events as you can. This is a great way to begin exploring different kinds of law and getting to know different types of lawyers.
  • Pay attention to news about the legal job market and the cost of attending law school.
  • GET GOOD GRADES!